2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football season

2015 MEAC football season
LeagueNCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision)
SportFootball
DurationSeptember 3, 2015 – December 19, 2015
Number of teams12
Season championsNorth Carolina A&T Aggies
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
North Carolina Central Eagles[Notes 1]
MEAC football seasons
← 2014
2016 →
2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 21 North Carolina A&T +   7 1     10 2  
Bethune–Cookman +   7 1     9 2  
North Carolina Central +   7 1     8 3  
South Carolina State   6 2     7 4  
Hampton   5 3     6 5  
Morgan State   4 4     4 6  
Norfolk State   4 4     4 7  
Savannah State *   1 7     1 9  
Delaware State   1 7     1 10  
Florida A&M *   1 7     1 10  
Howard   1 7     1 10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • Florida A&M and Savannah State ineligible for postseason due to APR violations
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football season was the XXth season for MEAC Football, as part of the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season.

Previous season

[edit]

22nd ranked Bethune-Cookman, along with North Carolina A&T, South Carolina State, North Carolina Central & Morgan State finished the season in a five-way tie for the MEAC Championship. Due to the MEAC's tiebreaker system, Morgan State earned the conference's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs marking the Bears's first time in the FCS playoffs.[1] Morgan State lost to Richmond in the first round of the playoffs, eliminating the MEAC's lone representative in the postseason.

Head coaches

[edit]

Rankings

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Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
  Pre Wk
1
Wk
2
Wk
3
Wk
4
Wk
5
Wk
6
Wk
7
Wk
8
Wk
9
Wk
10
Wk
11
Wk
12
Final
Bethune-Cookman STATS FCS RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV
Coaches RV NV NV NV NV RV RV RV RV 25 23
Sheridan 5 5 3 4 4 4 4 6
BoxtoRow 3 5 4 5 4 3 3 (1) 4 4
Delaware State STATS FCS NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV
Coaches NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV
Sheridan NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV
BoxtoRow NV RV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV
Florida A&M STATS FCS
Coaches
Sheridan
BoxtoRow
Hampton STATS FCS
Coaches
Sheridan NV 10 10 10 RV RV RV RV
BoxtoRow RV 10 8 6 9 RV RV 8 9
Howard STATS FCS
Coaches
Sheridan
BoxtoRow
Morgan State STATS FCS
Coaches
Sheridan RV RV RV RV RV RV 9 RV RV
BoxtoRow 9 RV RV RV RV 9 9 RV RV
Norfolk State STATS FCS
Coaches
Sheridan NV NV RV RV 10 7 RV RV
BoxtoRow NV RV RV NV RV T-10 RV RV RV
North Carolina A&T STATS FCS RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 24 20 19 19 16 22
Coaches RV NV RV RV RV RV RV 24 20 19 14
Sheridan 2 (7) 2 (10) 2 (11) 2 (10) 2 (10) 2 (10) 2 (10) 1 (19) 3
BoxtoRow 2 (3) 1 (5) T-2 (3) 2 2 (11) 2 (11) 2 (2) 1 (18) 1 (20) 1 1 1 5
North Carolina Central STATS FCS
Coaches
Sheridan 9 7 8 8 8 10 7 8
BoxtoRow 7 4 (1) 7 10 8 T-10 10 9 8
Savannah State STATS FCS NV NV NV NV NV NV
Coaches NV NV NV NV NV NV
Sheridan NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV
BoxtoRow RV RV RV NV NV RV NV NV NV
South Carolina State STATS FCS
Coaches
Sheridan 4 3 9 9 9 9 RV 9
BoxtoRow 4 2 (5) 5 3 3 5 6 6 6

Regular season

[edit]
Index to colors and formatting
MEAC member won
MEAC member lost
MEAC teams in bold

All times Eastern time.

Rankings reflect that of the Sports Network poll for that week.

