Mid - Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid - Eastern Athletic Conference ( MEAC ) is a collegiate athletics conference of historically black colleges and universities ( HBCUs ) in the Southeastern United States . It participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ' s Division I , and in football , in the Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) . Currently , the MEAC has automatic qualifying bids for NCAA postseason play in baseball ( since 1994 ) , men ’ s basketball ( since 1981 ) , women ’ s basketball ( since 1982 ) , football ( since 1996 ) , softball ( since 1995 ) , men and women ’ s tennis ( since 1998 ) , and volleyball ( since 1994 ) . Bowling 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 . History . In 1969 , a group , whose members were long associated with interscholastic athletics , met in Durham , North Carolina with the purpose of discussing the organization of a new conference . After 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 . 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 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 to date , 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 the conference ’ s commissioner . 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 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 , 1980 , the MEAC was classified as a Division I conference by the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( 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 the MEAC again changed as Florida A & M chose to leave . The university would return to the conference two years later . Coppin State College , now Coppin State University , joined the conference in 1985 . The MEAC would find 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 10 years , the MEAC would remain 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 - 2010 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 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 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 member of the MEAC Conference , making the Tigers eligible to participate in all conference championships and earn the conference ' s automatic berth to NCAA postseason competition in all sponsored sports . Member schools . Current members . Membership in the MEAC has fluctuated through the years , but now stands at thirteen schools . Membership timeline . Sports . The MEAC sponsors championship competition in seven men ' s and eight women ' s NCAA sanctioned sports : Championships . Men ' s basketball . On June 8 , 1980 , the MEAC earned the classification as a Division I conference by the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) . Since 1981 , the MEAC has received an qualifying bid to for 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 in the NCAA tournament . In 2008 , Coppin State again made history by being the first 20 - loss team to play in the NCAA Tournament . Softball . Bethune - Cookman won the Florida Regional in 2005 , the first NCAA Regional Final ever won by a MEAC school , and ended that season ranked # 18 in a national poll .