Though it’s not a conference that pushes numerous players to the pros in football or basketball, the Mid-American Conference (MAC) has developed its fair share of star athletes who have gone on to become household names at the professional level.

Last year 60 former MAC players were on opening weekend NFL rosters, spread out across 27 teams. There are some household names in that mix, from former Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack (Buffalo) to Las Vegas Raiders star pass rusher Maxx Crosby (Eastern Michigan).

How those players entered the NFL typically varies. Mack was the No. 5 overall pick to the Raiders in 2014 after four years with the Bulls, while Crosby went in the fourth round, 106th overall, in 2019.

As expected, small school players often have to wait to hear their name called during the draft process no matter how productive they were at the collegiate level as questions arise about how they’ll handle the step up in competition at the NFL level. That leads to more players being drafted in the Crosby range rather than in the top 10 like Mack.

Since 2000, 12 players from the MAC have gone in the first round of the draft: Chad Pennington (Marshall) in 2000 to the Jets, Byron Leftwich (Marshall) in 2003 to Jacksonville, Jason Babin (Western Michigan) in 2004 to Houston, Ben Roethlisberger (Miami of Ohio) in 2004 to Pittsburgh, Joe Staley (Central Michigan) in 2007 to San Francisco, Larry English (Northern Illinois) in 2009 to San Diego, Muhammad Wilkerson (Temple) to the Jets in 2011, Eric Fisher (Central Michigan) to in 2013 to Kansas City, Jmmie Ward (Northern Illinois) in 2014 to San Francisco, Mack, Corey Davis (Western Michigan) in 2017 to Tennessee and Quinyon Mitchell (Toledo) in 2024 to Philadelphia. Go back two years earlier and Randy Moss was a first round pick by the Vikings in 1998 out of Marshall.

Fisher was the highest selection of that group and the highest drafted player in MAC history after the left tackle was the first overall pick in the 2013 draft. Mack and Davis both went fifth overall in their respective drafts while Leftwich joins them as top 10 picks having been selected seventh overall.

While not a large list of players, it’s a talented one. Roethlisberger is the most famous of the group since 2000 and will have his bust in Canton in the near future after guiding the Steelers to two Super Bowl titles while Babin, Staley, Wilkerson and Mack have all been All-Pros at points of their careers. Mitchell was the Eagles’ top corner on their Super Bowl team last year and looks like a future stud.

Some of the best talent to come out of the MAC were overlooked and fell in the draft. Aside from Crosby, those in New England all know the story of Julian Edelman, the Kent State quarterback who transformed into a Super Bowl MVP receiver with the Patriots after being drafted in the seventh round in 2009. Antonio Brown was a sixth round pick out of Central Michigan in 2010 and turned into one of the best wide receivers of his era.

Two Hall-of-Famers — Jason Taylor and Jack Lambert — weren’t first round picks either. Taylor, out of Akron, was a third round pick of Miami in 1997 while Lambert, out of Kent State, went in the second round to Pittsburgh in 1974.

How will NIL affect the MAC and it’s overall talent level? With players currently free to transfer, it has become harder for smaller programs to hold onto their best players.

Just four players from the MAC were drafted this past spring, Darius Alexander of Toledo the first to hear his named called after the Giants took him in the third round. After Mitchell went in the first round in 2024, the Cowboys took Marshawn Kneeland in the second round out of Western Michigan but he was the only other player from the MAC drafted in the ’24 class. From 2000-2019, the MAC had four or fewer players drafted just twice.

That loss of talent was seen in the transfer portal this past year. The 13 teams in the MAC lost an average of 22 players per roster to the portal. Nobody was hit harder than Ball State, which lost 33 players. Eastern Michigan wasn’t far behind with an exodus of 32 players.

Kent State (27), UMass (27), Bowling Green (26), Western Michigan (26), Northern Illinois (25) and Akron (23) also saw a large number of players exit their programs.

Ohio, which won the league, lost 18 players to the portal while Miami Ohio, which played in the MAC championship game, lost just 12 players. Toledo saw 17 players depart, Central Michigan lost 13 to the portal while Buffalo only saw eight players depart.

Where did those players go? Of those 287 transfers, 68 are now at Power Four schools. Ball State and Northern Illinois each lost 10 players to P4 programs, Eastern Michigan lost nine while Bowling Green and Akron both lost seven.

The transfer portal goes both ways, however. Players who don’t feel valued at a larger school might join the MAC in hopes of playing time. With a new coaching staff, UMass led the way with 35 transfers brought in this offseason while Bowling Green (25), Western Michigan (27), Toledo (20), Ball State (24), Akron (20), Ohio (20) and Eastern Michigan (22) each brought in 20-plus players from the portal.

As has always been the case, it will be on MAC programs to identify diamonds in the rough if it wants to produce NFL talent. While that process might have come primarily through the high school recruiting cycle, moving forward it may have more to do with how well teams can identify underused talents on other rosters.

However it shakes out, here’s to hoping fans can see some future Sunday players at McGuirk Stadium moving forward.