Week One

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Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Reference
September 5 6:00 pm Bethune-Cookman Miami (FL) Sun Life StadiumMiami Gardens, FL ESPN3 0-45 43,467 [2]
September 5 7:00 pm Delaware State Liberty Williams StadiumLynchburg, VA LFSN 13–32 18,803 [2]
September 5 7:00 pm Florida A&M South Florida Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL ESPN3 3–51 30,434 [2]
September 5 6:00 pm Kentucky State Hampton Armstrong StadiumHampton, VA 20-35 6,354 [2]
September 5 3:30 pm Howard Appalachian State Kidd Brewer StadiumBoone, NC ESPN3 0-49 24,314 [2]
September 5 3:30 pm Morgan State Air Force Falcon StadiumColorado Springs, CO RTRM 7-63 33,734 [2]
September 5 12:00 pm Norfolk State Rutgers High Point Solutions StadiumPiscataway, NJ ESPNews 13-63 47,453 [2]
September 5 6:00 pm Shaw North Carolina A&T Aggie StadiumGreensboro, NC LTV 7-61 13,828 [3]
September 5 6:00 pm Saint Augustine's North Carolina Central O'Kelly-Riddick StadiumDurham, NC 0-72 6,111 [2]
September 5 4:00 pm Savannah State Colorado State Hughes StadiumFort Collins, CO 13-65 24,571 [2]
September 6 12:00pm South Carolina State UAPB Orlando Citrus BowlOrlando, FL
(MEAC/SWAC Challenge)
ESPN 35-7 7,257 [2]

Players of the week:

Offensive Defensive Rookie Special teams
Twarn Mixson Hampton Javon Hargrave SC State Nigel Macauley NCCU John Fleck
Caleb Gabriel
Howard
NC A&T

Week Two

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Reference
September 12 1:00pm Howard Boston College Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA ESPN3 0-76 26,132 [2]
September 12 2:00pm Florida A&M Samford Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL ESPN3 21-58 4,714 [2]
September 12 5:00pm Bethune-Cookman Grambling State Eddie Robinson StadiumGrambling, LA 56-53 12,019 [4]
September 12 6:00pm Delaware State Kent State Dix StadiumKent, OH ESPN3 13–45 15,091 [2]
September 12 6:00pm #22 Richmond Hampton Armstrong StadiumHampton, VA 31-28 3,515 [2]
September 12 6:00pm North Carolina A&T North Carolina Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC ESPN3 14-53 44,000 [2]
September 12 6:00pm North Carolina Central Duke Wallace Wade Stadium • Durham, NC ESPN3 0-55 33,941 [2]
September 12 6:00pm #3 Coastal Carolina South Carolina State Oliver C. Dawson StadiumOrangeburg, SC 41-14 12,023 [2]
September 12 6:30pm Morgan State Illinois State Hancock StadiumNormal, IL ESPN2 14-67 13,391 [2]
September 12 7:00pm Norfolk State Old Dominion Foreman FieldNorfolk, VA ASN 10-24 20,118 [2]

Players of the week:

Offensive Defensive Rookie Special teams
Jawill Davis Bethune-Cookman Terrick Colston Delaware State Devin Bowers Florida A&M Hadji Gaylord Norfolk State

Week Three

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Reference
September 19 12:00pm Savannah State Akron InfoCision Stadium–Summa FieldAkron, OH ESPN3 9-52 16,763 [2]
September 17 7:30pm Florida A&M South Carolina State Oliver C. Dawson StadiumOrangeburg, SC ESPN3 0-36 14,987 [2]
September 18 7:30pm Howard Hampton RFK StadiumWashington, D.C.
(Nation's Football Classic/Battle of the "Real" HU)
ESPNU 19-37 16,342 [2]
September 19 2:00pm Chowan Delaware State Alumni StadiumDover, DE 31-30 1,995 [5]
September 19 6:00pm Norfolk State Marshall Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV ASN 7–45 24,114 [2]
September 19 6:00pm Lane Bethune-Cookamn Municipal StadiumDaytona Beach, FL 3-7 5,026 [2]
September 19 6:00pm North Carolina A&T Elon Rhodes StadiumElon, NC 14-7 9,729 [2]
September 19 6:00pm North Carolina Central FIU FIU StadiumMiami, FL 14-39 16,567 [2]

Players of the week:

Offensive Defensive Rookie Special teams
David Watford Hampton Darius Leonard South Carolina State Caleb York South Carolina State Juwuan Tolbert Savannah State

Week Four

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Reference
September 26 4:00pm Howard Morgan State MetLife StadiumEast Rutherford, NJ
(New York Urban League Classic)
ESPN3 13-21 65,500 [2]
September 26 4:00pm Savannah State Bethune-Cookman Municipal StadiumDaytona Beach, FL ESPNU 12-42 5,975 [2]
September 26 4:00pm Hampton Norfolk State William "Dick" Price StadiumNorfolk, VA
(Battle of the Bay)
14-24 6,549 [2]
September 26 6:00pm Tennessee State Florida A&M Bragg Memorial StadiumTallahassee, FL 30-14 18,020 [2]

