Association | NCAA |
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Founded | 1970 |
Commissioner | Sonja O. Stills (since 2022) |
Sports fielded |
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Division | Division I |
Subdivision | FCS |
No. of teams | 8 |
Headquarters | Norfolk, Virginia |
Region | South Atlantic, Middle Atlantic |
Official website | meacsports.com |
Locations | |
Part of a series on |
African Americans |
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The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) 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's (NCAA) Division I, and in football, in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). [1]
Currently, the MEAC has automatic qualifying bids for NCAA postseason play in men's basketball (since 1981), women's basketball (since 1982), softball (since 1995), men's and women's tennis (since 1998), and volleyball (since 1994). Bowling was officially sanctioned as a MEAC governed sport in 1999. Before that season, the MEAC was the first conference to secure NCAA sanctioning for women's bowling by adopting the club sport prior to the 1996–97 school year.
In 1969, a group whose members were long associated with interscholastic athletics met in Durham, North Carolina for the purpose of discussing the organization of a new conference. After the formulation of a committee, and their research reported, seven institutions, Delaware State University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina State College, agreed to become the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. [2] South Carolina State had been a longtime member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, while the other charter members had been longtime members of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
The conference's main goals were to establish and supervise an intercollegiate athletic program among a group of educational institutions that shared the same academic standards and philosophy of co-curricular activities and seek status as a Division I conference for all of its sports.
The conference was confirmed in 1970, and had its first season of competition in football in 1971. To date, the MEAC has had three full-time commissioners. [2] In 1978, the MEAC selected its first full-time commissioner, Kenneth A. Free, who served as commissioner until he resigned in 1995. He was succeeded by Charles S. Harris, who served at the position until 2002. On September 1, 2002, Dennis E. Thomas became the conference's commissioner. He retired on December 31, 2021. Sonja O. Stills became the first female commissioner of the MEAC on January 1, 2022. She is also the only female commissioner of a Division I HBCU athletic conference.
The MEAC experienced its first expansion in 1979 when Bethune–Cookman College (now Bethune–Cookman University) and Florida A&M University were admitted as new members. That same year, founding members Morgan State University, North Carolina Central University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore withdrew from the conference. All three schools eventually returned to the conference; Maryland Eastern Shore rejoined in 1981, Morgan State in 1984, and North Carolina Central in 2010.
On June 8, 1978, the MEAC was classified as a Division I conference by the NCAA. Prior to that year, the league operated as a Division II conference. The following month the MEAC received an automatic qualification to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
In 1984, membership in the MEAC again changed, as Florida A&M chose to leave. The university returned to the conference two years later. Coppin State College, now Coppin State University, joined the conference in 1985. The MEAC found some stability in membership with the addition of two HBCUs in Virginia, Hampton University and Norfolk State University in 1995 and 1997, respectively. For the next ten years, the MEAC remained an 11-member conference. In 2007, former CIAA member Winston-Salem State University was granted membership, but announced on September 11, 2009, that it would return to Division II at the end of 2009–10 and apply to return to the CIAA before ever becoming a full member of the MEAC. [3]
North Carolina Central University rejoined the conference effective July 1, 2010. [4] [5] NCCU was one of seven founding member institutions of the MEAC, but withdrew from the conference in 1979, opting to remain a Division II member when the conference reclassified to Division I. [4]
Savannah State University was announced as the newest member of the MEAC on March 10, 2010. [5] Savannah State originally applied for membership into the MEAC in 2006 but faced an NCAA probationary period soon after. Membership was then deferred until the completion of the imposed probation period, which ended in May 2009. Savannah State then resubmitted their application for membership again in 2009 and was finally granted probationary membership status. [5] On September 8, 2011, the university was confirmed as a full MEAC member. [6]
While the MEAC has had no new full members since then, the conference added an associate member in 2014 when Augusta University, then known as Georgia Regents University, a Division II institution with Division I programs in men's and women's golf, joined for men's golf. [7] Augusta became the MEAC's first associate member and first non-HBCU with any type of membership. The conference has since added two more non-HBCU associate members, with Monmouth University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) joining for bowling in 2018. [8]
In April 2017, Savannah State announced that it would drop to Division II effective with the 2019–20 school year. [9] In November 2017, Hampton announced they would leave the MEAC to join the Big South Conference beginning with the 2018–19 season. [10]
In February 2020 North Carolina A&T announced departing MEAC to join Big South Conference effective July 2021. Within few months, in June 2020, Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman also announced that they will leave the MEAC and join the SWAC starting in July 2021. As a result, the MEAC will have eight members remaining for 2021, with only six of its members sponsoring football. The MEAC has hired a consulting firm to help assess its current schools and to help it identify potential institutions for addition to the conference. [11] The conference plans to operate with eight current members, starting 2021 until further expansion, in a compact geographical footprint removing North and South divisions.
In May 2021, multiple websites that report on HBCU sports indicated that the MEAC had reached out to two Division II HBCUs about their interest in transitioning to D-I and joining the MEAC. Kentucky State University and Virginia State University, respectively members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, confirmed that they had discussed possible membership with the MEAC and had commissioned feasibility studies on moving to Division I. Officials at both schools stated that they were considering the move, but would not commit to any change. One report also indicated that Chicago State University, a predominantly African-American school but not an HBCU, had lobbied the MEAC regarding membership. CSU was scheduled to leave the Western Athletic Conference, a league in which it is a major geographic outlier, in July 2022 to become an independent. According to this report, the MEAC had offered CSU associate membership in one sport, but was lukewarm to CSU becoming a full member because it does not sponsor football and is well outside the MEAC's geographic footprint. [12] [13]
In July 2022, the Northeast Conference (NEC) announced a partnership with the MEAC in which MEAC schools sponsoring baseball and men's and women's golf would become NEC affiliate members in their respective sports beginning in the 2022-23 season. [14]
Institution | Location | Founded | Joined | Type | Enrollment | Nickname | Colors |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coppin State University | Baltimore, Maryland | 1900 | 1985 | Public | 2,724 | Eagles | |
Delaware State University | Dover, Delaware | 1891 | 1970 | Public [lower-alpha 1] | 6,200 | Hornets | |
Howard University | Washington, D.C. | 1867 | 1970 | Private | 12,065 | Bison/Lady Bison | |
University of Maryland Eastern Shore | Princess Anne, Maryland [lower-alpha 2] | 1886 | 1970, 1981 [lower-alpha 3] | Public | 2,333 | Hawks | |
Morgan State University | Baltimore, Maryland | 1867 | 1970, 1984 [lower-alpha 4] | Public | 7,763 | Bears | |
Norfolk State University | Norfolk, Virginia | 1935 | 1997 | Public | 5,616 | Spartans | |
North Carolina Central University | Durham, North Carolina | 1910 | 1970, 2010 [lower-alpha 5] | Public | 7,553 | Eagles | |
South Carolina State University | Orangeburg, South Carolina | 1896 | 1970 | Public | 2,649 | Bulldogs/Lady Bulldogs |
Institution | Location | Founded | Joined | Enrollment | Nickname | Colors | MEAC sport | Primary conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North Carolina A&T State University | Greensboro, North Carolina | 1891 | 2021–22 [lower-alpha 1] | 13,322 | Aggies | bowling (w) | Coastal | |
Monmouth University | West Long Branch, New Jersey | 1933 | 2018–19 | 6,395 | Hawks | Coastal | ||
University of Alabama at Birmingham | Birmingham, Alabama | 1966 | 20,902 | Blazers | The American |
Institution | Location | Founded | Joined | Left | Type | Nickname | Colors | Subsequent conference | Current conference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bethune–Cookman University | Daytona Beach, Florida | 1904 | 1979 | 2021 | Private | Wildcats | SWAC | |||
Florida A&M University [lower-alpha 1] | Tallahassee, Florida | 1887 | 1979, 1986 | 1984, 2021 | Public | Rattlers & Lady Rattlers | SWAC | |||
Hampton University | Hampton, Virginia | 1868 | 1995 | 2018 | Private | Pirates | Big South | Coastal | ||
North Carolina A&T State University [lower-alpha 2] | Greensboro, North Carolina | 1891 | 1970 | 2021 | Public | Aggies | Big South | Coastal | ||
Savannah State University | Savannah, Georgia | 1890 | 2010 | 2019 | Tigers and Lady Tigers | SIAC (NCAA Division II) | ||||
Winston-Salem State University [lower-alpha 3] | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | 1892 | 2007 | 2010 | Rams | CIAA (NCAA Division II) |
Institution | Location | Founded | Joined | Left | Type | Nickname | Colors | MEAC sport | Primary conference | Subsequent conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Augusta University | Augusta, Georgia | 1785 | 2014–15 | 2020–21 | Public | Jaguars | Golf (M) | Peach Belt (NCAA Division II) | Southland |
Full membersFull members (non-football)Assoc. members (football only)Assoc. member (women's bowling)Other ConferenceOther Conference
School | Football stadium | Capacity | Basketball arena | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|
Coppin State | Non-football school [lower-alpha 1] | Physical Education Complex | 4,100 [19] | |
Delaware State | Alumni Stadium | 7,193 [20] | Memorial Hall | 1,800 [21] |
Howard | William H. Greene Stadium | 10,000 [22] | Burr Gymnasium | 2,700 [23] |
Maryland–Eastern Shore | Non-football school [lower-alpha 2] [24] | Hytche Athletic Center | 5,500 [25] | |
Morgan State | Hughes Stadium | 10,000 | Talmadge L. Hill Field House | 4,000 |
Norfolk State | William "Dick" Price Stadium | 30,000 [26] | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall | 4,500 [27] |
North Carolina Central | O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium | 10,000 [28] | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium | 3,000 [29] |
South Carolina State | Oliver C. Dawson Stadium | 20,000 [30] | SHM Memorial Center | 3,000 [31] |
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) sponsors championship competition in six men's and eight women's NCAA-sanctioned sports.
