Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
(MEAC)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference logo
Established 1970
Association NCAA
Division Division I FCS
Members 13
Sports fielded 15 (men's: 7; women's: 8)
Region South Atlantic
Headquarters Norfolk, Virginia
Commissioner Dennis E. Thomas (since 2002)
Website www.meacsports.com
Locations
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference locations

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is a collegiate athletics conference of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern 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.

Contents

History [edit]

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 member of the MEAC Conference, making the Tigers eligible to participate in all conference championships and earn the conference's automatic berth to NCAA postseason competition in all sponsored sports.[5]

Member schools [edit]

Current members [edit]

Membership in the MEAC has fluctuated through the years, but now stands at thirteen schools.

Institution Nickname Location Founded Type Enrollment Joined NCAA Championships
North Division
Coppin State University Eagles Baltimore, Maryland 1900 Public 3,801[6] 1985
Delaware State University Hornets Dover, Delaware 1891 Public 3,609[7] 1970
Hampton University Pirates Hampton, Virginia 1868 Private 5,402[8] 1995
Howard University Bison Washington, D.C. 1867 Private 10,573[9] 1970 2 (1971[A], 1974)
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
(UMES)		 Hawks Princess Anne, Maryland 1886 Public 4,433[10] 1970,
19812		 3 (2008, 2011, 2012)[11]
Morgan State University Bears Baltimore, Maryland 1867 Public 7,226[12] 1970
19843
Norfolk State University Spartans Norfolk, Virginia 1935 Public 6,993[13] 1997
South Division
Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats Daytona Beach, Florida 1904 Private 3,614[14] 1979
Florida A&M University Rattlers Tallahassee, Florida 1887 Public 12,274[15] 1979,
19861		 1 (1978)
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
(North Carolina A&T)		 Aggies Greensboro, North Carolina 1891 Public 10,614[16] 1970
North Carolina Central University Eagles Durham, North Carolina 1910 Public 8,587[17] 1970,
20104[18]		 1 (1989)
Savannah State University Tigers Savannah, Georgia 1890 Public 3,820[19] 2010[20]
South Carolina State University Bulldogs Orangeburg, South Carolina 1896 Public 4,538[21] 1970
Notes (see Membership timeline)
  1. Florida A&M wasn't part of the MEAC between the 1984-85 and the 1985-86 seasons.
  2. Maryland-Eastern Shore wasn't part of the MEAC between the 1979-80 and the 1980-81 seasons.
  3. Morgan State wasn't part of the MEAC between the 1979-80 and the 1983-84 seasons.
  4. North Carolina Central wasn't part of the MEAC between the 1979-80 and the 2009-10 seasons.

Former members [edit]

Institution  Nickname  Location  Founded  Type Enrollment Joined Left New Conference Current Conference
Winston-Salem State University Rams Winston-Salem, North Carolina 1892 Public 6,000 2007 2010 CIAA
(NCAA Division II)
  • 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 CIAA after the 2009-2010 school year. They were scheduled to begin full membership and gain access to NCAA tournaments in 2011.[22][23]

Membership timeline [edit]

Invalid image map generated by EasyTimeline

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

  • Maryland Eastern Shore was a founding member of the MEAC in 1970 and left after the 1978-1979 school year. In 1980, UMES dropped football, and returned to the MEAC the next year as a full member that no longer had a football program.[24]
  • Florida A&M left the MEAC completely for one season in 1985 and competed as an NCAA D1 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 in the 1986 season. FAMU football left the conference in the 2004 season during an attempt to move up to Division 1A (now FBS) with all other sports remaining in the MEAC. Financial difficulties halted the move after the 2004 season, at which time FAMU football returned to the MEAC.[25]
  • Winston-Salem State was a transitional member from 2007-2010, but never attained full MEAC membership nor full membership in Division I. The school was scheduled to gain full membership after the 2009-2010 school year, but due to financial difficulties, returned to the CIAA in Division II before then.

Facilities [edit]

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[B] 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 N/A
Hampton University Armstrong Stadium 17,000 Hampton Convocation Center 7,200 Non-baseball school
Howard University William H. Greene Stadium 10,000 Burr Gymnasium 2,700 Non-baseball school
Maryland Eastern Shore Non-football school[C] Hytche Athletic Center 5,500 Hawk Stadium N/A
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 [edit]

The MEAC sponsors championship competition in seven men's and eight women's NCAA sanctioned sports:[26]

Teams in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference competition
Sport Men's Women's
Baseball
9
-
Basketball
13
13
Bowling
-
11
Cross Country
13
13
Football
11
-
Softball
-
13
Tennis
10
13
Track and Field (Indoor)
13
13
Track and Field (Outdoor)
13
13
Volleyball
-
13

Championships [edit]

Current Champions [edit]

Sport School
Baseball Bethune-Cookman
Basketball (W) North Carolina A&T
Basketball (M) Norfolk State
Bowling Norfolk State
Cross Country (W) Hampton
Cross Country (M) Norfolk State
Sport School
Football Norfolk State
Indoor Track & Field (W) Hampton
Indoor Track & Field (M) Norfolk State
Outdoor Track & Field (W) Hampton
Outdoor Track & Field (M) Norfolk State
Sport School
Softball Bethune-Cookman
Tennis (W) South Carolina State
Tennis (M) South Carolina State
Volleyball Maryland Eastern Shore