Players of the week:

Offensive Defensive Rookie Special teams
Quentin Williams Bethune-Cookman Deon King
Craig Johnson
Norfolk State
Howard
Donnell Pleasant Howard Jonathan Cagle Bethune-Cookman

Week Five

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Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Reference
October 3 12:00pm North Carolina A&T Hampton Armstrong StadiumHampton, VA 45-31 2,139 [6]
October 3 1:00pm Norfolk State Howard William H. Greene StadiumWashington, D.C. 15-12 6,088 [2]
October 3 2:00pm Morgan State Delaware State Alumni StadiumDover, DE 26-6 1,528 [2]
October 3 4:00pm Bethune-Cookman North Carolina Central O'Kelly-Riddick StadiumDurham, NC 28-26 2,024 [2]
October 3 7:00pm South Carolina State Furman Paladin StadiumGreenville, SC 3-17 1,022 [2]
October 3 7:00pm Florida A&M Savannah State Ted Wright StadiumSavannah, GA 27-37 4,679 [2]

Players of the week:

Offensive Defensive Rookie Special teams
Tarik Cohen North Carolina A&T C.J. Moore North Carolina Central Dorrell McClain North Carolina Central Khris Gardin North Carolina A&T

Week Six

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Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Reference
October 10 2:00pm Delaware State Hampton Armstrong StadiumHampton, VA 7-21 7,010 [2]
October 10 2:00pm North Carolina A&T Norfolk State Dick Price StadiumNorfolk, VA 27-3 6,194 [2]
October 10 4:00pm Savannah State Morgan State Hughes StadiumBaltimore, MD 3-42 2,479 [2]
October 10 5:00pm North Carolina Central Florida A&M Bragg Memorial StadiumTallahassee, FL 27-24 9,263 [2]

Players of the week:

Offensive Defensive Rookie Special teams
Tarik Cohen North Carolina A&T Robert Way Bethune-Cookamn Oral Varcciann
Julius Reynolds
Hampton
North Carolina A&T
Peterson Janvier Morgan State

Week Seven

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Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Reference
October 17 1:00pm Hampton Morgan State Hughes StadiumBaltimore, MD 20-10 7,749 [2]
October 17 1:00pm Bethune-Cookman North Carolina A&T Aggie Stadium StadiumGreensboro, NC 14-24 12,471 [2]
October 17 2:00pm North Carolina Central Savannah State Ted Wright StadiumSavannah, GA 39-22 5,649 [2]
October 17 2:00pm Howard South Carolina State Oliver C. Dawson StadiumOrangeburg, SC 10-49 16,033 [2]
October 17 3:00pm Delaware State Florida A&M Bragg Memorial StadiumFallahassee, FL 13-41 22,678 [2]

Players of the week:

Offensive Defensive Rookie Special teams
Carson Royal Florida A&M John Boston
Chris Pauling
Florida A&M
SC State
Darien Williams Hampton Lynard Jamison SC State

Week Eight

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Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Reference
October 24 1:00pm Howard #24 North Carolina A&T Aggie Stadium StadiumGreensboro, NC LTV 14-65 21,500 [2]
October 24 2:00pm Delaware State South Carolina State Oliver C. Dawson StadiumOrangeburg, SC 7-34 5,388 [2]
October 24 2:00pm Morgan State North Carolina Central O'Kelly–Riddick StadiumDurham, NC 17-20 4,336 [2]
October 24 3:30pm Hampton William & Mary Zable StadiumWilliamsburg, VA 7-40 11,736 [2]
October 24 4:00pm Norfolk State Bethune-Cookman Municipal StadiumDaytona Beach, FL 49-59 9,875 [2]

Players of the week:

Offensive Defensive Rookie Special teams
Quentin Williams Bethune-Cookman Javon Hargrave South Carolina State Dorrell McClain NC Central Tevin Richard South Carolina State

