Hidden Gems: A Craft Beer Guide to Every MAC Stadium City
The Mid-American Conference is the most underrated football conference in America. Called the “Conference of Quarterbacks” for the extraordinary number of NFL signal callers it has produced — Ben Roethlisberger, Byron Leftwich, Chad Pennington, Antonio Gates (tight end, not QB, but Akron), and dozens more — the MAC plays tough football in smaller markets with genuine passion that the national media consistently overlooks. Its cities are the real Midwest: Toledo, Akron, Kalamazoo, Oxford OH, Kent, Athens OH, Bowling Green, Ypsilanti. These are not glamour destinations. They are places where college football is the event of the week and the local bar fills up three hours before kickoff. The craft beer scenes in MAC territory are as genuine and unpretentious as the conference itself — and in a few cases, notably Kalamazoo, they are flat-out outstanding. Here is where to drink, eat, and spend your time near every MAC stadium.
The MAC Cities
Akron, OH — Akron ·
Muncie, IN — Ball State ·
Bowling Green, OH — Bowling Green ·
Buffalo, NY — Buffalo ·
Mount Pleasant, MI — Central Michigan ·
Ypsilanti, MI — Eastern Michigan ·
Kent, OH — Kent State ·
Oxford, OH — Miami (Ohio) ·
Athens, OH — Ohio ·
Toledo, OH — Toledo ·
Kalamazoo, MI — Western Michigan ·
Amherst, MA — UMass ·
Sacramento, CA — Sacramento State
AKRON, OHIO — Akron Zips
InfoCision Stadium (30,000) · The Rubber City · LeBron’s hometown
The Stadium Story: InfoCision Stadium is a compact, on-campus facility in the heart of Akron — close enough to the city’s craft brewery district that a post-game walk to a taproom is entirely reasonable. Akron was the rubber capital of the world through most of the 20th century — Goodyear and Firestone both headquartered here — and the city’s identity as the working-class industrial counterpart to Cleveland has shaped its culture and its beer scene. LeBron James grew up in Akron and has maintained deep ties to the city throughout his career, funding a school and remaining the most famous person to come from the Rubber City.
Akron has a genuinely good craft beer scene — the Hoppin’ Frog Brewery alone has produced beers that have won international competitions and gained a global following.
🍺 Drink: Hoppin’ Frog Brewery is Akron’s most nationally significant craft brewery — DORIS the Destroyer and B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher Imperial Stouts have both won medals at the World Beer Cup and earned a devoted following among serious stout drinkers worldwide. Akronym Brewing is the current critical favorite in Akron — award-winning Czech lager and saison in a relaxed taproom with a Sunday brunch program that has earned its own following. Lock 15 Brewing Co. brings Akron’s industrial canal history to a taproom setting in the revitalized downtown.
🍽️ Eat: Swenson’s Drive-In — the Akron institution since 1934, serving galley boys (a ground beef sandwich with a proprietary sauce) from carhops who deliver to your window. LeBron James has called it one of his favorite places in Akron. Aladdin’s Eatery for the Lebanese-inspired menu that has made it an Akron chain with a devoted following.
🎯 Fun: The Akron Art Museum downtown has a free permanent collection and rotating exhibitions. The Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens — a 65-room Tudor Revival mansion built by Goodyear co-founder F.A. Seiberling in 1915 — is one of the largest historic homes in America and worth a morning visit before a game.
MUNCIE, INDIANA — Ball State Cardinals
Scheumann Stadium (22,500) · David Letterman’s alma mater · Indiana heartland
The Stadium Story: Scheumann Stadium is one of the MAC’s more intimate venues — a 22,500-seat on-campus facility that creates a close, community feel on game days. Ball State’s most famous alumnus is David Letterman, who attended and has maintained a relationship with the university for decades, funding scholarships and making occasional campus appearances. The university was founded by the Ball family — the Mason jar Balls — whose name appears on everything from the stadium to the museum to the arts center. Muncie itself was the subject of pioneering sociological studies in the 1920s and 1930s (“Middletown”) that attempted to document an average American city — a designation that has both haunted and defined Muncie’s identity.
Muncie has a growing craft beer scene that has developed alongside Indiana’s broader craft beverage expansion.
🍺 Drink: Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Company is Muncie’s most celebrated craft brewery — award-winning beers in a downtown taproom setting that has become the gathering spot for the local craft beer community. Muñcie Brewing Company (yes, with the tilde — a nod to the city’s unusual spelling history) is the newer local option earning attention for quality small-batch production. Heorot Pub & Draught House on Walnut Street is the craft beer bar institution — an extraordinary bottle and tap selection in a medieval-themed pub that Ball State students and alumni have made a landmark.
