By the Belt: A MAC Sports Blog

Directional state schools with a strong shared tradition, all in one peninsula.

2026 By the Belt Audience Feedback Survey Welcome Page Hello there! Welcome to "By the Belt", the new name for the blog formerly known as Hustle Belt. We'll go long on the name choice later, but please know for the purposes of the survey that any referen...

If you would like to help shape By the Belt's future coverage, please fill out this anonymous, four-question survey!
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Proud flagships of their respective states, compatriots of the Northeast.

Two OGs of the Mid-American Conference, bitter rivals with a common passion for bricks.

A pair of rivals connected by an interstate.

Discussing Miami (OH) online

Two rivals, separated by mere miles. Both attached to the same belt.

Glad you asked!

"Hustle Belt" was a reference to the term "Rust Belt" that followed a lot of the Midwest around the time of the blog's establishment back in 2010.

We've carried it over in the new identity.

2026 By the Belt Audience Feedback Survey Welcome Page Hello there! Welcome to "By the Belt", the new name for the blog formerly known as Hustle Belt. We'll go long on the name choice later, but please know for the purposes of the survey that any referen...

If you would like to help shape By the Belt's future coverage, please fill out this anonymous, four-question survey!
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

We hope to have the exact details pinned down over the next few weeks. A short survey will be out soon to gather data for this endeavor!

a cartoon of a man in a suit sitting at a table with a batman behind him ALT: a cartoon of a man in a suit sitting at a table with a batman behind him

Coast-to-coast? I thought this was Mid-America!

By the Belt.
For the Belt.

Your new home for everything Mid-American (including California).

See you this time tomorrow?

Miami University does it AGAIN. Now 30-0 overall and 27-0 vs. D-I teams after a lemon-booty 74-72 home finale win over Toledo.

Miami's maximum losses possible before Selection Sunday: 2.

Important: No team with two or fewer losses has ever been kept out of the NCAAT in the 64+ team era.

He is supposedly going to "give it a go" tonight at the last home game. This looks nasty!

And with that, Hustle Belt comes to a close - FIN -

"As a people, we are in constant need of community and connection, and we provided that for the masses of #MACtion. It was our honor and privilege."

Our editor-in-chief Alan Rucker reflects on the journey in Hustle Belt's final column: www.hustlebelt.com/site-notes-o...

Thank you, Hustle Belt. From, Texas. A baptism by fire made a sportswriter for life.

"As somebody with zero geographic or personal connection to the MAC prior to joining... this gritty Midwestern conference of underdogs will forever be apart of me. "

After 1,597 articles over 10 years of service, @shelwick.bsky.social gives his thanks: www.hustlebelt.com/site-notes-o...

Thanks! Hope we have something to say soon.

What A Small Town in Washington and Bert Bell Can Teach Us About Change Pardon us a last ramble as we walk into the night.

"History never just ends. That’s probably the most important thing to take away from all of this. Like a phoenix, football— and the spirit of Hustle Belt— will return from the ashes of wherever this current epoch is heading."

Our own Alexis Baker's look on change: www.hustlebelt.com/site-notes-o...

Sports Should Make You Hopeful A note as Hustle Belt closes its doors.

"Me and you: we are college sports. ...These games need participation from everybody... everybody from the field or court (or wherever) to the ones on the sidelines. And that means you, too."

A final note from former EIC @aralvarado13.bsky.social: www.hustlebelt.com/site-notes-o...

Respect to the end of one of the greats. (That old SBN site format was sooooooooo good)

Still, That Lasted A Lot Longer Than Expected One last post from the man who started it all.

"Websites are so much fun. ...[I]f your idea is... to put a nice neat thing into the world because you enjoy it, then go for it. Who knows where the idea will lead. Mine definitely surpassed the expectations."

One last byline from @suss2hyphens.bsky.social:
www.hustlebelt.com/site-notes-o...

To Hustle Belt, from Sam Kasuga A local boy wanted to make good, and did.

"I remember my first piece that I ever wrote... Before that, I wasn’t much of a writer. I didn’t know what to expect... After putting it together, and seeing it on the site for the first time, I felt an immense amount of pride."

To Hustle Belt, from Sam Kasuga: www.hustlebelt.com/site-notes-o...

How do you say goodbye when you’re not ready to leave? The light shines its way through, even when the path is dark. So it is, and so it shall always be.

"[E]ven in this final hour, we’re still not ready to leave. There are humans behind all these words written on this page. Hours, days, weeks, even months or years of thought behind every sentence published."

We reflect on the current moment as our last day begins: www.hustlebelt.com/site-notes-o...

TREY PERRY FOR THE WIN! 29-0!

Lost in November for the season: the starting PG
Potentially lost for the season before this game: the backup PG
Fouled out with lots of time left: the soon to be MAC POTY

STILL WON BABY

Getting acquainted with Sacramento State football A rundown of the MAC’s newest program for 2026.

It's been two weeks since the big news of Sacramento State's addition to #MACtion.

Get acquainted with the MAC’s newest football program, from being a stop for four current NFL contributors to a story about their head coach's past life that... can't be touched:
www.hustlebelt.com/mac-football...

Not gonna lie, getting a real "last day of school" vibe recently. It's strange how quickly a deadline can come up, yeah?

Nightmare, more like.