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51-760: On August 29, 1976, officials of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association (CIAA) announced that their champions would meet in a postseason game called the Bicentennial Bowl , to be held at Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina , on the first Saturday of December. Plans changed that October when Black Super Conference, a Houston-based television network, offered to televise

102-577: A Division II institution with Division I programs in men's and women's golf, joined for men's golf. Augusta became the MEAC's first associate member and first non-HBCU with any type of membership. The conference has since added two more non-HBCU associate members, with Monmouth University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) joining for bowling in 2018. In April 2017, Savannah State announced that it would drop to Division II effective with

153-455: 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 three full-time commissioners. 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

204-632: A core membership of six schools that seceded from the CIAA, with the ultimate goal of competing at the highest level of the NCAA. In June 1978 the MEAC achieved reclassification from Division II to Division I and began to play in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (then known as Division I-AA) that fall. Meanwhile, the CIAA remained in Division II, and the competitive gap between

255-594: A few of West Virginia's eastern panhandle counties are considered part of the Washington metropolitan area , the major portion of the state is rural and there are no major or even large cities. Shipping and trade have been important to the Mid-Atlantic economy since the beginning of the colonial era. The explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European to see the region in 1524. Henry Hudson later extensively explored that region in 1611 and claimed it for

306-510: A result, the MEAC will have eight members remaining for 2021, with only six of its members sponsoring football. The MEAC has hired a consulting firm to help assess its current schools and to help it identify potential institutions for addition to the conference. The conference plans to operate with eight current members, starting 2021 until further expansion, in a compact geographical footprint removing North and South divisions. In May 2021, multiple websites that report on HBCU sports indicated that

357-688: A sub-region of the Northeast and only includes New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The Bureau of Labor Statistics excludes New York; the Environmental Protection Agency excludes New York and New Jersey; and the U.S. Department of Transportation - United States Maritime Administration includes North Carolina . In 2004, the United States Geological Survey within the context of Ground-Water Vulnerability to Nitrate Contamination, defined

408-521: A time, New Sweden along the Delaware River in Delaware , divided the two great bulwarks of English settlement from each other. The original English settlements in the region notably provided refuge to religious minorities, Maryland to Roman Catholics and Pennsylvania to Quakers and Anabaptist Pennsylvania Dutch . In time, all these settlements fell under English colonial control, but

459-900: Is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States . It participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I , and in football , in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Currently, the MEAC has automatic qualifying bids for NCAA postseason play in men's basketball (since 1981), women's basketball (since 1982), softball (since 1995), men's and women's tennis (since 1998), and volleyball (since 1994). Bowling

510-550: Is also home to the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. The Mid-Atlantic is home to 33 professional sports franchises in the five major leagues and the two most prominent women's professional leagues: Notable golf tournaments in the Mid-Atlantic include the Barclays , Quicken Loans National and Atlantic City LPGA Classic . Two high-level professional tennis tournaments are held in the region. The US Open , held in New York,

561-693: Is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, whereas the Washington Open is part of the ATP Tour 500 series and WTA 250 series. Notable motorsports tracks include Watkins Glen International , Dover Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway , which have hosted Formula One , IndyCar , NASCAR , World Sportscar Championship and IMSA races. Also, the Englishtown and Reading drag strips such have hosted NHRA national events. Pimlico Race Course at Baltimore and Belmont Park at New York host

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612-962: The Continental Congress , the convention of delegates who organized the American Revolution . Philadelphia also was the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the United States Constitution in 1787, while the United States Bill of Rights was drafted and ratified and the first Supreme Court of the United States sat for the first time, in the first capital under the Constitution of New York . While early settlers were mostly farmers, traders, and fishermen,

663-779: The Heritage Bowl (1991–99) and the Celebration Bowl (2015–present). The CIAA eventually joined the other HBCU Division II conference, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), in sponsoring the Pioneer Bowl (1997–2012) and the Florida Beach Bowl (2023–present). Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference ( MEAC / ˈ m iː æ k / MEE -ak )

714-561: The Middle Colonies of the 18th century when its states were among the Thirteen Colonies of pre- revolutionary British America . As of the 2020 census , the region had a population of 60,783,913, representing slightly over 18% of the nation's population. The Mid-Atlantic region played an instrumental and historic role in the nation's founding and the development of the nation. Each of the seven states were members of

765-483: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 1981, the MEAC has received a qualifying bid to 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 South Carolina, Iowa State and Missouri, respectively, in the NCAA tournament. Coppin State again made history, as it qualified for

816-674: The Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes horse races, which are part of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing . With a GDP nominal of over $ 5.2 trillion, the Mid-Atlantic economy would be third-largest in the world if calculated separately, only behind the remaining United States and China and nearly $ 1 trillion larger than next place Japan. This economic prosperity is buoyed by a significant financial services and banking sector, healthcare and chemicals industry, and telecommunications and entertainment conglomerates. According to

867-509: The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference , while the other charter members had been longtime members of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association . 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

