Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
(MEAC)
Established 1970
Association NCAA
Division Division I FCS
Members 13
Sports fielded 16 (men's: 8; women's: 8)
Region South Atlantic, Middle Atlantic
Headquarters Norfolk, Virginia
Commissioner Dennis E. Thomas (since 2002)
Website www.meacsports.com
Locations

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 Division I, and in football, in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

Currently, the MEAC has automatic qualifying bids for NCAA postseason play in baseball (since 1994), men’s basketball (since 1981), women’s basketball (since 1982), football (since 1996), softball (since 1995), men 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

In 1969, a group, whose members were long associated with interscholastic athletics, met in Durham, North Carolina with 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.[1] 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. The MEAC has had to date, three full-time commissioners.[1] 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.

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, 1980, the MEAC was classified as a Division I conference by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (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 would return to the conference two years later. Coppin State College, now Coppin State University, joined the conference in 1985. The MEAC would find 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 10 years, the MEAC would remain 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 2009-2010 and apply to return to the CIAA before ever becoming a full member of the MEAC.[2]

North Carolina Central University rejoined the conference effective July 1, 2010.[3][4] 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.[3]

Savannah State University was announced as the newest member of the MEAC on March 10, 2010.[4] 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.[4] On September 8, 2011, the university was confirmed as a full MEAC member.[5]

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.[6] Augusta became the MEAC's first associate member and first non-HBCU with any type of membership.

Member schools

Current members

Institution Location Founded Joined Type Enrollment Nickname Colors
North Division
Coppin State University Baltimore, Maryland 1900 1985 Public 3,400[7] Eagles          
Delaware State University Dover, Delaware 1891 1970 Public 3,400[8] Hornets          
Hampton University Hampton, Virginia 1868 1995 Private 4,500[9] Pirates/Lady Pirates          
Howard University Washington, D.C. 1867 1970 Private 10,000[10] Bison/Lady Bison               
University of Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne, Maryland 1886 1970,
1981[Notes 1]
Public 3,400[11] Hawks          
Morgan State University Baltimore, Maryland 1867 1970,
1984[Notes 2]
Public 4,500[12] Bears          
Norfolk State University Norfolk, Virginia 1935 1997 Public 4,500[13] Spartans          
South Division
Bethune-Cookman University Daytona Beach, Florida 1904 1979 Private 3,400[14] Wildcats          
Florida A&M University Tallahassee, Florida 1887 1979,
1986[Notes 3]
Public 10,000[15] Rattlers/Lady Rattlers          
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Greensboro, North Carolina 1891 1970 Public 10,000[16] Aggies          
North Carolina Central University Durham, North Carolina 1910 1970,
2010[17][Notes 4]
Public 10,000[18] Eagles          
Savannah State University Savannah, Georgia 1890 2010[19] Public 3,400[20] Tigers/Lady Tigers          
South Carolina State University Orangeburg, South Carolina 1896 1970 Public 4,500[21] Bulldogs/Lady Bulldogs          

Former members

Institution Location  Founded  Joined Left Type Enrollment  Nickname  New Conference Current Conference
Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem, North Carolina 1892 2007 2010 Public 6,000 Rams CIAA
(NCAA Division II)

Membership timeline

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Full members Full members (non-football) Associate members Other Conference Other Conference

Facilities

School Football stadium  Capacity  Basketball arena  Capacity  Baseball stadium  Capacity 
Bethune Cookman Municipal Stadium 10,000 Moore Gymnasium 3,000 Jackie Robinson Ballpark 4,200
Coppin State Non-football school[Notes 5] Physical Education Complex 4,100 Joe Cannon Stadium 1,500
Delaware State Alumni Stadium 7,000 Memorial Hall 3,000 Soldier Field N/A
Florida A&M Bragg Memorial Stadium 25,500 Alfred Lawson, Jr. Multipurpose Center Teaching Gym 9,639 Moore–Kittles Field 500
Hampton Armstrong Stadium 17,000 Hampton Convocation Center 7,200 Non-baseball school
Howard William H. Greene Stadium 10,000 Burr Gymnasium 2,700 Non-baseball school
Maryland Eastern Shore Non-football school[Notes 6][26] Hytche Athletic Center 5,500 Hawks Stadium 1,000
Morgan State Hughes Stadium 10,000 Talmadge L. Hill Field House 4,250 Non-baseball school
Norfolk State William "Dick" Price Stadium 30,000  Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall  7,000 Marty L. Miller Field 1,500
North Carolina A&T Aggie Stadium 22,000 Corbett Sports Center 5,700 War Memorial Stadium 7,500
North Carolina Central O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium 10,000 McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium 3,056 Durham Athletic Park 5,000
Savannah State Ted Wright Stadium 8,000 Tiger Arena 6,000 Tiger Field 5,000
South Carolina State  Oliver C. Dawson Stadium  22,000 SHM Memorial Center 3,200 Non-baseball school

