The 1981 MAC men's basketball tournament was held March 3–5 at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
[1] Ball State defeated Northern Illinois in the championship game by the score of 79–66 to win their first MAC men's basketball tournament and a bid to the NCAA tournament.
[2][3] Ray McCallum of Central Michigan was named the tournament MVP.
First Round games were played in the home arena of the higher seeded team.
The semi-finals and final were played at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan.