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.
History
Locations of eight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference members
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]
↑ The UMES campus has a Princess Anne mailing address, but completely lies in unincorporated Somerset County.
↑ Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) left the MEAC after the 1978–79 season, while competing for football as an associate member during the 1979–80 season before dropping the sport altogether. UMES rejoined the MEAC effective with the 1981–82 season as a full member that no longer had a football program.[15]
↑ Morgan State left the MEAC after the 1978–79 season, while competing for football as an associate member during the 1979–80 season, before rejoining effective with the 1984–85 season.
↑ North Carolina Central left the MEAC after the 1978–79 season, while competing for football as an associate member during the 1979–80 season, before rejoining effective with the 2010–11 season.
↑ Florida A&M left the MEAC completely for two seasons from 1984 to 1985 to 1985–86 and competed as an NCAA D-I Independent after a disagreement with the MEAC office over the playing of the rivalry game between Florida A&M and Bethune–Cookman University when FAMU refused to play conference mate BCU at a neutral site in Tampa in 1983 and the game was not played again in 1984. Florida A&M returned all sports to the MEAC effective the 1986–87 school year (with football returning later on, effective the 1987–88 school year). FAMU football left the conference after the 2003 fall season (2003–04 school year) during an attempt to move up to Division I-A (now FBS) with all other sports remaining in the MEAC. Financial difficulties halted the move after the 2004 fall season (2004–05 school year), at which time FAMU football returned back to the MEAC during the 2005 fall season (2005–06 school year).[16]
↑ North Carolina A&T remains as a MEAC associate member for women's bowling.
↑ Winston–Salem State University was a transitional member and never attained full membership in the MEAC or NCAA Division I before returning to Division II and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) after the 2009–10 school year, due to financial difficulties. They were scheduled to begin full membership and gain access to NCAA tournaments in 2011.[17][18]
↑ Coppin State has a club football team that competes in the Mid Atlantic Conference of the National Club Football Association. This team does compete at an on-campus facility.
↑ Maryland Eastern Shore has a club football team that competes in the Mid Atlantic Conference of the National Club Football Association. The team has an on-campus field, but the facility has no seating.
↑ Howard was later disqualified from their 1971 NCAA soccer championship; however, no team was ever announced as the new champion.
Football
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.
↑ Norfolk State's 2011 MEAC football championship was vacated as a result of NCAA Violations.
↑ As a result of the MEAC football tierbreaker, Morgan State earned the conference's Automatic bid for the FCS Playoffs.
↑ In July 2020, the MEAC announced that it would cancel its fall sports seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic and announced the league would explore the possibility of playing in the spring. The conference later released a spring schedule, but had to suspend indefinitely, per league bi-laws, when six of the nine football playing schools had opted out of playing.
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.
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.[55]
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).
University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Princess Anne, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". It was established as Delaware Conference Academy. It has also been known as Princess Anne Academy and other names during its evolution.
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.
The Howard Bison and Lady Bison are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Howard University, located in Washington, D.C. The Bison compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s and Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for most sports. On July 16, 2015, the Athletics Department unveiled new logos, replacing the previous logo that was nearly identical to that used by the National Football League's Buffalo Bills.
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.
The North Carolina A&T Aggies football program represents North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in college football. The Aggies play in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision as a member of CAA Football, the technically separate football league operated by the Aggies' full-time home of the Coastal Athletic Association.
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.
The Celebration Bowl is a postseason college football bowl game, first played in the 2015 season, contested between the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)—the two prominent conferences of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in NCAA Division I. It serves as the de facto national championship of black college football. The game is held annually in Atlanta on the third weekend of December, and has been played at the Georgia Dome and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It is currently the only active bowl game to feature teams from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
The 2015 Celebration Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 19, 2015 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The inaugural Celebration Bowl game pitted the North Carolina A&T Aggies, co-champion of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, against the Alcorn State Braves, champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The event was the finale of the 2015 FCS football season for both conferences as their champions abstained from the NCAA Division I FCS football playoffs.
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 Morgan State Bears football team represented Morgan State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year interim head coach Ernest T. Jones. The Bears played their home games at Hughes Stadium. They were a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They finished the season 4–7, 3–4 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for sixth place.
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).
↑ "Archived copy"(PDF). www.umes.edu. Archived from the original(PDF) on May 2, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
↑ "Onnidan News". Onnidan.com. July 21, 2003. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
↑ "Greene Stadium". Howard University Athletics. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
↑ "Burr Gymnasium". Howard University Athletics. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
↑ Conference Coordinator – Scott Hoffman. "NCFA – Conference Details". Ncfafootball.org. Archived from the original on August 29, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
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