🍽️ Eat: The Caffeinery is Muncie’s most praised neighborhood restaurant — farm-to-table Indiana cuisine in a space that doubles as a coffee shop by day. Brothers Bar & Grill near campus for the game day energy that the neighborhood requires.
🎯 Fun: The David Letterman Communication and Media Building on campus is worth a look for fans of the late night legend. The Ball State Museum of Art has a surprisingly strong collection for a regional university museum.
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO — Bowling Green Falcons
Doyt Perry Stadium (24,000) · MAC championship contenders · Northwest Ohio
The Stadium Story: Doyt Perry Stadium is named for Bowling Green’s legendary coach who compiled a 77-11-5 record from 1955 to 1964 — one of the highest winning percentages in college football history. The Falcons have been one of the MAC’s most competitive programs in recent years, with Harold Fannin Jr. winning the 2024 John Mackey Award as the nation’s best tight end from Bowling Green — a reminder that MAC talent regularly translates to the highest levels of football. Bowling Green is a small northwest Ohio college town that exists almost entirely around BGSU.
Bowling Green’s options are limited but genuine — a college town that delivers what a college town needs on game day.
🍺 Drink: Grounds for Thought is the Bowling Green institution — a bookstore, coffee shop, and beer bar combination on South Main Street that has been a community gathering place since 1985. The craft beer selection is thoughtful and the used book collection is genuinely good. Maumee Bay Brewing Company in nearby Toledo (20 miles north) is the regional craft anchor — worth the short drive for serious beer drinkers. Howard’s Club H near campus is the BGSU bar institution — the live music and craft beer combination that alumni return to specifically.
🍽️ Eat: Tontogany Creek Bar & Grill — a Bowling Green staple for game day food and drink. El Zarape for the Mexican food that BGSU students consistently rate as the best in town.
🎯 Fun: The Black Swamp Arts Festival in early September draws 120,000 visitors to Bowling Green’s Main Street — if the season opener coincides, the combination of the festival and the football game is one of the MAC’s best weekends.
BUFFALO, NEW YORK — Buffalo Bulls
UB Stadium (30,000) · Amherst, NY · Craft beer renaissance city
The Stadium Story: UB Stadium sits on the North Campus of the University at Buffalo in Amherst — a suburb of Buffalo proper. The proximity to one of America’s most underrated cities is the advantage here. Buffalo has undergone a remarkable cultural and culinary renaissance in the past decade, driven by investment along its waterfront and a food scene that has produced genuine national attention. The Buffalo chicken wing — invented at the Anchor Bar in 1964 — is one of America’s most influential dishes. The craft beer scene has followed the city’s revival and is now genuinely excellent.
Buffalo’s craft beer scene is one of the MAC’s best — a real city with real breweries, real food, and the Lake Erie waterfront as a backdrop.
🍺 Drink: Community Beer Works in downtown Buffalo is the craft anchor — The Frank Pale Ale is the flagship and the downtown taproom has become one of Buffalo’s most beloved gathering spots. Big Ditch Brewing Company is Buffalo’s most awarded craft brewery — nationally recognized IPAs and lagers named for the Erie Canal (the “big ditch”) that made Buffalo prosperous in the 19th century. Resurgence Brewing Company on Chicago Street is the largest craft brewery in Western New York, earning consistent critical praise for quality and range across styles.
🍽️ Eat: Anchor Bar on Main Street — the birthplace of the Buffalo wing in 1964, when Teressa Bellissimo deep-fried chicken wings tossed in a buttery hot sauce, served with blue cheese and celery for her son’s late-night friends. Non-negotiable on any Buffalo visit. Chef’s Restaurant on Seneca Street for the Italian-American cuisine that has defined Buffalo’s food culture for generations.
🎯 Fun: The Buffalo waterfront along the Outer Harbor and Canalside has been transformed into one of the best urban waterfronts in the Northeast — concerts, food trucks, and the Erie Canal terminus. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery (now the Buffalo AKG Art Museum) has one of the finest collections of modern and contemporary art in America. Niagara Falls is 20 miles north — worth the drive for any first-time visitor to the region.
