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What a year 2013 has been. We've been through a lot as MAC fans and 'Belters, but the ride was amazing. We've seen BCS games, a change in regime, arrests and suspensions, and hirings and firings. We now take a look back at 2013 from the Hustle Belt point of view.
January
NIU kicked off the year with its Orange Bowl appearance. Of course, it wasn't as strong a showing as we all had hoped, but we all won in the end.
They followed that up with a stunning victory over Kent State in basketball.
And Anton Samuel painted the picture on the wall for us, leaving BGSU for a semester.
February
We almost lost UMass to the FCS after just one season. Who would've WMU beaten if they left?
Ohio and Akron played in the MAC Basketball game of the year.
Also, RIP Harlem Shake. And thank God it's gone.
Akron-Ohio Round II went to OT, but Akron survived to keep a long winning streak alive
March
Then Buffalo ended that winning streak.
DJ Cooper, NCAA assist record holder
We said good-bye to the CCHA one last time with all 3 MAC teams making the quarterfinals
Even without Abreu, Akron dominated everyone in the MAC Championships
April
Miami's football season began to slide, as Nick Harwell was arrested and subsequently suspended
We looked at MAC Alums in professional baseball
Realignment is both cool and sad. RIP CCHA, but peace out Temple, it's been cool and stuff
NUMBAH ONE DRAFT PICK! SUCK IT OTHER CONFERENCES! Yep, Eric Fisher went #1 to the Chiefs, and then preceded to help them win a bunch of games and make the playoffs.
Glenn Bryant joined the arrested/suspended group
Hey, look at all of those potential pros we produced!
May
We lost Darius Paul to Illinois as he decided to join his brother Brandon. Another WMU MAC Freshman of the Year gone.
Softball catch of the year was right here in the MAC
Skydive with Ron English for $5,000. I can't type that without laughing
Akron is a bad place to live. Another arrest, this time by Seth Cunningham
Toledo is selling beer at football games, and we just love it!
We introduced our summer series, the top 68 players in the MAC
June
Scott Stricklin left us just one year after leading Kent State to the College World Series
R.I.P. Charlie Coles, you will be missed dearly
DJ Cooper didn't get drafted,so he went to Europe instead.
July
NHL Draft was awesome, for a little bit
Our most talked about individual piece of the summer: Non-conference football games as Ocarina of Time Dungeons
Western Michigan hockey lost their first round draft pick and a solid defender within days of each other
Anton Samuel transferred to FIU
We had a regime change as we said goodbye to founder Matt Sussman and hello to Bryan Vance
August
Noah Keller went to jail for vandalism
Having two favorite teams (one being an AQ team) isn't something to do. Support your MAC teams!
We looked at the positional rankings for the conference!
More tragedy as Central Michigan lost a soccer player in a car accident (hold that theme for a minute, as awful as that sounds)
MAC Soccer Previews! Boy were we wrong (especially me)
We turned 3! We're practically potty trained now, right?
We created our own football awards. Be jealous
Western Michigan was doomed from the start in football
Bowls were being created and destroyed, but we came out on top. Get your passports and sunglasses now
Kent State lost Dri Archer early, and it ruined everything (Game Preview, but we all know what happened on the first series)
September
The Hustle Belt MAC Pick'em said good-bye, as Yahoo! killed it
This happened:
Matt Shoemaker made it to The Show
UMass alumni weren't happy with Charley Molnar, and wanted him to leave everyone alone
Dri Archer came back and showed us everything we missed
October
Jordan Lynch started to become a legitimate Heisman candidate
And melted our hearts doing it
Miami didn't wait long. Fired Don Treadwell and Jon Klacik mid-season
Cameron Stingily was arrested, but not suspended.
We counted down thetop 25 basketball players in the MAC
You could buy stuff from the Rubber Bowl.
Keith Harris Jr was out for the season, hardly anyone noticed because of Jordan Lynch
R.I.P. Demarius Reed. You were taken too soon
Akron FINALLY beat an FBS team. Unfortunately it was Miami
In one of the most exciting games of the year, Toledo downed BGSU 28-25
November
Ron English went on a tirade and got himself fired.
In the MAC Game of the Year, NIU held on to down Ball State and stay undefeated
WMU shocked the women's soccer world with the biggest upset in history, downing 2-seed Marquette in the first round
Diesel announced his retirement. We're going to miss his high-fives
UMass announced Charley Molnar would stay as head coach
Bowling Green clinched the MAC East by beating Buffalo
December
The Falcons stunned NIU, and cost us all a lot of money
UMass started firing assistant coaches and players were transferring too
Welcome to the MAC Chuck Martin!
The MAC made it 5 bowl games. We haven't done too well so far though
Jordan Lynch: Heisman Finalist
Good-bye Dave Clawson, it's been fun. Enjoy that crappy ACC
EMU hired Chris Creighton to replace Ron English
Dino Babers is the 3rd MAC hire of the year, replacing Clawson. He's a cool dude
Akron mourned the loss of both Alan Arrington and T.J. Bowden after both died in car accidents.
Charley Molnar was fired the day after Christmas. We're still stunned
So 2013 was a year to remember, but we move on to 2014 and all the joys it brings. From all of us here at Hustle Belt, we hope you enjoyed this year and hope you continue to follow us for the best MAC coverage out there.