NORFOLK, Va., Nov. 12, 2021 – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) will air its third and final episode of MEAC Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Coca-Cola for the season on Saturday, Nov. 20 from the campus of Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va.
The show will air live on ESPN+ at 12 p.m. in advance of the Spartans’ regular-season finale against South Carolina State – a game that could determine who will represent the MEAC in the Cricket Celebration Bowl (Saturday, Dec. 18, Atlanta, Ga., Mercedes-Benz Stadium, 12 p.m. live on ABC).
In addition, Saturday’s game between the Bulldogs and Spartans has been selected to be aired live on ESPN3 with a 2 p.m. kickoff, then rebroadcast on ESPNU Sunday at 7:30 a.m.
MEAC Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Coca-Cola is broadcast from the campuses of MEAC institutions prior to the featured game of the week. The hour-long format will feature information on the history of the participating institutions, current events, updates from around the conference and news and analysis about the day’s featured game.
Veteran broadcaster and MEAC Hall of Famer Charlie Neal will team up with former Howard University women’s tennis student-athlete and current sportscaster Nicole Hutchison to host Countdown to Kickoff.
Called “The Voice of HBCU Sports,” Neal has been calling HBCU sporting events for more than 50 years. He served as the lead play-by-play announcer for Black Entertainment Television (BET) from 1980 to 2000. He joined the ESPN team in 2005 and still calls athletics contests for that network today.
Hutchison is one of the rising stars in sports broadcasting. She served as sports reporter and anchor at KALB-TV in Alexandria, La. from 2019-21 and she hosted the YouTube show Hutch in the Clutch, a show featuring updates and injury reports on HBCU sports along with phone interviews with NFL and NBA athletes. She is now a sports anchor and reporter for Fox 56 in Lexington, Ky.
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is in its 51st year of intercollegiate competition with the 2021-22 academic school year. Located in Norfolk, Va., the MEAC is made up of eight outstanding historically black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: 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.