It was the news of the last few weeks when the Mid-American Conference announced that the roster of participating members would be expanding in the 2018-2019 academic season with the addition of Southern Illinois Edwardsville as an affiliate member in wrestling and men’s soccer.
Both of those sports are somewhat different than other MAC sports in that the full conference membership does not field an NCAA squad. This results in an odd amalgamation of membership that isn’t what you’re used to if you only follow the major revenue entities from the MAC.
Per the Mid-American Conference release on the issue:
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) has announced the immediate addition of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville as an affiliate member in men’s soccer for the 2017 season.