The Buckeye Athletic Association, also known as the Buckeye Conference, was an athletic league formed out of members of the

Ohio Athletic Conference The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. All member institutions are located in Ohio. Formed in 1902, it is the third oldest athletic conference in the United States ...

. Its original membership in 1926 included

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (abbrevriated OWU) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Ohio Valley, Centra ...

(Battling Bishops),

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

(Bobcats),

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

(known then as the Big Reds, later the Redskins and currently the RedHawks), the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

(Bearcats),

Denison University Denison University is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio, United States. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. It was first called ...

(Baptists, and later Big Red) and

Wittenberg University Wittenberg University (officially Wittenberg College) is a private liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio. It has 1,326 full-time students drawn from 33 states and 9 foreign countries. Wittenberg University is associated with the Evangelical ...

(Lutherans, and later as Tigers). The Battling Bishops of OWU won the first title in football in 1926. The league was asked to end the membership in both the OAC and the Buckeye in 1928, at which time all the schools voted to instead leave their membership in the OAC behind and be only members of the Buckeye.

Early years (1926–1934)

Wittenberg withdrew from membership in November 1929 on charges of using professional players after the Tigers won the football championship in 1927 and were co-champs with Ohio Wesleyan in 1928. However, Wittenberg returned to an affiliate membership in 1931, playing only Miami that year but with players named to the All-Conference lists from 1931 through the 1933 football, cross country and wrestling seasons and the 1934 basketball, baseball and track seasons. In 1930, the Little Giants of

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832, by a group of Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, the institution was originally named "The Wabash Teachers Seminary an ...

and the Tigers of

DePauw University DePauw University ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury College and changed its name to DePauw University in 1884. The college has a Methodist heritage and was ...

came from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

to add probationary teams to the league to add like schools to the mix. The Flyers of the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

were also considered, but there seemed to be resistance to the UD program from both Cincinnati and Miami. Both DePauw and Wabash, however, were out of the league after the 1932 football season, just as they were about to become full members of the league. That same year, the league also added the Thundering Herd of Marshall College (today Marshall University) for all sports but football for 1932–33, and the Herd began playing football as well in for the 1933 season. Ohio's Bobcats dominated the league in football from start to finish, winning football titles in 1929, 1930, 1931, 1935, 1936 (co-champs with Miami), and 1938's last football title for the league. Miami won the football title in 1932, 1933 (co-champs with Cincinnati) and the co-championship with Ohio in 1936. The Bearcats won title in '33 with Miami - the long-time rivals who first began playing football in 1888 (a series Miami leads these days by 59 win to 52 for UC and 9 ties) - then won the title outright in 1934.

Years of growth and controversy (1935–1937)

Finally, in 1935, the University of Dayton was added to the league and Marshall, which opened league play with a win in 1933 over Wittenberg in its first game, would then lose or tie the next 14 games in a row (1-13-1, 1933–35), but hired Coach Cam Henderson from Davis & Elkins College in 1935 to coach Herd basketball and football and act as director of athletics. Henderson was 4-6 in football that first year in '35, 0-5 in the Buckeye. By 1936, however, Marshall was 2-2-1 in the league and third behind Ohio (3-1-1) and Miami (2-1-1), declared co-champs with matching losses and ties. Marshall would win the title in 1937, won three baseball titles 1933-34-35 and three basketball titles in 1936-37, 1937–38 and 1938-39. Complaints by Marshall about its treatment by the league and complaints about Marshall by many league members led to dissension within the league from about 1935-36 on. The unrest in the league led many to believe the league would not be around for the 1938 season, but after the 1938 spring league meetings,

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

(Kalamazoo, Michigan) and

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

(in Cincinnati, Ohio) were invited to join the league as probationary members, replacing Cincinnati who had made the decision to go independent in 1938. But as the Bobcats of Ohio were winning their league best sixth championship in November of '38, the league got together in December for annual winter meetings.

The end of the conference (1939)

On December 10, 1938, the Buckeye Conference announced 1938-39 would be the final season the league would operate, a decision by all members schools - Dayton, Marshall, Miami, Ohio, and Ohio Wesleyan. While many at the time thought the league might reform at some point among the Ohio schools and possibly WMU, the United States' entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in December 1941 put any thoughts of rebuilding the Buckeye on the shelf.

