# 2016 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football season

The 2016 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football season was the XXIst season for MEAC Football, as part of the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season.

## Previous season

21st ranked North Carolina A&T, along with #25 Bethune-Cookman and non-ranked North Carolina Central were named MEAC Co-Champions. Due to the MEAC's tiebreaker system, North Carolina A&T earned the conference's invitation to the inaugural Celebration Bowl. The Aggies defeated Southwestern Athletic Conference Champion, Alcorn State 41-34 and earning their fourth HBCU national championship.

## Head coaches

* Terry Sims, Bethune-Cookman – 2nd year
* Kenneth Carter, Delaware State– 2nd year
* Alex Wood, Florida A&M – 2nd year
* Connell Maynor, Hampton – 3rd year
* Gary Harrell, Howard – 5th year
* Frederick Farrier, Morgan State – 2nd year
* Latrell Scott, Norfolk State – 2nd year
* Rod Broadway, North Carolina A&T – 6th year
* Jerry Mack, North Carolina Central – 3rd year
* Erik Raeburn, Savannah State – 1st year
* Oliver Pough, South Carolina State – 15th year

## Rankings

Legend :
* Increase in ranking
* Decrease in ranking
* Not ranked previous week
| | | Pre |
| Bethune-Cookman | Coaches | RV |
| Bethune-Cookman | BOXTOROW | 2 |
| Bethune-Cookman | SBN | 3 |
| Delaware State | Coaches | NR |
| Delaware State | BOXTOROW | NR |
| Delaware State | SBN | NR |
| Florida A&M | Coaches | NR |
| Florida A&M | BOXTOROW | NR |
| Florida A&M | SBN | NR |
| Hampton | Coaches | NR |
| Hampton | BOXTOROW | 10 |
| Hampton | SBN | NR |
| Howard | Coaches | NR |
| Howard | BOXTOROW | NR |
| Howard | SBN | NR |
| Morgan State | Coaches | NR |
| Morgan State | BOXTOROW | RV |
| Morgan State | SBN | NR |
| Norfolk State | Coaches | NR |
| Norfolk State | BOXTOROW | RV |
| Norfolk State | SBN | NR |
| North Carolina A&T | Coaches | 25 |
| North Carolina A&T | BOXTOROW | 1 |
| North Carolina A&T | SBN | 1 (29) |
| North Carolina Central | Coaches | RV |
| North Carolina Central | BOXTOROW | 4 |
| North Carolina Central | SBN | 6 |
| Savannah State | Coaches | NR |
| Savannah State | BOXTOROW | NR |
| Savannah State | SBN | NR |
| South Carolina State | Coaches | RV |
| South Carolina State | BOXTOROW | 7 |
| South Carolina State | SBN | 8 |
* Index to colors and formatting
* MEAC member won
* MEAC member lost
* MEAC teams in bold
All times Eastern time.
Rankings reflect that of the STATS FCS poll for that week.

### Week one

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 7:00 PM | Delaware State | Delaware | Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE (Route 1 Rivalry) | | 7-42 | 17,835 |
| September 3 | 12:00 PM | Howard | Maryland | Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD | BTN | 13-52 | 35,474 |
| September 3 | 2:00 PM | Morgan State | Holy Cross | Hughes Stadium • Baltimore, MD | | 24-51 | 4,203 |
| September 3 | 6:00 PM | Elizabeth City | Norfolk State | William "Dick" Price Stadium • Norfolk, VA | | 12-20 | 11,780 |
| September 3 | 6:00 PM | St. Augustine's | North Carolina A&T | Aggie Stadium • Greensboro, NC | LTV | 0-62 | 11,381 |
| September 3 | 6:00 PM | Florida A&M | Miami (FL) | Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL | ESPN3 | 3-70 | 60,700 |
| September 3 | 6:00 PM | Savannah State | Georgia Southern | Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA | ESPN3 | 0-54 | 21,250 |
| September 3 | 6:00 PM | North Carolina Central | Duke | Wallace Wade Stadium • Durham, NC | | 6-49 | 35,049 |
| September 3 | 6:00 PM | Hampton | Old Dominion | Foreman Field • Norfolk, VA | | 21-54 | 20,118 |
| September 3 | 6:00 PM | South Carolina State | UCF | Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, FL | | 0-38 | 36,260 |
| September 4 | 1:00 PM | Alcorn State | Bethune-Cookman | Municipal Stadium • Daytona Beach, FL (MEAC/SWAC Challenge) | | No Contest | - |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | Special teams |
| Tarik Cohen | North Carolina A&T | Jeremy Taylor | North Carolina A&T | Akevious Williams | Bethune-Cookman | Cody Jones | North Carolina A&T |

