The Mid-American Conference office announced that Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher has been given a two-year extension through the 2015-16 academic year.
The Council of Presidents voted unanimously last Tuesday to give Steinbrecher a two-year extension as commissioner, the position he has held since 2009.
Since he became MAC Commissioner, Steinbrecher has expanded bowl opportunities for the conference and has also stabilized conference membership in football. He has also been able to secure more media and television coverage as a deal was reached with Sportstime Ohio in 2010 to cover football and both men's and women's basketball.
Ball State athletics director Tom Collins believes Steinbrecher has had a positive influence on the MAC during his term.
"I think that [he] has done a great job leading the MAC these past two years," Collins said. "He has helped to lead us in a strategic planning process."
Steinbrecher has also expanded the number of teams in the MAC for football by adding Temple and the University of Massachusetts. He negotiated to have the men's and women's basketball tournament stay at Quicken Loans Arena through 2017.
"All of us on the Mid-American Conference's President Council are very pleased that Dr. Steinbrecher will continue as our conference commissioner," Ball State President Jo Ann Gora said in a press release.
Within the past two years Steinbrecher has built three primary bowl agreements (Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, GoDaddy.com Bowl, and uDrove Humanitarian Bowl) and four secondary agreements (New Mexico Bowl, Beef O'Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl, TicketCity Bowl and the BBVA Compass Bowl).
MAC representatives said he was given an extension through the 2015-16 academic year because of his leadership and his accomplishments in his two-year term.
As for the future of the conference, Collins believes Steinbrecher will be able to expand the MAC even more.
"He has been very inclusive in the planning process," he said. "We have a good plan for the league, now we have to execute the plan."
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