MOUNT PLEASANT, MICHIGAN — Central Michigan Chippewas
Kelly/Shorts Stadium (30,000) · Mid-Michigan heartland · Soaring Eagle Casino country
The Stadium Story: Kelly/Shorts Stadium is a modest facility in the center of Michigan — 90 minutes north of Lansing and 90 minutes north of Grand Rapids, placing Mount Pleasant genuinely in the middle of the state. The program’s use of “Chippewas” as a nickname is done in partnership with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, whose Isabella Indian Reservation borders the campus — one of the few cases in college sports where a Native American tribal name is used with genuine tribal partnership and support. The Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, operated by the tribe, is adjacent to campus and provides economic and cultural context that makes Mount Pleasant genuinely distinctive.
Mount Pleasant is a small Michigan college town. Craft beer options are limited on campus but Midland and Bay City, both within 45 minutes, add regional options.
🍺 Drink: Mountain Town Station Restaurant & Brew Pub is Mount Pleasant’s own craft brewpub — consistent, well-made beers in a restored historic train station that gives it the most distinctive setting of any taproom in central Michigan. Tapistry Brewing in Bridgeport (45 minutes east) is the regional craft standout worth the drive. Right Brain Brewery in Traverse City (2 hours north) is one of Michigan’s most celebrated craft breweries if the weekend extends to the north.
🍽️ Eat: The Cabin Bar & Grill is the Mount Pleasant game day institution — the kind of mid-Michigan bar that has been serving the CMU community for decades. Steve’s Ranch for the steak and casual dining option that locals point to first.
🎯 Fun: The Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways on the Saginaw Chippewa reservation is a museum and cultural center that offers genuinely important context for the CMU-Saginaw Chippewa partnership. The Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort for those who want to extend the evening.
YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN — Eastern Michigan Eagles
Rynearson Stadium (30,200) · Adjacent to Ann Arbor · Ypsi’s own brewing scene
The Stadium Story: Rynearson Stadium sits in Ypsilanti — a city that shares a metro area with Ann Arbor and has developed its own distinct identity separate from its more famous neighbor. Ypsilanti was the home of Preston Tucker, who built the Tucker Automobile here in 1948; the story was dramatized in Francis Ford Coppola’s film Tucker: The Man and His Dream. The Water Tower in downtown Ypsilanti — a distinctive red brick tower built in 1890 — is one of Michigan’s most discussed architectural landmarks for reasons that require no further elaboration in a family publication.
Ypsilanti has developed its own craft beer scene distinct from Ann Arbor — smaller, more neighborhood-focused, and increasingly worth the visit on its own terms.
🍺 Drink: Ypsi Alehouse is Ypsilanti’s own craft brewery — one of the oldest craft breweries in the Midwest, brewing since the early days of Michigan’s craft beer scene, with a loyal community following. Wurst Bar on Washington Street is the Ypsi institution — beloved burgers, a full bar, and the kind of neighborhood energy that makes Ypsilanti worth knowing beyond its Ann Arbor shadow. Jolly Pumpkin (10 minutes in Ann Arbor) is the artisan sour and Belgian-style anchor for any serious beer drinker visiting the area.
🍽️ Eat: Aubree’s Pizzeria & Grill is the Ypsilanti institution — some of the best pizza in the Ann Arbor metro in a space that has been feeding EMU students and Ypsilanti residents for decades. Beezy’s Café on Michigan Avenue for the quirky café that captures Ypsilanti’s independent spirit perfectly.
🎯 Fun: Downtown Ypsilanti’s Depot Town neighborhood along the Huron River has developed into a genuinely interesting collection of independent shops, restaurants, and bars. The Ypsilanti Water Tower is worth a photograph. And Ann Arbor is 10 minutes west — all of that city’s excellent craft beer, food, and culture is accessible after the game.
KENT, OHIO — Kent State Golden Flashes
Dix Stadium (25,319) · May 4, 1970 · The tragedy that changed America
The Stadium Story: Kent State carries a historical weight that no other MAC program — or perhaps any college football program — carries to the same degree. On May 4, 1970, National Guard troops opened fire on student protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others. The May 4 shootings became one of the defining moments of the Vietnam War era and one of the most significant events in American campus history. Neil Young wrote “Ohio” in response. The May 4 Memorial on campus is a required stop for any visitor. Football is played here, and the Golden Flashes are a competitive MAC program — but Kent State will always carry May 4 in its identity before anything else.
Kent’s downtown has developed a craft beer scene anchored by breweries that have made the city worth visiting beyond the campus.
