DeKALB, Ill. -- Starting in December 2001, the Mid-American Conference could possibly send two teams to the postseason.

The Hoosier Bowl, located in Indianapolis, announced the agreement of sending the runner-up of the MAC Championship to its bowl. Despite the fact the Hoosier Bowl has not been a certified bowl, the NCAA gave them the go-ahead to recruit conferences for the new bowl.

It seems to be a good fit since the MAC has been looking to place a second team in a bowl for the past few seasons.

Northern Illinois coach Joe Novak said the conference needed it after the 1998 season when Miami of Ohio went 10-1 and sat home because it finished second to Marshall.

"When you see a team like Miami go 10-1 and not go to a bowl game, recruits use that against you," Novak said. "With having another bowl, it gives you another selling point for those recruits."

The Hoosier Bowl executive committee wanted the Big Ten, but because the conference has six bowls already, they decided to go in a different direction. That direction was the MAC.

"We wanted the Mid-American Conference for many reasons," said executive chairman J.R. Ryder. "The MAC geographically fits in the Indianapolis area. The MAC has a lot to bring to the table. We felt like there was a good mix between us."

The television rights still are to be determined and the conference the MAC will face is still a work in progress, but the front-runner is the Conference USA. The plan is for the fourth-place team from Conference USA would face the runner-up of the MAC championship game.

Novak likes the idea of pitting those teams.

"People perceive Conference USA better than the MAC and that is not fair," Novak said. "The conference is similar to ours in that we have similar teams. Marshall faced Louisville in the Motor City Bowl and that was a good game. This could be a good rivalry. We could have something that could turn into something big."

Even though it looks like the Conference USA will have the other spot, Ryder said there are other conferences in the running. He could not comment on the conferences vying for the final spot.

"This could be huge for those schools," Ryder said. "Indianapolis is a sports town. This will be beneficial to schools who don't get the chance to go to a bowl. It could put them on the map."