Sport | Men's | Women's |
---|---|---|
Basketball | 8 | 8 |
Bowling | - | 8 |
Cross country | 8 | 8 |
Football | 6 | - |
Softball | - | 8 |
Tennis | 6 | 8 |
Track and field (indoor) | 8 | 8 |
Track and field (outdoor) | 8 | 8 |
Volleyball | - | 8 |
School | Basketball | Cross Country | Football | Tennis | Track & Field (Indoor) | Track & Field (Outdoor) | Total MEAC Sports |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coppin State | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Delaware State | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Howard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 |
UMES | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | 4 |
Morgan State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 |
Norfolk State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 |
NC Central | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 |
SC State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 |
Totals | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 44 |
Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference which are played by MEAC schools:
School | Baseball | Golf | Soccer | Swimming & Diving | Volleyball | Wrestling |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coppin State | NEC | |||||
Delaware State | NEC | |||||
Howard | NEC | NEC | NEC | |||
UMES | NEC | NEC | [lower-alpha 1] | |||
Morgan State | IND | |||||
Norfolk State | NEC | |||||
NC Central | NEC |
School | Basketball | Bowling | Cross Country | Softball | Tennis | Track & Field (Indoor) | Track & Field (Outdoor) | Volleyball | Total MEAC Sports |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coppin State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 |
Delaware State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 |
Howard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 |
UMES | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 |
Morgan State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 |
Norfolk State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 |
NC Central | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 |
SC State | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 |
Totals | 8 | 6+3 [lower-alpha 1] | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 61+3=64 |
Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference which are played by MEAC schools:
School | Equestrian [lower-alpha 1] | Golf | Lacrosse | Soccer | Swimming & Diving |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Delaware State | ECAC/ NCEA | NEC | NEC | NEC | — |
Howard | — | NEC | NEC | NEC | NEC |
SC State | — | — | — | IND | — |
UMES | — | NEC | — | — | — |
School | Nat'l titles | Years |
---|---|---|
Howard | 1 | 1971 [lower-alpha 1] • 1974 |
Maryland-Eastern Shore | 3 | 2008 • 2011 • 2012 [32] |
The MEAC, along with the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), are the only two Division I conferences whose members are mostly Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In 2015, the MEAC joined the SWAC and Ivy leagues in abstaining from sending their conference champions to the FCS Playoffs. While the conference champion faces off in the Celebration Bowl against the SWAC Champion, the remaining conference members remain eligible for at-large bids for the playoffs.
This is a partial list of the last 10 champions. For the full history, see List of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football champions.
Year | MEAC Team | SWAC Team | Attendance | Series | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | North Carolina A&T Aggies | 41 | Alcorn State Braves | 34 | 35,528 | MEAC 1–0 |
2016 | North Carolina Central Eagles | 9 | Grambling State Tigers | 10 | 31,096 | Tied 1–1 |
2017 | North Carolina A&T Aggies | 21 | Grambling State Tigers | 14 | 25,873 | MEAC 2–1 |
2018 | North Carolina A&T Aggies | 24 | Alcorn State Braves | 22 | 31,672 | MEAC 3–1 |
2019 | North Carolina A&T Aggies | 64 | Alcorn State Braves | 44 | 32,968 | MEAC 4–1 |
2021 | South Carolina State Bulldogs | 31 | Jackson State Tigers | 10 | 48,653 | MEAC 5–1 |
2022 | North Carolina Central Eagles | 41 | Jackson State Tigers | 34 (OT) | 49,670 | MEAC 6–1 |
2023 | Howard Bison | 26 | Florida A&M Rattlers | 30 | 41,108 | MEAC 6–2 |
On June 8, 1980, the MEAC earned the classification as a Division I conference by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 1981, the MEAC has received a qualifying bid to NCAA post season play in the sport of basketball. In three cases, MEAC schools seeded 15th (Coppin State in 1997, Hampton in 2001, Norfolk State in 2012) defeated second-seeded teams South Carolina, Iowa State and Missouri, respectively, in the NCAA tournament.