918-844: The Thirteen Colonies that sent delegates to the Second Continental Congress , which assembled in Philadelphia and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence , and formalized the Continental Army under George Washington 's command during the American Revolutionary War . Following independence, the states again gathered in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention , in 1788, where they ratified

969-513: The United States . Its exact definition differs upon source, but the region typically includes New Jersey , Maryland , Virginia , Delaware , West Virginia , District of Columbia , and Pennsylvania . Some sources include New York , while others exclude Pennsylvania . However, according the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the states listed above are commonly accepted as the Mid-Atlantic region. The region has its origin in

1020-546: The United States Constitution , which remains the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force in the world. The Mid-Atlantic region was settled during the colonial era between the early 17th century and the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 by European Americans of primarily Dutch , German , Swedish , English , and other Western European ethnicities. Religious pluralism and freedoms existed in

1071-623: The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia ; Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh ; Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore , Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. ; and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia according to U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking . Definitions of the geographic components of the Mid-Atlantic region differ slightly among sources. Generally speaking,

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1122-731: The 2019–20 school year. In November 2017, Hampton announced they would leave the MEAC to join the Big South Conference beginning with the 2018–19 season. In February 2020 North Carolina A&T announced departing MEAC to join Big South Conference effective July 2021. Within few months, in June 2020, Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman also announced that they will leave the MEAC and join the SWAC starting in July 2021. As

1173-650: The 21st century as an annual home game for Virginia Union, held at Hovey Field , its on-campus stadium, until 2007. The classic claimed the MEAC–CIAA bowls as part of its history (except for the 1976 Bicentennial Bowl), for example, branding the 2007 game as the 31st Annual Gold Bowl Classic. The MEAC eventually joined the other HBCU conference at the Division I-AA/FCS level, the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), in sponsoring

1224-838: The Dutch, who then created a fur-trading post in Albany in 1614. Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent English colony in North America, it was established seven years earlier in 1607. From early colonial times, the Mid-Atlantic region was settled by a wider range of European people than in New England or the South. The Dutch New Netherland settlement along the Hudson River in New York City and New Jersey , and for

1275-544: The FCS Playoffs. While the conference champion faces off in the Celebration Bowl against the SWAC Champion, the remaining conference members remain eligible for at-large bids for the playoffs. This is a partial list of the last 10 champions. For the full history, see List of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football champions . On June 8, 1980, the MEAC earned the classification as a Division I conference by

1326-585: The MEAC again changed, as Florida A&M chose to leave. The university returned to the conference two years later. Coppin State College, now Coppin State University , joined the conference in 1985. The MEAC found some 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 ten years,

1377-498: The MEAC had reached out to two Division II HBCUs about their interest in transitioning to D-I and joining the MEAC. Kentucky State University and Virginia State University , respectively members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association , confirmed that they had discussed possible membership with the MEAC and had commissioned feasibility studies on moving to Division I. Officials at both schools stated that they were considering

1428-445: The MEAC remained 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 2009–10 and apply to return to the CIAA before ever becoming a full member of the MEAC. North Carolina Central University rejoined the conference effective July 1, 2010. NCCU was one of seven founding member institutions of

1479-409: The MEAC, but withdrew from the conference in 1979, opting to remain a Division II member when the conference reclassified to Division I. Savannah State University was announced as the newest member of the MEAC on March 10, 2010. 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

1530-617: The Mid-Atlantic states provided the young United States with heavy industry and served as the " melting pot " of new immigrants from Europe. Cities grew along major ports, shipping routes, and waterways, including New York City and Newark on opposite sides of the Hudson River , Philadelphia on the Delaware River, Allentown on the Lehigh River , and Baltimore on the Chesapeake Bay . Note: The Mid-Atlantic region

1581-643: The Mid-Atlantic, and 33 of the nation's top 100 counties based on per capita income are in the region. Most of the Mid-Atlantic states rank among the 15 highest-income states in the nation by both median household income and per capita income. The region is home to eight of the top 25 ranked universities in the nation: Cornell University in Ithaca, New York ; Columbia University and NYU in New York City; Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey ;

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1632-618: The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference which are played by MEAC schools: Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference which are played by MEAC schools: The MEAC, along with the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) , are the only two Division I conferences whose members are mostly Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In 2015, the MEAC joined the SWAC and Ivy leagues in abstaining from sending their conference champions to

1683-518: The United States . The nation's capital was constructed in Washington, D.C. in the late 18th century, and relocated there from Philadelphia in 1800. In the early part of the 19th century, New York and Pennsylvania overtook Virginia as the nation's two most populous states, and the Mid-Atlantic region overtook New England as the most important trading and industrial center in the nation. During this period, large numbers of German , Irish , Italian , Jewish , Polish , and other immigrants arrived in

1734-556: The conference's commissioner. He retired on December 31, 2021. Sonja O. Stills became the first female commissioner of the MEAC on January 1, 2022. She is also the only female commissioner of a Division I HBCU athletic conference. 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

1785-584: 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, 1978, the MEAC was classified as a Division I conference by the 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

1836-418: 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. South Carolina State had been a longtime member of

