2026 SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 174
Commending the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 2, 2026
Agreed to by the Senate, March 5, 2026
WHEREAS, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, a collegiate athletic conference based in Norfolk that comprises eight Historically Black College and Universities along the Atlantic coastline, celebrates its 55th anniversary of intercollegiate competition in the 2025–2026 academic year; and
WHEREAS, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) was founded in 1970 by seven institutions of higher education that held a shared commitment to promoting athletic excellence, academic achievement, and cultural pride, and its first football season was held in 1971; and
WHEREAS, after initially competing at the Division II level, the MEAC was classified as a Division I conference by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on June 8, 1980; and
WHEREAS, the MEAC currently supports NCAA Division I competition in men's and women's basketball, women's bowling, men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, softball, and volleyball, and has automatic qualifying bids for NCAA postseason play in seven sports; and
WHEREAS, the membership of the MEAC has evolved over the years and today includes Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University, and South Carolina State University; and