### Week two

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 10 | 12:00 PM | Howard | Rutgers | High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ | BTN | 14-52 | 45,245 |
| September 10 | 7:00 PM | Monmouth | Delaware State | Alumni Stadium • Dover, DE | | 34-20 | 2,454 |
| September 10 | 2:00 PM | Morgan State | Holy Cross | Hughes Stadium • Baltimore, MD | | 24-51 | 4,203 |
| September 10 | 6:00 PM | Savannah State | Southern Miss | M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS | | 0-56 | 29,509 |
| September 3 | 6:00 PM | Elizabeth City | Norfolk State | William "Dick" Price Stadium • Norfolk, VA | | 12-20 | 11,780 |
| September 3 | 6:00 PM | St. Augustine's | North Carolina A&T | Aggie Stadium • Greensboro, NC | LTV | 0-62 | 11,381 |
| September 3 | 6:00 PM | Florida A&M | Miami (FL) | Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL | ESPN3 | 3-70 | 60,700 |
| September 3 | 6:00 PM | North Carolina Central | Duke | Wallace Wade Stadium • Durham, NC | | 6-49 | 35,049 |
| September 3 | 6:00 PM | Hampton | Old Dominion | Foreman Field • Norfolk, VA | | 21-54 | 20,118 |
| September 3 | 6:00 PM | South Carolina State | UCF | Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, FL | | 0-38 | 36,260 |
| September 4 | 1:00 PM | Alcorn State | Bethune-Cookman | Municipal Stadium • Daytona Beach, FL (MEAC/SWAC Challenge) | | No Contest---> | - |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |

### Postseason

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. Any other team from the MEAC is able to participate in the playoff if they earn an at-large bid.

#### Bowl games

| Date | Game | Site | Television | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
| Dec. 19 | Celebration Bowl | Georgia Dome Atlanta Georgia | ABC | North Carolina Central Grambling State | MEAC SWAC | 9-10 |

#### FCS Playoffs

| Date | Game | Site | Television | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
| Oct. 26 | First Round | E. Claiborne Robins Stadium Richmond, VA | ESPN3 | North Carolina A&T Richmond | MEAC CAA | 10-39 |

## Records against other conferences
### MEAC vs. FCS conferences

| Conference | Record |
| Big South | 0–0 |
| CAA | 0–1 |
| OVC | 0–0 |
| Patriot | 0–1 |
| SoCon | 0–0 |
| SWAC | 0–0 |
| Total | 0–2 |

### MEAC vs. FBS conferences

| Conference | Record |
| ACC | 0–0 |
| American | 0–1 |
| Big Ten | 0-1 |
| Conference USA | 0–0 |
| MAC | 0–0 |
| MWC | 0–0 |
| Sun Belt | 0–0 |
| Total | 0–2 |

## Attendance

| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 6 | % of Capacity |
| Bethune-Cookman | Municipal Stadium | 10,000 | | | | | 0% |
| Delaware State | Alumni Stadium | 7,000 | | | | | 0% |
| Florida A&M | Bragg Memorial Stadium | 25,500 | | | | | 0% |
| Hampton | Armstrong Stadium | 17,000 | | | | | 0% |
| Howard | William H. Greene Stadium | 10,000 | | | | | 0% |
| Morgan State | Hughes Stadium | 10,000 | | | | | 0% |
| Norfolk State | William "Dick" Price Stadium | 30,000 | 11,780 | | | | 39% |
| North Carolina A&T | Aggie Stadium | 21,500 | 11,381 | 14,467 | 13,005 | | 60% |
| North Carolina Central | O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium | 10,000 | | | | | 0% |
| Savannah State | Ted Wright Stadium | 8,000 | | | | | 0% |
| South Carolina State | Oliver C. Dawson Stadium | 22,000 | | | | — | 0% |