10 Schools•Division I•Est. 1970
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference began with a 1969 meeting in Durham, North Carolina, where administrators from seven historically Black institutions weighed building their own league. Delaware State, Howard, Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State, North Carolina A&T State, North Carolina Central and South Carolina State signed on. The conference was confirmed in 1970, football play began in 1971, and the NCAA classified the league Division I on June 8, 1980. The office sits in Norfolk, Virginia.
Football reaches the widest audience. The MEAC helped build the Gold Bowl, the Heritage Bowl and the Celebration Bowl, which debuted in December 2015 in Atlanta and matches the league champion against the SWAC champion for the Black College National Championship. North Carolina A&T State won the inaugural game over Alcorn State, South Carolina State beat Jackson State 31 to 10 in 2021, and North Carolina Central won 41 to 34 in overtime a year later.
March belongs to the upsets. Three times a 15 seed wearing MEAC colors has toppled a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament: Coppin State over South Carolina in 1997, Hampton over Iowa State in 2001, Norfolk State over Missouri in 2012. Maryland Eastern Shore became the first HBCU invited to the NIT, arriving in 1974 at 27 and 1.
Rivalries carry their own weight. Howard and Hampton, founded a year apart and both claiming the initials HU, have met since 1908 in the Battle of the Real HU. Norfolk State and Hampton, separated by the water they are named for, have played the Battle of the Bay since 1938.
Official Website
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference began with a 1969 meeting in Durham, North Carolina, where administrators from seven historically Black institutions weighed building their own league. Delaware State, Howard, Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State, North Carolina A&T State, North Carolina Central and South Carolina State signed on. The conference was confirmed in 1970, football play began in 1971, and the NCAA classified the league Division I on June 8, 1980. The office sits in Norfolk, Virginia.
Football reaches the widest audience. The MEAC helped build the Gold Bowl, the Heritage Bowl and the Celebration Bowl, which debuted in December 2015 in Atlanta and matches the league champion against the SWAC champion for the Black College National Championship. North Carolina A&T State won the inaugural game over Alcorn State, South Carolina State beat Jackson State 31 to 10 in 2021, and North Carolina Central won 41 to 34 in overtime a year later.
March belongs to the upsets. Three times a 15 seed wearing MEAC colors has toppled a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament: Coppin State over South Carolina in 1997, Hampton over Iowa State in 2001, Norfolk State over Missouri in 2012. Maryland Eastern Shore became the first HBCU invited to the NIT, arriving in 1974 at 27 and 1.
Rivalries carry their own weight. Howard and Hampton, founded a year apart and both claiming the initials HU, have met since 1908 in the Battle of the Real HU. Norfolk State and Hampton, separated by the water they are named for, have played the Battle of the Bay since 1938.
Official Website