Football [edit]

 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 State 
1987 Howard
1988 Bethune-Cookman
Delaware State
Florida A&M
1989 Delaware State
1990 Florida A&M
1991 North Carolina A&T State
1992 North Carolina A&T State
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 State
2000 Florida A&M
2001 Florida A&M
2002 Bethune-Cookman
2003 North Carolina A&T State
2004 Hampton
South Carolina State
2005 Hampton
2006 Hampton
2007 Delaware State
2008 South Carolina State
2009 South Carolina State
2010 Bethune-Cookman[D],
South Carolina State
Florida A&M
2011 Norfolk State

Men's basketball [edit]

See also: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament

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 an qualifying bid to for 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 State  North Carolina A&T State 
1973 Maryland Eastern Shore North Carolina A&T State
1974 Maryland Eastern Shore Maryland Eastern Shore
1975 North Carolina A&T State North Carolina A&T State
1976 North Carolina A&T State North Carolina A&T State
1977 South Carolina State Morgan State
1978 North Carolina A&T State North Carolina A&T State
1979 North Carolina A&T State North Carolina A&T State
1980 Howard Howard
1981 North Carolina A&T State Howard
1982 North Carolina A&T State North Carolina A&T State
1983 Howard North Carolina A&T State
1984 North Carolina A&T State North Carolina A&T State
1985 North Carolina A&T State North Carolina A&T State
1986 North Carolina A&T State North Carolina A&T State
1987 Howard North Carolina A&T State
1988 North Carolina A&T State North Carolina A&T State
1989 South Carolina State South Carolina State
1990 Coppin State Coppin State University
1991 Coppin State Florida A&M
1992 Howard Howard
1993 Coppin State Coppin State
1994 Coppin State North Carolina A&T State
1995 Coppin State North Carolina A&T State
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 State

Tournaments Performance by school [edit]

School Championships Championship Years
North Carolina A&T State
16
 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1995, 2013
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
Hampton
4
 2001, 2002, 2006, 2011
Morgan State
3
 1977, 2009, 2010
Maryland-Eastern Shore
1
 1974
Delaware State
1
 2005
Norfolk State
1
 2012

Women's basketball [edit]

 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 State Howard
1989 North Carolina A&T State Howard
1990 North Carolina A&T State 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 State 
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 State Coppin State
2009 North Carolina A&T State North Carolina A&T State
2010 North Carolina A&T State Hampton University
2011 Hampton Hampton
2012 Hampton

Softball [edit]

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.[27]

 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

Baseball [edit]

See also: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament
 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 State
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 State North Carolina A&T State
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


African American topics
Category · Portal
This box:

Notes [edit]

A.^ Howard was later disqualified from their 1971 NCAA soccer championship, however, no team was ever announced as the new champion.
B.^ 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.
C.^ Maryland Eastern Shore 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.[28]
D.^ Bethune-Cookman receives NCAA Division I FCS Playoff Automatic Qualifying bid via MEAC Conference tiebreaker system.

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b MEAC History
  2. ^ "WSSU Decides To Stay In Division II Athletics". D2Football.com. digtriad.com. 2009-09-11. Retrieved 2009-09-12. 
  3. ^ a b "North Carolina Central University joins Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference". Onnidan.com. 2009-09-10. Retrieved 2009-09-11. 
  4. ^ a b c "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. ^ http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/coppin-state-university-2068
  7. ^ http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/delaware-state-university-1428
  8. ^ http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/hampton-university-3714
  9. ^ http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/howard-university-1448
  10. ^ http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/university-of-maryland-eastern-shore-2106
  11. ^ http://www.ncaa.com/news/bowling/2011-04-16/umes-takes-home-2011-crown
  12. ^ http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/morgan-state-university-2083
  13. ^ http://collegeapps.about.com/od/collegeprofiles/p/norfolk-state-university.htm
  14. ^ http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/bethune-cookman-university-1467
  15. ^ http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/florida-a-m-university-1480
  16. ^ http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/north-carolina-a-t-state-university-2905
  17. ^ http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/north-carolina-central-university-2950
  18. ^ http://www.wralsportsfan.com/college_football/story/7893756/
  19. ^ http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/savannah-state-university-1590
  20. ^ http://savannahnow.com/sports/2010-03-11/savannah-state-joins-mid-eastern-athletic-conference
  21. ^ http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/south-carolina-state-university-3446
  22. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2524352
  23. ^ http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2010-03-09/winston-salem-ready-return-d-ii-ciaa
  24. ^ http://www.umes.edu/football/feasibility/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Football%20Feasibility%20Study%20Executive%20Summary-Final.pdf
  25. ^ http://onnidan.com/03-04/news/july/famu0721.htm
  26. ^ http://www.meacsports.com
  27. ^ "MEAC History" (PDF). meacsports.com. Retrieved 2008-03-17. [dead link]
  28. ^ http://www.ncfafootball.org/ConferenceDetail.aspx?conference=Mid-Atlantic&year=

External links [edit]

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mid-Eastern_Athletic_Conference&oldid=549328507"