🍺 Drink: Bell Tower Brewing Company on Park Avenue is Kent’s standout craft brewery — consistently the top-rated local option and a gathering place for the Kent State community and downtown Kent visitors. North Water Brewing is the newer option earning strong reviews for quality small-batch production. Ray’s Place on Water Street is the Kent institution — a bar and restaurant that has been part of the community’s fabric for decades and is the game day gathering point that alumni return to.
🍽️ Eat: The Zephyr Pub in downtown Kent for the craft beer and food combination that locals consistently recommend. Akron (12 miles north) opens up a significantly larger range of dining options for visitors who want to extend the evening.
🎯 Fun: Visit the May 4 Memorial on the Kent State campus. Walk the site where the shootings occurred. Read the names. It takes 20 minutes and it is the most important thing you can do at Kent State. The Kent State Museum in Rockwell Hall has one of the most significant fashion and textile collections of any university museum in America.
OXFORD, OHIO — Miami Redhawks
Yager Stadium (24,286) · The Cradle of Coaches · Not that Miami
The Stadium Story: Miami University — the original Miami, founded in 1809, predating the city in Florida by decades — is known as the “Cradle of Coaches.” The list of coaches who either played or coached at Miami (Ohio) includes Paul Brown (founder of the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals), Weeb Ewbank (Super Bowl III winner with the Jets), Ara Parseghian (Notre Dame), Bo Schembechler (Michigan), Sid Gillman, and many more. Ben Roethlisberger played here. The football legacy of this small Ohio school is wildly disproportionate to its size. Oxford is a beautiful, walkable college town with red brick architecture and a High Street that rewards exploration.
Oxford has a classic college town bar scene and a growing craft beer presence that has improved significantly in recent years.
🍺 Drink: Gaslight Brewhouse is Oxford’s own craft brewery and kitchen — fresh-scratch cuisine alongside house-brewed craft beers in a relaxed local atmosphere that has made it the preferred option for visitors who want more than a college bar. Steinkeller on the main strip is the German beer hall option — a full lineup of German-style beers and food that stands out in a college town bar scene. Brick Street Bar is the Oxford institution for the full college bar experience — enormous, energetic, and completely given over to Miami game day culture on football Saturdays.
🍽️ Eat: Mac & Joe’s is the Oxford bar food institution — the burgers and late-night menu that Miami students have been ordering for decades. Paesano’s Pasta House for the Italian option that consistently earns the best restaurant reviews in town.
🎯 Fun: High Street in Oxford on a football Saturday is one of the MAC’s most walkable and most pleasant game day corridors. The Paul Brown Museum in nearby Massillon (90 minutes north) is the most complete tribute to the Cradle of Coaches legacy. And for any Notre Dame fan visiting — Ara Parseghian spent five years coaching at Miami (Ohio) before going to Northwestern and then Notre Dame. The Cradle of Coaches is real.
ATHENS, OHIO — Ohio Bobcats
Peden Stadium (24,000) · Oldest university in Ohio (1804) · Halloween capital of the Midwest
The Stadium Story: Peden Stadium is named for Clint “Bumps” Peden, a legendary Ohio University athletic director who served from 1936 to 1963 and built the modern athletics program. Ohio University is the oldest university in Ohio, chartered in 1804, and the entire city of Athens is built around the campus — a genuinely beautiful Appalachian foothill college town on the Hocking River. Athens’s Halloween celebration is legendary — the Court Street block party draws 20,000-30,000 people in costumes annually and has been called one of the best Halloween celebrations in America. The craft brewery scene has developed around Ohio University’s food-forward student and faculty culture.
Athens has one of the MAC’s best craft beer scenes — a college town with genuine food culture and two breweries that have earned attention beyond Ohio’s borders.
🍺 Drink: Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery on West Union Street is Athens’ flagship — one of Ohio’s most acclaimed craft breweries, producing award-winning beers including the Firefly Amber and a range of seasonal and barrel-aged releases that have earned national attention. The uptown taproom and the separate production brewery are both worth visiting. Little Fish Brewing Company is Athens’ wind-powered craft brewery — every kilowatt-hour used to brew their pilsners, IPAs, and barrel-aged beers is matched by renewable energy. The commitment to sustainability extends to locally sourced grain including Shagbark corn.
🍽️ Eat: The Farmacy on Court Street is Athens’s most celebrated restaurant — farm-to-table cuisine sourced almost entirely from regional Appalachian Ohio farms. Casa Nueva is the Athens worker-owned cooperative restaurant that has been a community institution for decades — creative menu, local ingredients, and a genuinely distinctive business model.
