NC A&T leaves MEAC for the Big South
By Kina Johnson
EAST GREENSBORO
North Carolina A&T State University receives mixed opinions from students and fans, due to the change from the MEAC to the Big South Conference.
Whether you’re a student, graduate, or just a fan, we all know how important our athletic department is to us, and the long history behind it. For 50 years, NCAT has been a part of the MEAC conference, winning 3 championships back-to-back-to-back at the celebration bowl.
According to the North State Journal, many years ago during the Civil Rights movement, NCAT joined several other HBCU’s to create the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. This created a division for HBCUs to allow young African-American athletes to thrive.
According to NC A&T student, Ryan Elliot, this move is a great opportunity for our sports program.
“It’s a great way for our school to expand the athletic department and it’s great exposure for our school.” said Elliot.
The move to the Big South conference was announced on Friday by A&T’s chancellor, Harold L. Martin. According to North State Journal, times have changed and in order to keep up with the change, NCAT officials have decided to take a step into the future and depart from the league that has so much history with the university.
According to NC A&T alumnus, Christopher Jackson, the move from MEAC to the Big South was a great idea.
“The Big South is not where we are going to stop. It’s just a stepping stone to where we need to be. A&T has always been the front runner pioneer of doing things.” said Jackson.
NCAT isn’t the first HBCU to leave the league. Hampton University announced in 2017 that they had plans to leave the MEAC. H.U officially left the league behind in 2018. According to The Undefeated, the president of H.U, William Harvey stated that leaving the MEAC is a risk, but not a gamble.
According to NC A&T student Mikayla Tims, this change is not a good idea.
“The MEAC was something that A&T helped to create, so we shouldn’t switch.” said Tims.
There are a lot of mixed views when it comes to this change. We can only assume that this decision will serve NC A&T well.
“The only downfall I see is the end of some of the biggest rivalry game’s between us and other HBCUs.” said Elliot.
Kina Johnson 