2004 was a very important year for the Mid-American Conference.
Ford Field, newly built and opened in 2003 in the heart of Detroit, Michigan, had been named the new venue for the MAC’s Football Championship Game, which to that point had been played on-campus, with the team with the better league record hosting.
The Toledo Rockets and Miami RedHawks would be the two combatants in the first-ever neutral site MAC title game after both teams won their respective divisions, with the Rockets eventually taking the crown thanks in part to a 21-point third quarter performance fueled by two picks off the arm of Miami QB Josh Betts.