🎯 Fun: Court Street in Athens is one of the MAC’s great pedestrian corridors — independent shops, excellent restaurants, and the kind of college town energy that rewards an afternoon of wandering. The Hocking Hills State Park, 30 miles west, is one of Ohio’s most spectacular natural areas — Old Man’s Cave and Cedar Falls are worth a morning hike before a late-afternoon game.
TOLEDO, OHIO — Toledo Rockets
Glass Bowl (26,248) · The Glass City · MAC’s most consistent program
The Stadium Story: The Glass Bowl is named for Toledo’s identity as the Glass City — a hub of glass manufacturing since the late 19th century that produced Libbey Glass, Owens-Illinois, and the glass technology that went into the first automobile windshields. The Rockets are one of the MAC’s most consistently successful programs — multiple MAC championships and bowl game appearances that have made Toledo one of the conference’s flagship programs. The Toledo Museum of Art, free to visit, houses the Glass Pavilion — an extraordinary architectural statement in glass that celebrates the city’s industrial heritage while showcasing the most significant glass art collection in America.
Toledo has a craft beer scene that has grown significantly — anchored by breweries in the Hensville and downtown entertainment districts.
🍺 Drink: Maumee Bay Brewing Company is Toledo’s most established craft brewery — founded in 1995, producing consistently well-made beers that have made it a regional institution. Earnest Brew Works has three Toledo-area locations and brews over 50 unique recipes annually — the Hoppy Camper Hazy Pale and Honeybuzz Honey Double IPA are the flagships. Black Frog Brewery is consistently the top-rated Toledo craft brewery on current review platforms — “best craft beer in the state of Ohio” per a loyal Yelp reviewer, and a taproom that earns the highest marks for atmosphere and quality.
🍽️ Eat: Tony Packo’s on Front Street is Toledo’s most famous restaurant — a Hungarian-style hot dog and chili destination made famous when Corporal Maxwell Klinger on M*A*S*H repeatedly referenced it as his favorite restaurant in Toledo. Jamie Farr, the actor who played Klinger, is from Toledo. The collection of signed hot dog buns from celebrities that lines the walls is genuinely worth seeing. The Attic on Adams for the craft beer bar with the most complete food program in Toledo.
🎯 Fun: The Toledo Museum of Art is free and houses the Glass Pavilion — one of the most architecturally significant glass buildings in the world, housing the most important glass art collection in America. Worth a full morning before any game. The Toledo Zoo is one of the highest-rated zoos in the Midwest and accessible from the stadium.
KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN — Western Michigan Broncos
Waldo Stadium (30,200) · Beer City USA contender · Bell’s Brewery hometown
The Stadium Story: Waldo Stadium is named for Dwight Waldo, a Western Michigan president from 1901 to 1936 who built the modern university. The Broncos’ 2016 season — when P.J. Fleck’s “Row the Boat” philosophy carried them to a 13-0 regular season record and a Cotton Bowl appearance before losing to Wisconsin — is the program’s defining modern moment and made “Row the Boat” one of the most recognizable mottos in college football. Kalamazoo’s craft beer scene is, without question, the MAC’s best — Bell’s Brewery alone gives it a claim to national significance.
Kalamazoo is one of the great American craft beer cities. In 2012 it was named one of the nation’s 10 Best Vacation Cities for Beer Lovers. Bell’s Brewery — the flagship — produces Oberon Ale, one of the most beloved seasonal beers in Michigan, and Two Hearted Ale, one of the most consistently decorated American IPAs in history.
🍺 Drink: Bell’s Brewery — the anchor of Kalamazoo’s craft beer identity and one of the most significant craft breweries in America. Larry Bell started brewing in 1985 from a 15-gallon soup kettle; today Bell’s produces over 900,000 barrels annually and distributes across 40 states. Two Hearted Ale has been named the best beer in America by multiple national publications. The Eccentric Café in downtown Kalamazoo combines craft beer, great food, and live music in the Bell’s experience that most Kalamazoo visitors make their first stop. Kalamazoo Beer Exchange is one of Michigan’s most distinctive bar concepts — beer prices fluctuate like stock market prices based on real-time demand, creating a genuinely interactive drinking experience. Arcadia Ales produces British-inspired ales using traditional methods that have earned serious respect in the American craft beer community.
🍽️ Eat: Crow’s Nest at Bell’s Brewery for the complete brewery dining experience. Food Dance on East Michigan Avenue is Kalamazoo’s most celebrated restaurant — farm-to-table cuisine that has earned national recognition and anchored the city’s food culture for years.