Sports

The MEAC sponsors championship competition in seven men's and eight women's NCAA sanctioned sports:[27]

Teams in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference competition
SportMen'sWomen's
Baseball9-
Basketball1313
Bowling-11
Cross Country1313
Football11-
Golf6-
Softball-13
Tennis1013
Track and Field (Indoor)1313
Track and Field (Outdoor)1313
Volleyball-13

Championships

NCAA champions

School NCAA
titles
Years
Howard 1 1971 [Notes 7] • 1974
FAMU 1 1978 [28]
North Carolina A&T 1 2015 [29]
Maryland-Eastern Shore 3 2008 • 2011 • 2012 [30]

Current champions

Sport School
Baseball TBD
Basketball (W) North Carolina A&T
Basketball (M) Hampton
Bowling Maryland, Eastern Shore (UMES)

North Carolina A&T

Cross Country (W) Florida A&M (FAMU)
Cross Country (M) Maryland, Eastern Shore (UMES)

Sport School
Football Bethune-Cookman
North Carolina A&T
North Carolina Central
Golf TBD
Indoor Track & Field (W) Hampton
Indoor Track & Field (M) Bethune-Cookman
Outdoor Track & Field (W) TBD
Outdoor Track & Field (M) TBD

Sport School
Softball TBD
Tennis (W) TBD
Tennis (M) TBD
Volleyball Howard

Football

The MEAC is one of two Division I conferences comprising HBCUs, the other being the SWAC. Until 2015, the MEAC sent its champion and occasional at-large schools to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Starting in 2015, the MEAC will give up its automatic postseason bid and will play an annual championship game against the SWAC champion in the Celebration Bowl in the Georgia Dome.

 Season  Champion(s)
1971 Morgan State
1972 North Carolina Central
1973 North Carolina Central
1974 South Carolina State
1975 South Carolina State
1976 South Carolina State
1977 South Carolina State
1978 South Carolina State
1979 Morgan State
1980 South Carolina State
1981 South Carolina State
1982 South Carolina State
1983 South Carolina State
1984 Bethune-Cookman
1985 Delaware State
1986 North Carolina A&T
1987 Delaware State
1988 Bethune-Cookman
Delaware State
Florida A&M
1989 Delaware State
1990 Florida A&M
1991 Delaware State
North Carolina A&T
1992 North Carolina A&T
1993 Howard
1994 South Carolina State
1995 Florida A&M
1996 Florida A&M
1997 Hampton
1998 Florida A&M
Hampton
1999 North Carolina A&T
2000 Florida A&M
2001 Florida A&M
2002 Bethune-Cookman
2003 North Carolina A&T
2004 Hampton
South Carolina State
2005 Hampton
2006 Hampton
2007 Delaware State
2008 South Carolina State
2009 South Carolina State
2010 Bethune-Cookman[Notes 8]
South Carolina State
Florida A&M
2011 Norfolk State
2012 Bethune-Cookman
2013 Bethune-Cookman
South Carolina State
2014 Bethune-Cookman
Morgan State[Notes 9]
North Carolina A&T
North Carolina Central
South Carolina State
2015 North Carolina A&T
Bethune-Cookman
North Carolina Central

Men's basketball

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 in the NCAA tournament. In 2008, Coppin State again made history by being the first 20-loss team to play in the NCAA Tournament.