Coppin State again made history, as it qualified for the tournament as the first 20-loss team to play in the NCAA Tournament.
|
|
|
School | Championships | Championship Years |
---|---|---|
Howard | 5 | 1980,1981,1992,2023,2024 |
South Carolina State | 5 | 1989,1996,1998,2000,2003 |
Coppin State | 4 | 1990,1993,1997,2008 |
North Carolina Central | 4 | 2014,2017,2018, 2019 |
Morgan State | 3 | 1977,2009,2010 |
Norfolk State | 3 | 2012, 2021, 2022 |
Maryland-Eastern Shore | 1 | 1974 |
Delaware State | 1 | 2005 |
|
|
|
Last 10 years of champions. In 2023, the four remaining baseball programs from the MEAC joined the Northeast Conference to compete in baseball as associate members. [54]
Season | Regular season champion(s) | Tournament champion |
---|---|---|
2012 | Bethune–Cookman | Bethune–Cookman |
2013 | Delaware State | Savannah State |
2014 | Bethune–Cookman | |
2015 | Florida A&M | |
2016 | Bethune–Cookman | |
2017 | Bethune–Cookman | |
2018 | North Carolina A&T | |
2019 | Florida A&M | |
2021 | Norfolk State | |
2022 | Delaware State | Coppin State |
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for most sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly referred to as Division I-AA.
The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Participating schools are located principally in the Northeastern United States, from which the conference derives its name.
The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), and began operating the Big South–OVC Football Association in partnership with the Ohio Valley Conference in 2023. The Big South, founded in 1983, is firmly rooted in the South Atlantic region of the United States, with full member institutions located in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Associate members are located in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina.
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, whose member institutions consist entirely of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic powers, with large budgets, more elaborate and nicer facilities and a few more athletic scholarships than Divisions II and III as well as many smaller schools committed to the highest level of intercollegiate competition.
The Savannah State Tigers and Lady Tigers are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that play for Savannah State University in Savannah, Georgia.
The black college football national championship is a national championship honor that, since 1920, has been regularly bestowed upon the best football teams among historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) within the United States.
The Hampton Pirates and Lady Pirates refer to the sports teams representing Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia in intercollegiate athletics. The Pirates and Lady Pirates compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Coastal Athletic Association.
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The Florida A&M Rattlers represent Florida A&M University (FAMU) in college athletics. Florida A&M is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and participates in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). FAMU offers men's sports in baseball, basketball, football, golf, and track and field. It offers women's sports in basketball, bowling, cheerleading, cross country, softball, tennis, track and field and volleyball.
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The Florida A&M Rattlers football team represents Florida A&M University in the sport of American football. The Rattlers compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Starting with the fall 2021 season, the Rattlers will compete in the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), after a long tenure in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They play their home games at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee. The Rattlers have won 16 black college football national championship, 29 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) titles, eight MEAC titles, one SWAC title and one I-AA national title in the history of their football program. During the 2004 season, the Rattlers briefly attempted to move up to Division I-A and become the only HBCU at college football's highest level, but the team was forced to abort its bid.
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The North Carolina A&T Aggies are the athletic teams that represent North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. The Aggies compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) in all sports with the exception of football and women's bowling. North Carolina A&T fields varsity teams in 13 sports, five for men and eight for women. The football team competes in Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, in the CAA's technically separate football arm of CAA Football.
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The 2016 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football season was the XXIst season for MEAC Football, as part of the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season.
The 2018 Savannah State Tigers football team represented Savannah State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They were led by third-year head coach Erik Raeburn and played their home games at Ted Wright Stadium. They finished the season 2–8, 1–6 in MEAC play to finish in last place.
The 2018 Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 15, 2018, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST. It was the first game of the 2018–19 bowl season, and the only bowl to feature FCS teams. It was the fourth edition of the Celebration Bowl and the final game of the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season for the participating teams. The Air Force Reserve resumed its role as the title sponsor after a one-year absence.
The 2021 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team represented South Carolina State University as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs, led by 20th-year head coach Oliver Pough, played their home games at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.
The 2022 Celebration Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 17, 2022, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The seventh annual Celebration Bowl, the game featured the Jackson State Tigers, champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and the North Carolina Central Eagles, champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The SWAC and MEAC are the two prominent NCAA Division I conferences of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
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