Evolution into the Mid-American Conference

Post-war, 1946, the idea of the Buckeye Conference was the template for the new

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

, started that first year after the war. The five charter members of the Mid-American Conference were Ohio University,

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...

, the University of Cincinnati,

Wayne University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-largest university w ...

(now Wayne State University), and

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

– a school the Buckeye had tried, along with nearby Case Institute of Technology to get into the league on three different occasions. Western Reserve would go on to be today's

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

, although the school left the MAC in 1955. Ohio is the only founding member of the MAC to still be a member.Buckeye Intercollegiate Athletic Association
, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved November 1, 2015. Wayne University left after the first year, in 1947. Miami University and Western Michigan University, two members of the Buckeye at its demise, took the place of those charter members for the 1948 season. The MAC added the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a Public university, public research university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, ...

(in Ohio, in 1950),

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

(in Kent, Ohio in 1951), and

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

(in Bowling Green, Ohio in 1952). The University of Cincinnati resigned its membership on February 18, 1953, with an effective date of June 1, 1953 of leaving the league. Marshall College entered the league for all sports except football in 1953, playing its first season as a MAC football member in 1954. The Thundering Herd were a member of the league from 1953-69 - terminated by the league for violations in the football and basketball program unearthed in 1968, as Marshall got a one-year probation from the NCAA but never earn another hearing with the MAC in the early 1970s, eventually joining the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

in 1977. Marshall would rejoin the league in 1997 out of the SoCon and I-AA football (which the MAC was reclassified to by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

in 1982, like the SoCon and a number of other like leagues, to which the MAC said "Thanks, but no thanks" to, remaining I-A through today), and the Herd would stay in the MAC until 2005, when Marshall joined the

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

with

Central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, in ...

, also in the MAC at that time. The MAC went on to expand in a way the Buckeye Conference had first expanded, reaching into Wolverine State for

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

's Chippewas and

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...

's Hurons (Eagles today) in 1972. The Cardinals of

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. The university is composed of seven aca ...

from Muncie, Indiana and the Huskies of

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

(Dekalb, near Chicago) were added in 1973 (although NIU left in 1986, then rejoined with Marshall in 1997). The

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

joined the MAC in 1992, and the

State University of New York at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public research university in Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. The university was founded in 1846 a ...

joined in 1998, with the Zips and Bulls both coming from I-AA. The MAC has also had football only members in the Knights from UCF in 2002, the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

Owls in 2007 and the Minutemen of the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the Public university, public university system of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell ...

in 2012, but all those schools left just a few years after joining.

Member schools

The following colleges held membership in the Buckeye Athletic Association:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1100 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1926 till:1940 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:powderblue from:1926 till:1938 text:

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

(1926–1938) bar:2 color:powderblue from:1926 till:1932 text: Denison (1926–1932) bar:3 color:powderblue from:1926 till:1939 text:

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

(1926–1939) bar:4 color:powderblue from:1926 till:1939 text:

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

(1926–1939) bar:5 color:powderblue from:1926 till:1939 text:

Ohio Wesleyan Ohio Wesleyan University (abbrevriated OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium of ...

(1926–1939) bar:6 color:powderblue from:1926 till:1929 text:

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

(1926–1929) bar:6 color:powderblue from:1931 till:1934 text: (1931–1936) bar:7 color:powderblue from:1930 till:1932 text: DePauw (1930–1932) bar:8 color:powderblue from:1930 till:1932 text: Wabash (1930–1932) bar:9 color:powderblue from:1932 till:1939 text:

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

(1932–1939) bar:10 color:powderblue from:1935 till:1939 text:

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

(1935–1939) bar:11 color:powderblue from:1938 till:1939 text: W. Michigan (1938–1939) bar:12 color:powderblue from:1938 till:1939 text: Xavier (1938–1939) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1926 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(175,30) # tabs:(0-center) text:"BBA Membership History"

Football champions

*1926 – *1927 – *1928 – and *1929 –

*1930 –

*1931 –

*1932 – Miami (OH) *1933 –

and Miami (OH) *1934 –

*1935 –

*1936 – Miami (OH) and

*1937 –

*1938 –

and

References

{{Reflist College sports in Ohio