Dr. Jon Steinbrecher has only been MAC commissioner for two days. Yesterday in just his second day on the job, Steinbrecher had his first teleconference.

Steinbrecher, who previously served as commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference, answered questions about issues such as the lack of success in MAC basketball and, of course, midweek football games.

The commissioner will take over in Cleveland (MAC headquarters) full time in May. Until then, he will continue to work with both the Ohio Valley and the MAC.

“I’m greatly looking forward to joining the MAC,” Steinbrecher said. “I was very humbled by my selection.”

One of the issues he tackled was the recent lack of success in men’s basketball. A MAC school hasn’t won an NCAA tournament game since 2003, when 11th-seeded Central Michigan defeated sixth-seeded Creighton in the first round before losing to third-seeded Duke in the second round. The conference also currently ranks 21 out of 32 conferences in RPI.

“I think it will be my job to get the key stakeholders engaged in that discussion,” Steinbrecher said. “I know for a fact they are anxious to do so. We won’t make any knee-jerk reactions.”

Steinbrecher gave praise to MAC football, mentioning the fact that 10 of the 13 schools have been to bowl games in the last five years, although he did say the MAC’s bowl success has been disappointing.

One of the bigger issues with football has been midweek football games due to the conference’s TV deal with ESPN.

NIU had four midweek games this past season, with two of them being at Huskie Stadium. Needless to say, attendance wasn’t as good during the midweek games as it was for games on Saturdays.

When asked what he thought about having games on a Tuesday or Wednesday, Steinbrecher brought up the importance of television exposure.

“I don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other at this point. It’s brought a great deal of exposure to the conference,” Steinbrecher said. “I think we have to look at it as part of the whole picture. It’s important to be on national TV.”

Steinbrecher will have a lot on his plate when he takes over the position. When asked what his first order of business would be, he made it pretty simple – a move to Cleveland.