 Season   Regular season champion(s)  Tournament champion
1972 North Carolina A&T  North Carolina A&T 
1973 Maryland Eastern Shore North Carolina A&T
1974 Maryland Eastern Shore Maryland Eastern Shore
1975 North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T
1976 North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T
1977 South Carolina State Morgan State
1978 North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T
1979 North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T
1980 Howard Howard
1981 North Carolina A&T Howard
1982 North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T
1983 Howard North Carolina A&T
1984 North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T
1985 North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T
1986 North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T
1987 Howard North Carolina A&T
1988 North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T
1989 South Carolina State South Carolina State
1990 Coppin State Coppin State
1991 Coppin State Florida A&M
1992 Howard Howard
1993 Coppin State Coppin State
1994 Coppin State North Carolina A&T
1995 Coppin State North Carolina A&T
1996 Coppin State
South Carolina State
South Carolina State
1997 Coppin State Coppin State
1998 Coppin State South Carolina State
1999 South Carolina State
Coppin State
Florida A&M
2000 South Carolina State South Carolina State
2001 Hampton Hampton
2002 Hampton Hampton
2003 South Carolina State South Carolina State
2004 South Carolina State
Coppin State
Florida A&M
2005 Delaware State Delaware State
2006 Delaware State Hampton
2007 Delaware State Florida A&M
2008 Morgan State Coppin State
2009 Morgan State Morgan State
2010 Morgan State Morgan State
2011 Bethune-Cookman Hampton
2012 Savannah State Norfolk State
2013 Norfolk State North Carolina A&T
2014 North Carolina Central North Carolina Central
2015 North Carolina Central Hampton
2016 Hampton Hampton

Tournament Performance by school

School Championships Championship Years
North Carolina A&T
16
1972 • 1973 • 1975 • 1976 • 1978 • 1979 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1994 • 1995 • 2013
Hampton
6
2001 • 2002 • 2006 • 2011 • 2015 · 2016
South Carolina State
5
1989 • 1996 • 1998 • 2000 • 2003
Coppin State
4
1990 • 1993 • 1997 • 2008
Florida A&M
4
1991 • 1994 • 2004 • 2007
Howard
3
1980 • 1981 • 1992
Morgan State
3
1977 • 2009 • 2010
Maryland-Eastern Shore
1
1974
Delaware State
1
2005
Norfolk State
1
2012
North Carolina Central
1
2014

Women's basketball

 Season   Regular season champion(s)  Tournament champion
1978 South Carolina State
1979 South Carolina State
1980
1981
1982 Howard
1983 South Carolina State
1984 South Carolina State Bethune-Cookman
1985 South Carolina State Howard
1986 South Carolina State South Carolina State
1987 Howard Howard
1988 North Carolina A&T Howard
1989 North Carolina A&T Howard
1990 North Carolina A&T Howard
1991 South Carolina State Coppin State
1992 South Carolina State South Carolina State
1993 South Carolina State
Coppin State
Florida A&M
South Carolina State
1994 South Carolina State  North Carolina A&T 
1995 Florida A&M Florida A&M
1996 Florida A&M Howard
1997 Howard Howard
1998 Howard Howard
1999 Hampton Florida A&M
2000 Howard Hampton
2001 Howard Howard
2002 Howard Norfolk State
2003 Hampton Hampton
2004 Delaware State
Hampton
Hampton
2005 Coppin State Coppin State
2006 Coppin State Coppin State
2007 Coppin State Delaware State
2008 North Carolina A&T Coppin State
2009 North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T
2010 North Carolina A&T Hampton University
2011 Hampton Hampton
2012 Hampton Hampton
2013 Hampton Hampton
2014 Hampton Hampton
2015 Hampton Savannah State
2016 Bethune Cookman
North Carolina A&T
North Carolina A&T

Softball

Bethune-Cookman won the Florida Regional in 2005, the first NCAA Regional Final ever won by a MEAC school, and ended that season ranked #18 in a national poll.[31]

 Season  Champion(s)
1993 Florida A&M
1994 Florida A&M
1995 Florida A&M
1996 Hampton
1997 Florida A&M
1998 Florida A&M
1999 Florida A&M
2000 Bethune-Cookman
2001 Bethune-Cookman
2002 Bethune-Cookman
2003 Bethune-Cookman
2004 Bethune-Cookman
2005 Florida A&M
2006 Florida A&M
2007 Howard
2008 Delaware State
2009 Florida A&M
2010 Bethune-Cookman
2011 Bethune-Cookman
2012 Bethune-Cookman
2013 Hampton
2014 Florida A&M
2015 Florida A&M

