The winner of the tournament receives the Mid-American Conference (MAC) automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.
[2] The finals are broadcast on ESPN2 while the semifinals on CBS Sports Network & the quarterfinals are on ESPN+ for streaming.
In May 2020, as part of a broader suite of changes to MAC postseason tournaments triggered by the pandemic, the MAC announced it would reduce its men's and women's basketball tournaments to 8 teams, with all qualifying teams playing in Cleveland.
Additionally, the MAC eliminated its basketball divisions and increased its conference schedule from 18 to 20 games.
Seeding for the tournament is determined by winning percentage in conference play; during the era of MAC divisional play, divisional alignment did not figure into tournament seeding.
Total won-lost record/winning percentage of games played among the tied teams; B.
Two (2)-team tie-breaker procedure goes into effect From 2016 through the abbreviated 2020 edition, all 12 conference members participated in the tournament.
Winners of the first-round games advanced to face the top four seeds in the quarterfinal round in Cleveland.