The Mid-American Conference on Saturday became the first league at college football’s highest level to cancel its fall season because of the pandemic.

With the MAC’s 12 schools facing a significant financial burden by trying to maintain costly coronavirus protocols, and the uncertainty that campuses can be opened safely, the conference’s university presidents made the decision to cancel all fall sports — including soccer and volleyball — and explore making them up in the spring season.

Steinbrecher said the conference will make every effort to provide opportunities in the spring and the decision only effects fall sports, not basketball or others that begin in the second semester such as baseball, softball and lacrosse.

MAC schools rely heavily on revenue from road games against power conference teams.

The conference that built a brand name — #MACtion — and managed to score an ESPN deal by playing football games on Tuesdays and Wednesday nights is now the first to surrender to the pandemic.

The MAC’s broadcast rights deal with ESPN with worth about $1 million per year per school, a tiny fraction of what the Power Five conference schools get from their TV contracts — but a significant amount of money for schools that operate with athletic department budgets in the $30 million range.