The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, and in football, in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
The Auburn Tigers football program represents Auburn University in the sport of American college football. Auburn competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team is currently led by Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide is among the most storied and decorated football programs in NCAA history. Since beginning play in 1892, the program claims 18 national championships, including 13 wire-service national titles in the poll-era, and five other titles before the poll-era. From 1958 to 1982, the team was led by Hall of Fame coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who won six national titles with the program. Alabama then had a dominant run under head coach Nick Saban between 2007 and 2023, resulting in six further national titles. The team's rallying cry is "Roll Tide!".
The Georgia Southern Eagles football program represents Georgia Southern University in football as part of the Sun Belt Conference. The current head coach is Clay Helton. The Eagles have won six FCS (I-AA) national championships and have produced two Walter Payton Award winners. Georgia Southern first continuously fielded a football team in 1924, but play was suspended for World War II and did not return until 1981. The Eagles competed as an FCS independent from 1984 to 1992 and as a member of the Southern Conference from 1993 to 2013, winning 10 SoCon championships. In 2014, Georgia Southern moved to the FBS level and joined the Sun Belt Conference, winning the conference championship outright in its first year. Georgia Southern's main Sun Belt rivals are Appalachian State and Georgia State.
The Appalachian State Mountaineers football team is the intercollegiate American football team representing Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. The Mountaineers have competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the Sun Belt Conference since 2014. Appalachian plays its home games in Kidd Brewer Stadium, named after former head coach Kidd Brewer, whose 1937 squad was unbeaten and unscored upon during the regular season, outscoring opponents 206–0.
The 2007 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team represented Appalachian State University in the 2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was coached by Jerry Moore and played their home games at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina.
The 2007 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa in the 2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was coached by Mark Farley and played their home games in the UNI-Dome. The Panthers clinched a share of the Gateway Football Conference and a playoff berth with a win against Missouri State on November 3.
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As of the 2024 season, there are 10 conferences and 134 schools in FBS.
The Old Dominion Monarchs football program represents Old Dominion University in U.S. college football. The first iteration of the team created in 1930 was known as the William & Mary Norfolk Division Braves. Founded in 2009, the current Monarchs team competed as an FCS independent for their first two seasons. In the 2011 season, they joined the Colonial Athletic Association and added conference games to their schedule, playing there until joining the Conference USA of the FBS in 2014. They joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2022.
The Liberty Flames football program represents Liberty University, a private Christian university located in Lynchburg, Virginia, in college football. The Flames compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of Conference USA. The program, which previously competed in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), announced it would start a transition to the top level of NCAA football in July 2017. The Flames became a provisional FBS member in 2018, and became a full FBS member with bowl eligibility in 2019. In 2020, Liberty entered the rankings in the AP Poll at 25 for the first time in program history.
The 2010 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team represented the University of Delaware as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) during the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by ninth-year head coach K. C. Keeler, the Fightin' Blue Hens compiled an overall record of 12–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, sharing the CAA title with William & Mary. Delaware advanced to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Fightin' Blue Hens received a first round bye. They beat Lehigh in the second round, New Hampshire in the quarterfinals, and Georgia Southern in the semifinals before losing to Eastern Washington in the NCAA Division I Championship Game, after leading by 19 points late in the third quarter. The team played home games at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware.
Willie Fritz is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the University of Houston. Fritz served as the head football coach at University of Central Missouri from 1997 to 2009, Sam Houston State University from 2010 to 2013, Georgia Southern University from 2014 to 2015, and Tulane University from 2016 to 2023. From 1993 to 1996, he was the head football coach at Blinn College, a junior college in Brenham, Texas, where he led his teams to consecutive NJCAA National Football Championships, in 1995 and 1996.
Jeffrey Michael Monken is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at the United States Military Academy, a position he has held since 2014. Monken previously served as the head football coach of Georgia Southern University from 2010 to 2013. Prior to that, he worked under Paul Johnson as a running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Georgia Southern, the United States Naval Academy, and Georgia Tech.
The 2013 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by head coach Craig Bohl, in his 11th and ultimately final season, as he left to become the head coach at Wyoming after the season. The team, which played their 21st season in the Fargodome, entered the season as the two-time defending national champions. The Bison have been members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference since the 2008 season.
The 2013 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Jeff Monken and played their home games at Paulson Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference. This was Georgia Southern's final year in the Southern Conference and the FCS. They joined the FBS and the Sun Belt Conference for the 2014 season. They finished the season 7–4, 4–4 in SoCon play to finish in a four-way tie for fourth place.
The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 26, 2016, and ended on December 10, 2016. The postseason concluded on January 9, 2017, with the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship, where the Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide to claim their second national title in school history. The championship game was a rematch of the 2016 edition won by Alabama.
The 2016 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University (WMU) in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach P. J. Fleck and played their home games at Waldo Stadium as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Broncos completed their regular season undefeated and won the MAC West Division title. The Broncos finished conference play defeating the Ohio Bobcats 29–23 in the 2016 MAC Championship Game, winning the school's first MAC championship title since 1988. WMU received an invitation to the 2017 Cotton Bowl as the highest rated Group of Five team in the College Football Playoff (CFP). It was the first major-bowl appearance in school history. The Broncos also won 10 games in a season for the first time in their 111-year football history. They lost to the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers in the New Years Six bowl game, 24–16.
The 2021 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia, and competed in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Chad Lunsford until he was dismissed mid-season following his third consecutive loss within the first four games of the season. Cornerbacks coach Kevin Whitley was tapped to serve as interim coach until a new head coach was hired by the university. Whitley was in his third year as cornerbacks coach and previously played for Georgia Southern as a four year starter from 1988 to 1991, helping to win two national titles for the Eagles. On November 2, 2021, Clay Helton, former head coach of the USC Trojans, was hired to become the next head coach for Georgia Southern, starting in the 2022 season.
