The Mid-American Conference finally is getting the respect it is looking for.

MAC commissioner Rick Chryst will announce an agreement today at noon to send a member of the conference to the GMAC Bowl, formerly the Mobile Alabama Bowl. According to the agreement, the GMAC Bowl has the first selection from the MAC starting with the 2001 bowl game.

“The MAC has demonstrated a true enthusiasm to be a partner in this bowl as well as an active part of our city,” said Jerry Silverstein, president of the bowl. “We now have the ability to market Mobile and GMAC in two conferences that encompass 22 football-playing institutions. That should allow us to continue to improve the strong economic impact the bowl has had in our city.”

The MAC’s opponent will be the No. 2 choice from the Conference USA.

The GMAC Bowl is set for Dec. 19.

The MAC’s other bowl tie-in is the Motor City Bowl, located in Detriot. The first two years of the bowl saw the Conference USA paired against the Western Athletic Conference.

“It is about time,” said NIU football coach Joe Novak. “Everyone in the MAC feels the same way about this. We are deserving of two bowls. This is a trememdous feat for the MAC.”

Last season, CUSA’s Southern Mississippi defeated ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll No. 18-ranked Texas Christian University 28-21.

In the past three years, the MAC has had teams that could have merited at-large bids but sat at home.

In 1999, Miami went 10-1 but finished second in the East Division behind Marshall. The team it defeated, North Carolina, which finished 6-5, received an at-large bid and the Redhawks were denied.

Last season, Toledo went 10-1, finished in the Associated Press Top 25, but saw no bowl bids. The Rockets finished in second place in the West Division.

Novak added that if Conference USA can have four bowl bids, then there is no reason the MAC cannot, either.

“The way I see it, we are right there with Conference USA,” he said. “The only thing that separates us with them is that they get more exposure. They are in big markets. They get the media exposure because of the big markets they are in.”