Jafus (Thinker)
July 22nd, 2006, 11:31 PM
Posted By WSM on the onnidan site
MEAC expands to include Winston-Salem State
The addition gives the MEAC options, including, perhaps, a championship football game.
http://www.dailypress.com/sports/local/dp-79703sy0jul21...l=dp-sports-colleges (http://www.dailypress.com/sports/local/dp-79703sy0jul21,0,4679415.story?coll=dp-sports-colleges)
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
July 21, 2006
VIRGINIA BEACH -- When Chico Caldwell took over as athletic director at Winston-Salem State five years ago, one of the first questions he faced was when the school's football team would play I-40 rival North Carolina A&T. His answer, in essence, was: They're Division I, we're Division II.
"So at that time," Caldwell said, "I was planting the seed."
That seed reached its potential Thursday as Winston-Salem State was officially welcomed as the MEAC's 12th member effective the 2007-08 academic year. The Rams, who this fall will begin the second of a five-year reclassification period to D-I, will not be eligible for a conference championship in any sport until the 2010-11 season.
School officials had hoped this announcement would come earlier, but a vote scheduled for last month was postponed because not enough presidents and chancellors were present. It was the MEAC's first expansion since Norfolk State came aboard in 1997.
"This is another historical moment in our conference's growth and development," conference commissioner Dennis Thomas said. "The most important thing you want when you consider expansion is to expand with a member that brings value to the table. Not only is it about the athletic program, it's about the institution.
"This institution meets that criteria very well. It became crystal clear to us that they are a good fit geographically, a good fit academically and a good fit athletically."
The addition of Winston-Salem State, a charter member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association since 1945, will give the MEAC 10 football-playing schools. An obvious question: Might the league eventually split into divisions and play a championship football game?
"That's part of our strategic plan, and we're reviewing (that) now," Thomas said. "We - and when I say 'we,' I mean the conference - will be making some decisions about divisional play and having a championship in football."
Hampton University football coach and interim athletic director Joe Taylor predicts it will happen.
"As you continue to expand, that is the proper route to go," he said. "In fact, I don't know if you can go any other route. It's a natural progression, and I don't think it's going to be a choice."
Another question involves further expansion within the MEAC. Thomas said Savannah State, which made the jump to Division I in 2000, has applied for membership. But given the football program's sorry state - the Tigers are 3-40 over the past four seasons and were just put on NCAA probation for major recruiting violations - that figures to be a longshot.
More likely would be CIAA member North Carolina Central, whose board of trustees last fall approved a plan to begin the transition to Division I.
"You always are open to expansion, but you're open to those institutions who are compatible with our current membership," said Thomas, who confirmed Savannah's and Central's interest. "If all those things line up appropriately, as we did with Winston-Salem State, we would extend membership to somebody."
Winston-Salem State's football team will get an early introduction to the conference this fall, when seven of its 11 games will be against MEAC opponents. That includes North Carolina A&T in Greensboro on Sept. 2 - it's already being billed as "The I-40 Showdown - and at Hampton University on Oct. 28.
"I know this first year is going to be a rough road and we're going to get beat up a lot," Caldwell said. "Some of the ADs called me up and said, 'We want you to know we're going to treat you well, but on gameday we're gonna stomp you.'"
The Rams won eight CIAA football championships, including four from 1987-91 when Taylor was the head coach at Virginia Union.
"We had a tremendous rivalry," Taylor said. "Usually the championship in the '80s and early '90s came down to Winston-Salem or Virginia Union. They've had a rich tradition in terms of being competitive."
MEAC expands to include Winston-Salem State
The addition gives the MEAC options, including, perhaps, a championship football game.
http://www.dailypress.com/sports/local/dp-79703sy0jul21...l=dp-sports-colleges (http://www.dailypress.com/sports/local/dp-79703sy0jul21,0,4679415.story?coll=dp-sports-colleges)
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
July 21, 2006
VIRGINIA BEACH -- When Chico Caldwell took over as athletic director at Winston-Salem State five years ago, one of the first questions he faced was when the school's football team would play I-40 rival North Carolina A&T. His answer, in essence, was: They're Division I, we're Division II.
"So at that time," Caldwell said, "I was planting the seed."
That seed reached its potential Thursday as Winston-Salem State was officially welcomed as the MEAC's 12th member effective the 2007-08 academic year. The Rams, who this fall will begin the second of a five-year reclassification period to D-I, will not be eligible for a conference championship in any sport until the 2010-11 season.
School officials had hoped this announcement would come earlier, but a vote scheduled for last month was postponed because not enough presidents and chancellors were present. It was the MEAC's first expansion since Norfolk State came aboard in 1997.
"This is another historical moment in our conference's growth and development," conference commissioner Dennis Thomas said. "The most important thing you want when you consider expansion is to expand with a member that brings value to the table. Not only is it about the athletic program, it's about the institution.
"This institution meets that criteria very well. It became crystal clear to us that they are a good fit geographically, a good fit academically and a good fit athletically."
The addition of Winston-Salem State, a charter member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association since 1945, will give the MEAC 10 football-playing schools. An obvious question: Might the league eventually split into divisions and play a championship football game?
"That's part of our strategic plan, and we're reviewing (that) now," Thomas said. "We - and when I say 'we,' I mean the conference - will be making some decisions about divisional play and having a championship in football."
Hampton University football coach and interim athletic director Joe Taylor predicts it will happen.
"As you continue to expand, that is the proper route to go," he said. "In fact, I don't know if you can go any other route. It's a natural progression, and I don't think it's going to be a choice."
Another question involves further expansion within the MEAC. Thomas said Savannah State, which made the jump to Division I in 2000, has applied for membership. But given the football program's sorry state - the Tigers are 3-40 over the past four seasons and were just put on NCAA probation for major recruiting violations - that figures to be a longshot.
More likely would be CIAA member North Carolina Central, whose board of trustees last fall approved a plan to begin the transition to Division I.
"You always are open to expansion, but you're open to those institutions who are compatible with our current membership," said Thomas, who confirmed Savannah's and Central's interest. "If all those things line up appropriately, as we did with Winston-Salem State, we would extend membership to somebody."
Winston-Salem State's football team will get an early introduction to the conference this fall, when seven of its 11 games will be against MEAC opponents. That includes North Carolina A&T in Greensboro on Sept. 2 - it's already being billed as "The I-40 Showdown - and at Hampton University on Oct. 28.
"I know this first year is going to be a rough road and we're going to get beat up a lot," Caldwell said. "Some of the ADs called me up and said, 'We want you to know we're going to treat you well, but on gameday we're gonna stomp you.'"
The Rams won eight CIAA football championships, including four from 1987-91 when Taylor was the head coach at Virginia Union.
"We had a tremendous rivalry," Taylor said. "Usually the championship in the '80s and early '90s came down to Winston-Salem or Virginia Union. They've had a rich tradition in terms of being competitive."