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.

2016 MEAC football season
League	NCAA Division I Football Championship
Sport	Football
Number of teams	12
Conference champions	North Carolina A&T Bethune-Cookman North Carolina Central

2016 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 22 North Carolina Central $		8	–	0					9	–	3
No. 20 North Carolina A&T ^		7	–	1					9	–	3
Hampton		5	–	3					5	–	6
South Carolina State		5	–	3					5	–	6
Bethune-Cookman		4	–	4					4	–	6
Florida A&M *		4	–	4					4	–	7
Norfolk State		3	–	5					4	–	7
Savannah State *		3	–	5					3	–	7
Morgan State *		3	–	5					3	–	8
Howard *		2	–	6					2	–	9
Delaware State		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * Florida A&M, Howard, Morgan State, and Savannah State ineligible for postseason due to APR violations Rankings from STATS Poll

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.[1]

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	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	Coaches	RV
	BOXTOROW	2
	SBN	3
Delaware State	Coaches	NR
	BOXTOROW	NR
	SBN	NR
Florida A&M	Coaches	NR
	BOXTOROW	NR
	SBN	NR
Hampton	Coaches	NR
	BOXTOROW	10
	SBN	NR
Howard	Coaches	NR
	BOXTOROW	NR
	SBN	NR
Morgan State	Coaches	NR
	BOXTOROW	RV
	SBN	NR
Norfolk State	Coaches	NR
	BOXTOROW	RV
	SBN	NR
North Carolina A&T	Coaches	25
	BOXTOROW	1
	SBN	1 (29)
North Carolina Central	Coaches	RV
	BOXTOROW	4
	SBN	6
Savannah State	Coaches	NR
	BOXTOROW	NR
	SBN	NR
South Carolina State	Coaches	RV
	BOXTOROW	7
	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	Reference
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[Notes 1]	-

Players of the Week

Offensive		Defensive		Freshman		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	Reference
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		Defensive		Freshman		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.[2] 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 4	Game 5	Game 6	Total	Average	% 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%

Notes

1. The game between Alcorn State and Bethune-Cookman was canceled due to inclement weather. The game was delayed due to lightning in the second quarter with 7:13 remaining. Alcorn was leading 13–7. Both schools' athletic directors decided not to reschedule the game, thus declaring it a "no contest".

References

1. "Aggies Win HBCU National Championship". North Carolina A&T Aggies. NC A&T Sports Information. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
2. "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.