Norfolk State has led the way in the MEAC's cross country evolution, particularly on the men's side. The Spartan men, 15th in the USTFCCA Southeast Region poll, have won the MEAC championship nine of the last 11 years, and have finished in the top 12 at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship twice (12th in 2002 and eighth in 2005).
"I really think we set the bar, set the standard as far as what other member institution want to be,'' Norfolk State coach Kenneth Giles says. "When we came in the conference (in 1997), it really wasn't well-respected. Since then there are a lot of institutions that have done an outstanding job. I expect others to do same thing."
Maryland Eastern Shore coach Ernest Barrett agrees. He says Norfolk State's excellence in cross country has led other schools to improve their programs.
"Norfolk State has taken cross country to different level,'' he says.
Giles bristles at the notion that because his team has dominated the MEAC, the MEAC is not highly competitive.
"You have some conferences that are more competitive than others,'' he says. "Some critics say in the MEAC Norfolk State reigns supreme and the others are running for second. Do they say same thing about Arkansas in the SEC, North Carolina in the ACC or William & Mary in the Colonial? Why can't we just have a quality program? Our conference can run with anybody outside the SEC.''
Hampton has had a similar effect on the women's side as Norfolk State has had on the men's side, but in a more roundabout way.
Hampton, which joined the MEAC in 1995, won eight MEAC outdoor track championships during the previous decade. The titles were due in large part to scoring heavily in distance running events with athletes who were the nucleus of the cross country team. Other schools considered distance runners a luxury and concentrated on sprinters.
"Other schools took note of that,'' Hampton women's coach Maurice Pierce says, "and in order to compete for the title (they focused more distance events). When Hampton came into the MEAC there wasn't a lot of interest in cross country. The same schools were winning and the times weren't great. There has been a strong effort the last six to eight years to put together strong running programs. Cross country has grown tremendously, to the point where 75%-80% of the schools put big emphasis on it.''
Barrett expects six teams on the women's side to compete for the MEAC title. Norfolk State is the defending champion. Hampton, surprisingly, was last year runner-up beating out Maryland Eastern Shore which won back-to-back titles in 2007 and '08. Delaware State, South Carolina State and Florida A&M all are improved.
"In years past, one or two teams dominated,'' Barrett says. "It validates the conference when it is competitive across the board.''
Barrett acknowledges that everybody is running for second place behind Norfolk State on the men's side. But he says that doesn't necessarily lessen the quality of the competition.
"It helps the conference to have a dominant team like that. It challenges everybody to rise to that level. It helps when a school regionally or nationally ranked. It sets the bar for you to build a team to be as good. Instead of pulling each other down, we're pulling each other up.''
Three Norfolk State runners have earned All-Southeast Region honors; one of them, David Kemboi, in 2006 became the first MEAC athlete to qualify for the NCAA Championship race. Those accomplishments helped the MEAC grow in stature.
However, Giles says the clearest sign of how highly cross country in the MEAC has come to be regarded came last year when Maryland Eastern Shore being selected to host the 2009 Regional Championship.
"You don't get to host an NCAA event unless they have a lot of respect for the program and the coach,'' Giles says.
Barrett says Maryland Eastern Shore, which will host the MEAC Championship on Saturday October 30, received a number of compliments after hosting the Regional Championship and is considering hosting again next year.
"It was an honor (to host),'' Barrett says. "For an HBCU to host distance sports, it give us lot of exposure. Schools that normally wouldn't come to UMES got an opportunity to see what HBCU looks like, to see our facilities. They see we're like any other school in the country, and our program is like any other. The same thing applies as far as the conference goes.''
Giles estimates that cross country has risen from a 1 to a 7 over the past several years with the potential to rise even higher.
"A lot has to do with revenue sports (basketball and football). When they prosper, everybody prospers. It really is tough, especially in these tough economic times. It's tough for everybody. It's tough for the Big Ten, the Pac 10, the SEC - all conferences. For us to be as competitive as we are speaks well for our leaders.''
Pierce says the next step on the women's side is for teams to consistently qualify for the regional meet and score in the top 12.
"That will allow us to recruit better distance runners,'' he says.
Pierce says recruiting more junior college and international athletes is quick fix for teams to qualify for the regional meet.
"You're not going to get high school girls to run that fast right away, '' he says.
Pierce says the great distance runners generally have been international athletes, but recruiting them can be tricky.
"You have to be careful,'' he says. "You have to make sure that the time and effort (are worthwhile), that they can take you to the NCAA level.''