1887-519: The game the centerpiece of a festive weekend including a Gold Bowl parade and, as of 1978, a Friday-night basketball doubleheader featuring four HBCU teams. South Carolina State of the MEAC was recognized as Black college football national champion after winning the 1976 game, and as co-champion after winning the 1977 game. The success of the MEAC vs. the CIAA ultimately caused the Gold Bowl to be discontinued. The MEAC had been founded in 1970 with

1938-491: 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. On September 8, 2011, the university was confirmed as a full MEAC member. While the MEAC has had no new full members since then, the conference added an associate member in 2014 when Augusta University , then known as Georgia Regents University ,

1989-566: The inaugural game, but on the second Saturday of December rather than the first. Memorial Stadium was not available on that day, prompting bowl organizers to move the game to City Stadium in Richmond, Virginia . In September 1977, the two conferences announced that the game would remain in Richmond, rebranded as the Gold Bowl, and move to the first Saturday in December. Bowl organizers made

2040-529: The move, but would not commit to any change. One report also indicated that Chicago State University , a predominantly African-American school but not an HBCU, had lobbied the MEAC regarding membership. CSU was scheduled to leave the Western Athletic Conference , a league in which it is a major geographic outlier, in July 2022 to become an independent . According to this report, the MEAC had offered CSU associate membership in one sport, but

2091-401: The only postseason football contest that has matched teams from different divisions within the NCAA. The parade and other social activities developed for the Gold Bowl survived as part of the in-season Gold Bowl Classic , created in July 1981 and first contested that October, between Richmond's own Virginia Union and Virginia State from nearby Petersburg. The Gold Bowl Classic survived into

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2142-531: The original Thirteen Colonies and were particularly prevalent in Province of Pennsylvania and the geographic region that ultimately broke from Pennsylvania to form the Delaware Colony . Among the 13 colonies, the Province of Maryland was the only colony with a substantial Catholic population. Following the American Revolutionary War, the Mid-Atlantic region hosted each of the historic capitals of

2193-583: The region as including Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., and parts of New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina. West Virginia and Virginia are atypical of this region in a few ways. These states both primarily lie within the Southern American dialect region , and the major religious tradition is largely Evangelical Christian , with 30% in Virginia and 39% in West Virginia identifying as evangelicals. Although

2244-455: The region continued to be a magnet for people of diverse nationalities. The area that came to be known as the Middle Colonies served as a strategic bridge between the North and South. The New York and New Jersey campaign during the American Revolutionary War saw more battles than any other theater of the conflict. Philadelphia , midway between the northern and southern colonies, was home to

2295-579: The region is inclusive of the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, and the federal district of the District of Columbia, with some additional sources including or excluding other areas in parts of the Northeast region and the South Atlantic states , for practical reasons. The United States Census Bureau defines the Mid-Atlantic as

2346-451: The region link an almost contiguous urban region, which includes large and small cities and their respective suburbs and forms the Northeast megalopolis , one of the world's most important concentrations of finance, media, communications, education , medicine, and technology. The Mid-Atlantic is a relatively affluent region of the nation; nearly half of the nation's 100 highest-income counties based on median household income are located in

2397-588: The region's coastal cities, including Baltimore , Newark , New York City , Philadelphia, and interior cities such as Pittsburgh , and Rochester , Albany , and Buffalo , with their skyscrapers and subways, which emerged as icons of modernity and American economic and cultural power in the 20th century. In the late 19th century, the region played a vital and historic role in the development of American culture , commerce, trade, and industry sectors . Historian Frederick Jackson Turner labeled it "typically American." The Northeast Corridor and Interstate 95 in

2448-618: The tournament as the first 20-loss team to play in the NCAA Tournament. Last 10 years of champions. In 2023, the four remaining baseball programs from the MEAC joined the Northeast Conference to compete in baseball as associate members. Mid-Atlantic states The Mid-Atlantic is a region of the United States located in the overlap between the Northeastern and Southeastern states of

2499-427: The two conferences soon became apparent. MEAC teams won four of the five games, and trounced their CIAA opponents in the 1979 and 1980 Gold Bowls. In April 1981, CIAA officials announced that the game was being discontinued, and that in future years the conference's signature football event would be a neutral-site conference championship matching the first-place teams of its two divisions. The Gold Bowl remains unique as

2550-713: Was lukewarm to CSU becoming a full member because it does not sponsor football and is well outside the MEAC's geographic footprint. In July 2022, the Northeast Conference (NEC) announced a partnership with the MEAC in which MEAC schools sponsoring baseball and men's and women's golf would become NEC affiliate members in their respective sports beginning in the 2022-23 season. Full members Full members (non-football) Assoc. members (football only) Assoc. member (women's bowling) Other Conference Other Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) sponsors championship competition in six men's and eight women's NCAA-sanctioned sports. Men's varsity sports not sponsored by

2601-414: 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. In 1969, a group whose members were long associated with interscholastic athletics met in Durham, North Carolina for the purpose of discussing the organization of a new conference. After

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