Week Nine

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Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Reference
October 31 1:00pm Savannah State Howard William H. Greene StadiumWashington, D.C. 9-55 1,056 [2]
October 31 1:30pm Hampton South Carolina State Oliver C. Dawson StadiumOrangeburg, SC 20-34 19,821 [2]
October 31 2:00pm Norfolk State North Carolina Central O'Kelly–Riddick StadiumDurham, NC 16-24 11,965 [2]
October 31 2:00pm Bethune-Cookman Delaware State Alumni StadiumDover, DE 49-21 1,283 [2]
October 31 5:00pm #20 North Carolina A&T Florida A&M Bragg Memorial StadiumTallahassee, FL 28-10 10,279 [2]

Players of the week:

Offensive Defensive Rookie Special teams
Kalen Johnson Howard Deon King Norfolk State Kalen Johnson Howard Antonio Hamilton SC State

Week Ten

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Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Reference
November 7 1:00pm Howard Stony Brook Kenneth P. LaValle StadiumStony Brook, NY 9-14 5,109 [2]
October 31 1:00pm Florida A&M Hampton Armstrong StadiumHampton, VA 0-33 2,211 [2]
October 31 1:30pm #19 North Carolina A&T South Carolina State Oliver C. Dawson StadiumOrangeburg, SC
(Rivalry Game)
9-6 15,283 [2]
October 31 2:00pm Delaware State North Carolina Central O'Kelly–Riddick StadiumDurham, NC 10-43 3,051 [2]
October 31 2:00pm Savannah State Norfolk State Dick Price StadiumNorfolk, VA 17-20 10,744 [2]
October 31 4:00pm Morgan State Bethune-Cookman Municipal StadiumDaytona Beach 14-38 7,461 [2]

Players of the week:

Offensive Defensive Rookie Special teams
Quentin Williams Bethune-Cookman Darius Spruill North Carolina Central Dorrell McClain North Carolina Central Cameron Marouf Norfolk State

Week Eleven

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Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Reference
November 14 1:00pm North Carolina Central Howard William H. Greene StadiumWashington, D.C. 41-6 3,702 [2]
November 14 1:00pm Florida A&M Morgan State Hughes StadiumBaltimore, MD 7-21 1,167 [2]
November 14 1:00pm South Carolina State Norfolk State Oliver C. Dawson StadiumOrangeburg, SC 17-10 4,959 [2]
November 14 1:00pm Delaware State #19 North Carolina A&T Aggie StadiumGreensboro, NC ESPN3 6-27 8,732 [2]
November 14 5:00pm Hampton Savannah State Ted Wright StadiumSavannah, GA 42-3 2,940 [2]

Players of the week:

Offensive Defensive Rookie Special teams
David Watford Hampton Deon King Norfolk State Kylil Carter North Carolina A&T Nigel Macauley North Carolina Central

Week Twelve

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Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Reference
November 21 1:00pm Norfolk State Morgan State Hughes StadiumBaltimore, MD 10-17 1,007 [2]
November 21 1:00pm North Carolina Central #16 North Carolina A&T Aggie StadiumGreensboro, NC
(Rivalry Game)
LTV 21-16 18,409 [2]
November 21 1:00pm South Carolina State Savannah State Ted Wright StadiumSavannah, GA 59-29 4,959 [2]
November 21 2:00pm Howard Delaware State Alumni StadiumDover, DE 32-31 1,983 [2]
November 21 2:30pm Florida A&M Bethune-Cookman Orlando Citrus BowlOrlando, FL
(Florida Classic)
ESPN Classic
ESPN3
35-14 45,728 [2]

Players of the week:

Offensive Defensive Rookie Special teams
Dorrell McClain North Carolina Central Theo Livingston North Carolina Central Kobie Lain Delaware State Brycen Alleyne Delaware State

Postseason

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Since 1996, the MEAC earned an automatic bid into the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. As of the 2015 season, the conference champion will abstain from participating in the playoffs and compete against the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in the newly created Celebration Bowl.[7] Any other team from the MEAC is able to participate in the playoff if they earn an at-large bid.

Bowl Games

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Date Game Site Television Teams Affiliations Results
Dec. 19 Celebration Bowl Georgia Dome
Atlanta Georgia
ABC #22 North Carolina A&T
Alcorn State
MEAC
SWAC
41-34

Post Season Awards

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2015 Postseason Honors
  • Offensive Player of the Year— Tarik Cohen, North Carolina A&T
  • Defensive Player of the Year— Javon Hargrave, South Carolina State
  • Offensive Lineman of the YearBrandon Parker, North Carolina A&T
  • Rookie of the Year— Dorrel McClain, North Carolina Central
  • Coach of the Year— Terry Sims, Bethune-Cookman
Source: [1].

