College football’s longest active conference title droughts

Mid-American Conference

Longest Drought: Ohio Bobcats (Last title: 1968)

The Mid-American Conference is currently the only conference in the FBS where every current member has won the league. That makes Ohio the MAC team that is suffering the longest title drought. The Bobcats are rapidly approaching the half-century mark since they last celebrated a MAC title.

That last championship came in 1968 under head coach Bill Hess, right in the middle of his 20-year tenure at the school. That year the Bobcats went 10-0 in the regular season and won their six conference games by an average of 16 points. Their high-powered offense was third nationally in scoring as they put up 38 points per game. The 1968 title capped a period where Ohio won four MAC titles during the 1960s under Hess.

The Bobcats have come close in the years since. After taking over Ohio in 2005, Frank Solich has put the Bobcats in position to end their drought. Ohio won the MAC East in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2016, but lost all four times in the MAC championship game in Detroit. They came close in their most recent appearance, but ultimately fell 29-23 to undefeated Western Michigan.

Honorable Mentions

• Kent State Golden Flashes: Kent State won its last MAC championship just four years after Ohio’s last crown. The Golden Flashes played in Detroit for the conference title in 2012, but lost to Jordan Lynch and Northern Illinois in double overtime. This year marks 35 years of drought for the program.
• Eastern Michigan Eagles: The Eagles won the 1987 MAC title and were invited to their first bowl game in the program’s history. Last year, Eastern Michigan played in its second bowl game in school history. In between, they have suffered through nearly three decades of barren seasons.