🎯 Fun: The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts has a strong permanent collection and is free to visit. The WMU aviation program — one of the best in the country — has a museum on campus worth a look. And the Southwest Michigan wine trail, anchored by wineries in Paw Paw and Fennville within 30 minutes of Kalamazoo, makes the area one of the most complete craft beverage destinations in the MAC.
AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS — UMass Minutemen
Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium (17,000) · Returned to MAC in 2025 · Pioneer Valley craft beer country
The Stadium Story: UMass rejoined the MAC in 2025 after a period as an FBS independent, completing a journey that took the program through multiple conference configurations. Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Amherst is the smallest stadium in the MAC — 17,000 seats — but it sits in one of the most intellectually vibrant college communities in America. The Five College Consortium — UMass, Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke, and Hampshire College — all within 10 miles of each other, creates a college town environment unlike any other in the MAC. Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst. Robert Frost taught at Amherst College. The literary and intellectual heritage of the Pioneer Valley is the MAC’s most distinctive cultural backdrop.
The Pioneer Valley has a craft beer scene anchored by some of New England’s most celebrated producers — Tree House is 45 minutes east in Charlton; Berkshire Mountain Distillers is 30 minutes west in Sheffield.
🍺 Drink: Amherst Brewing Company on University Drive is the local anchor — producing consistent craft beers for the Five College community since 1997. Abandoned Building Brewery in Easthampton is the Pioneer Valley craft standout earning critical attention for creative, well-executed beers. Tree House Brewing Company in Charlton (45 minutes east) is the New England craft beer destination — Julius and Green are among the most sought-after hazy IPAs in the country. Worth the drive on the day before or after the game.
🍽️ Eat: Judie’s Restaurant on North Pleasant Street has been feeding the UMass and Amherst community since 1977 — creative American cuisine with a devoted local following. The Black Sheep Deli for the Amherst institution that has sustained the Five College community for decades.
🎯 Fun: The Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst — the homestead where she was born, lived, and wrote most of her nearly 1,800 poems — is one of the most significant literary sites in America. Amherst College’s Mead Art Museum has an extraordinary collection for a small liberal arts college. And Berkshire Mountain Distillers in Sheffield (30 minutes west) — the subject of a CrushBrew profile — makes the Pioneer Valley one of the most complete craft beverage destinations in New England.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA — Sacramento State Hornets
Hornet Stadium (21,000) · Joined MAC in 2026 · California’s capital city
The Stadium Story: Sacramento State joined the MAC in 2026 as a football-only member — the most geographically distant addition in MAC history, bringing the conference from its Great Lakes base all the way to California’s state capital. Sac State is in its first year of MAC competition as of 2026. The program comes from FCS (Division I-AA) competition where it has been competitive, and the move to FBS in the MAC is a significant step up. Sacramento is a genuinely excellent city for craft beer and farm-to-fork dining — California’s agricultural abundance flows through the capital city’s food culture in a way that makes it one of the West Coast’s most underrated dining destinations.
Sacramento’s craft beer and farm-to-fork food scene is one of the West Coast’s best-kept secrets — a city that benefits from being surrounded by California’s most productive agricultural valleys.
🍺 Drink: Track 7 Brewing Company is Sacramento’s most celebrated craft brewery — the Citra Ass Down IPA is the flagship that has made it a regional institution. New Glory Craft Brewery earns consistent top ratings for quality and range. Ruhstaller Brewing is the Sacramento craft brand with the strongest historical roots — named for Captain Frank Ruhstaller, who operated Sacramento’s most celebrated 19th-century brewery, revived in 2011 to make farm-to-glass lagers using California-grown ingredients.
🍽️ Eat: The Kitchen on Hurley Way is Sacramento’s most celebrated fine dining destination — a theatrical prix fixe experience where the chefs cook tableside and the meal lasts four hours. Grange Restaurant & Bar in the Citizen Hotel for the farm-to-fork philosophy that Sacramento does better than any other California city outside San Francisco.
🎯 Fun: Old Sacramento Waterfront — the restored Gold Rush-era district along the Sacramento River — is the city’s most visited historic area. The California State Railroad Museum here is one of the finest transportation museums in America. The American River Parkway offers 32 miles of bike and walking trails along the river from downtown Sacramento. And the Napa Valley is 60 miles southwest — easily combined with a Sacramento game day weekend for the most complete Northern California craft beverage itinerary in the MAC.
