NORFOLK, VA (MEACSports.com) – The Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference released its spring 2021 football schedule on Monday, a slate of
games which reflect unique divisional scheduling due to some members opting out
of playing in the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The conference’s spring football regular season will kick
off on Feb. 20, 2021 and will conclude on April 3. An inaugural championship
game will take place on April 17, the winner advancing to the NCAA Football
Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs a week later.

With Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M both meeting the
conference’s Nov. 16 opt-out deadline to not compete in spring football, the
field of teams playing football in the spring was narrowed to seven teams –
Delaware State, Howard, Morgan State and Norfolk State, which will comprise the
MEAC’s Northern Division, and North Carolina A&T State, North Carolina
Central and South Carolina State, which will compete in the Southern Division.

The new schedule approved by the MEAC’s athletics directors
calls for the Northern Division teams to play four conference games within the
division, including each institution playing one opponent twice. In the
Southern Division, each of the three members will play each other twice, for a
total of four games.

Teams from both divisions have open dates where they may
choose to play non-conference games.

The Northern and Southern Division teams with the best
records will square off for the MEAC championship on the campus of the team
with the best conference record on April 17.

 

Spring 2021 MEAC Football Schedule

Saturday, February 20

Delaware State at Morgan State*

NC Central at SC State*

Norfolk State at Howard*

 

Saturday, February 27

SC State at North Carolina A&T*

 

Saturday, March 6

Howard at Delaware State*

NC Central at North Carolina A&T*

Norfolk State at Morgan State*

 

Saturday, March 20

Delaware State at Norfolk State*

Morgan State at Howard*

SC State at NC Central*

 

Saturday, March 27

North Carolina A&T at SC State*

 

Saturday, April 3

Howard at Norfolk State*

Morgan State at Delaware State*

North Carolina A&T at NC Central*

 

Saturday, April 10

Delaware at Delaware State

 

Saturday, April 17

MEAC Championship

 

*denotes conference game

 

NORFOLK, VA – The Council of Presidents and Chancellors of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announces that the league will suspend all sports competition, championship and non-championship segments, for the 2020 fall season, as a result of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.  A decision is yet to be made on whether fall sports schedules will be moved to the 2021 spring semester.



The conference currently plans to proceed with winter sports competitions as scheduled, unless health and medical professionals advise otherwise. We will apprise the public on further decisions.



The Council of Presidents and Chancellors took this action out of a concern for the safety as well as the physical and mental health of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, support staff, faculty and fans. The rapid escalation of COVID-19 cases along the eastern seaboard heavily influenced the council’s decision as the data suggests that the African American and other minority communities are being disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The MEAC is committed to ensuring that the correct measures are in place to reduce exposure to the virus.



“The health and safety of our student-athletes continue to be our number one priority. We have made the decision to suspend all sports competitions after careful review of the current conditions and consideration of the potential exposure that regular travel to competitions may cause and ongoing extensive physical contact,” said Howard University President and Chair of MEAC Council of Presidents and Chancellors, Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick. “While our competitions have been suspended, each member institution will plan ongoing engagement of all student-athletes to ensure optimization of their physical and mental well-being as they continue their matriculation.”



“Obviously this is an arduous decision because everyone wants to have a fall season for student-athletes, fans and others,” said MEAC Commissioner Dr. Dennis Thomas. “Part of our responsibility is to ensure the mental and physical health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff is paramount. It is imperative that everyone recognize that is our first and foremost responsibility.”



MEAC institutions will continue the resocialization process for student-athletes which encompasses mental and physical health counseling, strength and conditioning protocol and compliance with all COVID-19 safety requirements.

NORFOLK – Seven North Carolina players were named to the 2019 Preseason All-MEAC football team on Friday at its annual football media day in Norfolk, Virginia. Howard University quarterback Caylin Newton was selected as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Delaware State University linebacker Brian Cavicante was selected as Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.








Bethune-Cookman led the way with six members of the preseason all-conference team, while defending MEAC champion North Carolina A&T, Delaware State and Howard each had four First Team honorees.



All-Conference Offense

QB Caylin Newton (Howard)

RB Isaiah Totten (North Carolina Central)

RB Dedrick Parson (Howard)

WR Jequez Ezzard (Howard)

WR Kyle Anthony (Howard)

TE Xavier Gravette (Morgan State)

C L’Dre Barnes (Bethune-Cookman)

OL Alex Taylor (South Carolina State)

OL Marcus Pettiford (North Carolina A&T)

OL Kaiden Crawford (Delaware State)

OL Dontae Keys (North Carolina A&T)



All-Conference Defense

DL Marques Ford (Bethune-Cookman)

DL Justin Cates (North Carolina A&T)

DL Darius Royster (North Carolina Central)

DL Kawuan Cox (North Carolina Central)

LB Brian Cavicante (Delaware State)

LB Marquis Hendrix (Bethune-Cookman)

LB Rico Kennedy (Morgan State)

DB Trevor Merritt (Bethune-Cookman)

DB Tydarius Peters (Bethune-Cookman)

DB Franklin McCain III (North Carolina A&T)

DB Jahad Neibauer (Delaware State)

PK Yahia Aly (Florida A&M)

P Chris Faddoul (Florida A&M)

RS Jimmie Robinson (Bethune-Cookman)



Defending MEAC conference champion North Carolina A&T was also chosen as the favorite to repeat in 2019.



MEAC Projected Order of Finish:

1. North Carolina A&T

2. Bethune Cookman

3. Florida A&M

4. North Carolina Central 

5. Howard University

6. South Carolina State

7. Norfolk State

8. Morgan State

9. Delaware State

GREENVILLE – North Carolina A&T is no stranger to tough competition. In 2013, the Aggies defeated Appalachian State during the Mountaineers' FBS transition. In 2016, Kent State was knocked off in a four-overtime thriller. Last season, Mac McCain's pick-six sealed the deal at Charlotte. Today at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, the defending HBCU national champions took down the East Carolina Pirates of the American Athletic Conference. When the final horn sounded, North Carolina A&T players, coaches, and fans were celebrating a 28-23 victory and the program's fourteenth win in a row, tops in the nation.



After the first of Jake Verity's three field goals opened the scoring, A&T's Mac McCain picked off a pass in the end zone and raced down the field for the fourth pick-six in his short fourteen-game career. Blake Proehl (Providence) and Deondre Farrier hauled in two short scores to give ECU a 17-7 lead. Answering back before the half, Lamar Raynard (High Point Andrews) found Zachary Leslie (Burns) to cut the deficit to three. Raynard later left the game with an injured hand, but that did not stop the Aggie offense as backup quarterback Kylil Carter came in and threw for two scores, including the go-ahead TD with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.



First-year NC A&T Head Coach Sam Washington was excited about the win. “I’m a proud coach, a proud parent. Those kids bust their butts. They believe start to finish. They persevere. We knew that adversity would come. I tell them all the time that it’s not about adversity, it’s about how you handle adversity. I thought they did a very fine job of it today.”



One bright spot for the Pirates was the play of first-time starter Reid Herring at quarterback. Hailing from Raleigh's Millbrook High School, the sophomore signal caller threw for over three hundred yards and two scores on Sunday afternoon.



Looking ahead to next week, North Carolina A&T (2-0) plays its first home game of the season at newly minted BB&T Stadium against Gardner-Webb (1-0) while East Carolina (0-1) hosts in-state FBS rival North Carolina (0-1).