As the MEAC regular season came to an end, the conference post season awards were announced. North Carolina A&T running back Tarik Cohen and South Carolina State's Javon Hargrave were named Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the year, both of which received the top honors the previous season. Rounding out the postseason player selections were North Carolina Central's Dorrel McClain, who earned Rookie of the Year, and North Carolina A&T's Brandon Parker, was selected as the Offensive Lineman of the Year.[8]

First-year head coach Terry Sims of Bethune-Cookman was selected as the MEAC Coach of the Year. Sims led the Wildcats to a share of the conference title, including a 9–2 overall finish and 7–1 mark in conference play. Highlights of the Wildcat's season include a victory over rival Florida A&M in their final game of the season which secured their stake in the conference title and entering the STATS FCS Top 25 poll in the final ranking of the season (25th) and reaching the FCS Coaches Poll with a 21st spot.[8]

All Conference Teams

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The following players were named to the MEAC All Conference Teams:[9]

^ indicates that there was a tie in the voting

Records against other conferences

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MEAC vs. FCS conferences

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Conference Record
Big South 0–2
CAA 1–4
MVC 0–1
OVC 0–1
Patriot 0–0
SoCon 0–2
SWAC 3–0
Total 4–10

MEAC vs. FBS conferences

[edit]
Conference Record
ACC 0–4
American 0–1
Big Ten 0–1
Conference USA 2-4
MAC 0–2
MWC 0–2
Sun Belt 0–1
Total 2–15

Attendance

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Team Stadium Capacity Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Total Average % of Capacity
Bethune-Cookman Municipal Stadium 10,000 5,026 5,975 7,462 9,875 7,461 35,799 7,160 72%
Delaware State Alumni Stadium 7,000 1,995 1,528 5,388 1,283 1,983 12,177 2,435 35%
Florida A&M Bragg Memorial Stadium 25,500 18,020 9,263 22,678 10,279 60,240 15,060 59%
Hampton Armstrong Stadium 17,000 6,354 3,515 2,139 7,010 2,211 21,229 4,246 25%
Howard William H. Greene Stadium 10,000 6,088 1,056 3,072 10,216 3,405 61%
Morgan State Hughes Stadium 10,000 3,763 2,479 7,749 1,167 1,007 16,165 3,233 32%
Norfolk State William "Dick" Price Stadium 30,000 6,549 6,194 10,744 4,959 28,446 7,112 24%
North Carolina A&T Aggie Stadium 21,500 13,828 12,471 21,500 9,732 18,409 59,380 11,876 55%
North Carolina Central O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium 10,000 6,111 2,024 4,336 4,965 3,051 20,487 4,097 41%
Savannah State Ted Wright Stadium 8,000 4,679 5,649 2,940 2,900 16,168 4,042 51%
South Carolina State Oliver C. Dawson Stadium 22,000 12,023 14,987 16,033 19,821 15,283 78,147 15,629 71%

Notes

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  1. ^ North Carolina A&T, Bethune-Cookman & North Carolina Central each finished the season tied for first place. As a result of the MEAC tiebreaker, North Carolina A&T was invited to the 2015 Celebration Bowl

References

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  1. ^ "Five-Way Tie for MEAC Football Title; Morgan State Earns AQ". meacsports.com. Mid-eastern athletic conference. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br "Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Schedule - 2015". ESPN. ESPN. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  3. ^ "2015 NC A&T Aggies Football Schedule". ncataggies.com. NC A&T Sports Information. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  4. ^ "Bethune Cookman vs Grambling State Game Summary". B–CUAthletics.com. September 12, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  5. ^ "NCAAF College Football Scores-MEAC". ESPN. ESPN. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  6. ^ "North Carolina A&T fends off Hampton in 45-31 win". ESPN. ESPN. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  7. ^ "MEAC & SWAC to Play in Newly Created Celebration Bowl". meacsports.com. MEAC Media Relations. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  8. ^ a b "- MEACsports.com - The Official Site of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference". MEACSports.com. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Archived from the original on 25 December 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  9. ^ "www.meacsports.com/pdf9/4195708.pdf" (PDF). Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Retrieved December 25, 2015.