Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
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The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is a collegiate athletic conferenceheadquartered in the Towne Center inVirginia Beach, Virginia which consists of historically black colleges in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I-AA for football and its Division I for all other sports. The Current Commissioner of The MEAC is Dennis E. Thomas, Ed.D. Thomas is The MEAC's Thrid full-time Commissioner.
History
In 1969, a group of innovators long associated with intercollegiate athletics met in Durham, NC to discuss the feasibility of organizing a new conference based along the Atlantic coastline. A number of representatives from different institutions joined the steering committee in a two-day discussion about the new conference. Seven of these institutions agreed to become the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Delaware State College, Howard University, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina State University. The MEAC headquarters remained in Durham, N.C. until 1981, moving to Greensboro March 26, 1982. In August 2005, the MEAC relocated to its current location in Virginia Beach, Va. The league was confirmed in 1970, kicking off its first season of competition in Football in 1971. In 1978, the MEAC selected its first full-time commissioner, Kenneth A. Free and the following year, expanded to nine schools with the admissions of two Florida schools: Bethune-Cookman College and Florida A&M University. The MEAC operated with nine schools until 1985 when Coppin State College was admitted. The final expansion occurred in the 90’s with the inclusion of Hampton University in 1995 and Norfolk State University in 1997. On June 8,1980, the MEAC was classified Division One by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the following month, received an automatic berth in the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship.
Sports Highlights
The MEAC has enjoyed great success over the years in athletics. Currently, the league has automatic qualifying bids for NCAA postseason play in baseball (since 1994), men’s basketball (since 1981), women’s basketball (since 1982) , I-AA football (since 1996), softball (since 1995), men and women’s tennis (since 1998), and volleyball (since 1994). In Basketball, the MEAC has two of only four teams to defeat a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament as a No. 15. seed. Coppin State, the No. 15 seed defeated No. 2 South Carolina in 1997 and No.15 seed Hampton, defeated No. 2 seed Iowa State in 2001. Both games were recognized by ESPN SportsCenter as two of the Top 10 upsets in NCAA Tournament history. MEAC Football has produced many NFL and professional football greats, including nine pro football Hall of Famers: Marion Motley (1968); Roosevelt Brown (1975); Len Ford (1976); David “Deacon” Jones (1980); Willie Lanier (1986); Art Shell (1989); Larry Little (1993); Leroy Kelly (1994); and Elvin Bethea (2003). Currently there are 20 former MEAC football players on NFL rosters. Florida A&M became the first MEAC school to win a match in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament, with a win over Winthrop in the first round of the 2003 Tournament. In 2004 the Lady Rattlers became the first HBCU ranked in the Top 25 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll. Bethune-Cookman earned the league’s first-ever At-Large bid into the NCAA Softball Tournament in 2005. The Lady Wildcats went on to defeat Florida, Central Florida (UCF) and South Florida to win the Florida Regional in Gainesville, the first time any MEAC school has one a NCAA Regional. B-CC ended its remarkable 2005 season with the leagues’ first-ever rankings in the final softball polls, reaching No. 18 in the NFCA/USA Today Coaches poll and No. 23 in the USA Softball/ESPN.com Poll.
MEAC Commissioners
Dr. Dennis E. Thomas (2002 - present) Brenda H. McCoy^^ (1996 & 2002) Charles S. Harris (1996 - 2002) Kenneth A. Free^ (1978 - 1996) Dr. James Young ^^^ (1975 - 1978) Earl Mason ^^^ (1974 - 1975) Dr. Leroy Walker ^^^ (1971 - 1974)
- First official MEAC Commissioner ^
- Interim Commissioner ^^
- Part-Time Commissioner ^^^
MEAC Sponsored Sports
Men’s Sports: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, & Tennis
Women’s Sports: Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Softball, Tennis, & Volleyball
Former members (and years of Conference Tenure)
North Carolina Central University.............. 1970-1979 (Currently In The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (Division II))
Member Institutions
There are 12 member institutions:
Conference facilities
| School | Football stadium | Stadium capacity | Basketball arena | Arena capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethune-Cookman | Municipal Stadium | 10,000 | Moore Gymnasium | 3,000 |
| Coppin State | Non-Football School | N/A | Coppin Center | 1,720 |
| Delaware State | Alumni Stadium | 6,828 | Memorial Hall | 3,000 |
| Florida A&M | Bragg Memorial Stadium | 25,500 | Jake Gaither Gymnasium | 3,365 |
| Hampton | Armstrong Stadium | 17,000 | Hampton Convocation Center | 7,200 |
| Howard | William H. Greene Stadium | 10,000 | Burr Gymnasium | 2,700 |
| UMES | Non-Football School | N/A | Hytche Athletic Center | 5,500 |
| Morgan State | Hughes Stadium | 10,000 | Hill Field House | 4,250 |
| Norfolk State | Dick Price Stadium | 30,000 | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall | 7,000 |
| North Carolina A&T | Aggie Stadium | 22,000 | Corbett Sports Center | 5,700 |
| South Carolina State | Oliver C. Dawson Stadium | 22,000 | SHM Memorial Center | 3,200 |
| Winston-Salem State | Bowman-Gray Stadium | 18,000 | LJVMC Annex | 4,000 |
External link
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