Baseball

 Season   Regular season champion(s)  Tournament champion
1972 Howard
1973 South Carolina State
1974 North Carolina A&T
1975 Howard
1976 Howard
1977 Howard
1978 No Records Available
1979 No Records Available
1980 No Records Available
1981 No Records Available
1982 No Records Available
1983 No Records Available
1984 Howard
1985 Bethune-Cookman
1986 Howard
1987 Florida A&M
1988 Florida A&M
1989 Delaware State
1990 Florida A&M
1991 Florida A&M
1992 Florida A&M
1993 North Carolina A&T
1994 Florida A&M
1995 Coppin State
1996 Bethune-Cookman
1997 Bethune-Cookman
1998 Howard
1999 Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman
2000 Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman
2001 Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman
2002 Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman
2003 Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman
2004 Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman
2005 North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T
2006 Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman
2007 Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman
2008 Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman
2009 Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman
2010 Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman
2011 Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman
2012 Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman
2013 Delaware State Savannah State
2014 Bethune Cookman
2015 Florida A&M
African American topics
Category · Portal

See also

Notes

  1. Maryland-Eastern Shore wasn't part of the MEAC between the 1979-80 and the 1980-81 seasons.
  2. Morgan State wasn't part of the MEAC between the 1979-80 and the 1983-84 seasons.
  3. Florida A&M wasn't part of the MEAC between the 1984-85 and the 1985-86 seasons.
  4. North Carolina Central wasn't part of the MEAC between the 1979-80 and the 2009-10 seasons.
  5. 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.
  6. Maryland Eastern Shore has a club football team that competes in the Mid Atlantic Conference of the National Club Football Association.The team does have an on campus field but does not have seating.
  7. Howard was later disqualified from their 1971 NCAA soccer championship, however, no team was ever announced as the new champion.
  8. Bethune-Cookman receives NCAA Division I FCS Playoff Automatic Qualifying bid via MEAC Conference tiebreaker system.
  9. Morgan State receives NCAA Division I FCS Playoff Automatic Qualifying bid via MEAC Conference tiebreaker system.

        References

        1. 1 2 "MEAC". MEACSports.com.
        2. "WSSU Decides To Stay In Division II Athletics". D2Football.com. digtriad.com. 2009-09-11. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
        3. 1 2 "North Carolina Central University joins Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference". Onnidan.com. 2009-09-10. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
        4. 1 2 3 "Savannah State University Joins Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference". Onnidan.com. 2010-03-10. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
        5. "N.C. Central and Savannah State Become Full Members". MEACSports.com. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
        6. "Men's Golf Joins MEAC As Associate Member" (Press release). GRU Augusta Athletics. September 10, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
        7. "Coppin State University | Best College | US News". Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        8. "Delaware State University | Best College | US News". Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        9. "Hampton University | Best College | US News". Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        10. "Howard University | Best College | US News". Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        11. "University of Maryland-Eastern Shore | UMES | Best College | US News". Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        12. "Morgan State University - Fall 2014 Student Demographics" (PDF). Morgan State University. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
        13. "Norfolk State University Admissions: SAT Scores, Financial Aid & More". Collegeapps.about.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        14. "Bethune-Cookman University | Bethune Cookman University | Best College | US News". Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        15. "Florida A&M University | FAMU | Best College | US News". Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        16. "North Carolina A&T State University | North Carolina A&T | Best College | US News". Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        17. WRAL. "North Carolina Central officially joins MEAC". WRALSportsFan.com.
        18. "North Carolina Central University | North Carolina Central | Best College | US News". Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        19. "Savannah State joins Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference". savannahnow.com.
        20. "Savannah State University | Savannah State | Best College | US News". Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        21. "South Carolina State University | South Carolina State | Best College | US News". Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        22. "Winston-Salem State jumps to Division I, joins MEAC". Sports.espn.go.com. 2006-07-19. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        23. Archived February 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
        24. http://www.umes.edu/football/feasibility/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Football%20Feasibility%20Study%20Executive%20Summary-Final.pdf
        25. "Onnidan News:". Onnidan.com. 2003-07-21. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        26. Conference Coordinator - Scott Hoffman. "NCFA - Conference Details". Ncfafootball.org. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        27. "The Official Site of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference". MEACsports.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        28. "FCS Championship Games Through The Years: 1978-2011". College-sports-journal.com. 1979-03-11. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        29. "National Champs". Ncataggies.com. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
        30. Archived November 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
        31. "MEAC History" (PDF). meacsports.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 2, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-17.

        External links

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