No Spring Football: North Carolina A&T Leaves the MEAC on a Disappointing Note
NC A&T defensive end Darryl Johnson (left) celebrates with a teammate after winning the 2018 Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl.
By: Tialena Evans
Exactly a year ago it was announced that North Carolina A&T would be ditching the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and heading over to the Big South, officially becoming a member July 1st of this year. The 2020-21 season would be the last year the Aggies would make a run for fourth consecutive conference title and a fifth consecutive consecutive appearance at the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl, trying for a four-peat championship.
The Aggies had the stage set to cap off their MEAC journey on a historic note, but in 2020 fashion that did not go as planned— go figure.
The news of the conference switch broke in early February 2020 before the COVID-19 virus made it to the states. With the progression of positive cases and the cancellation of college and professional sports nationwide, there was uncertainty how that would affect fall sports, such as football. Many sports fans hoped that the virus would be contained by the end of the year, but as the year progressed and cases continued to rise, that made the decision much more difficult for programs to decide on whether or not there would be a 2020-21 season.
When the NFL announced that there would be a football season, that gave hope to many college football fans that NCAA programs would follow in their steps. While this was the case for most FBS and some FCS conferences, there were still quite a few that opted to play in the Spring due to COVID-19 concerns— the MEAC was among that group.
Downhill From Here
For many reasons, the MEAC’s decision to forgo a Fall season definitely put a stinger in the Aggies’ football season. Opting to play in the Spring meant there would be no chance of battling one last time in the Air Force Reserve Celebration bowl. The chances of there even being a Celebration Bowl were slim to none, but the schedule change dropped those chances to a hard zero.
The bad news doesn’t stop there. The conference announced that six out of their nine schools opted out of the season, which was scheduled to start on Feb. 20. That only left N.C. A&T, Delaware State, Howard and South Carolina State, who all expressed intent to have a season that would align with CDC guidelines.
Although these schools were willing to take the necessary measures to give the fans and the players a chance to have a 2020-21 season, it just wasn’t enough to move forward.
“While it is tremendously disappointing to suspend the spring 2021 football season, it is the right decision with regard to the health and well-being of our student athletes, coaches, staff and fans“ said the MEAC Commissioner, Dennis E. Thomas. “ As I have stated since the beginning of the pandemic, health and safety will continue to be at the forefront of every decision. We support those institutions who continue to play.“
The MEAC’s decision to cancel the Spring season was the straw that broke the camel's back. N.C. A&T was shell shocked at the disappointing news.
Athletic Director Earl Hilton and head Coach Sam Washington spoke with WXII 12 News.
"We pictured this year going very differently as you can imagine," said Earl Hilton. "We hoped to travel to all of our sister schools, be on their campuses, participate across a wide range of sports, celebrate, commiserate, say goodbye, win a few championships...yeah we saw this going differently."
Head Coach Sam Washington added, "For us not to have the opportunity to finish what we started, it hurts."
Where the Aggies Go From Here
Although a disappointing end to the season that never was, the Aggies continue to push forward and gear up for their first season as a Big South competitor. Head coach Sam Washington discussed with WXII 12 News their next move as a team:
“Get back into the weight room, get bigger, stronger, faster—we have a new strength and conditioning coach, I think this also will allow us the time to get to know him on a personal level.”
Both the athletic director and head coach say they are staying positive about playing in the Big South Conference this upcoming fall, even after this heartbreaking setback.
"We've turned the corner," Hilton said. "I can see some daylight. It's gonna be wonderful."
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