NORFOLK, Va., April 7, 2021 – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) has informed the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) that it will not meet the criteria to maintain its automatic qualifier (AQ) because the three programs, Howard, Delaware State and South Carolina State, playing this spring will not play each other as required by the NCAA/FCS.
 
The Bison and Bulldogs will not play each other this spring due to the District of Columbia’s restrictions on travel to and from the state of South Carolina. The cancellation of Howard’s contest against South Carolina State, originally scheduled for this coming Saturday, April 10, prevented the three teams from playing each other, as required to be eligible for the FCSs AQ.
 
The MEAC suspended its spring 2021 football season on Feb. 11 after six of the league’s nine programs opted out. Conference policy states that if 50% or more institutions cannot participate in any championship, the championship for that sport will be suspended.

 
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) celebrates its 50th year of intercollegiate competition with the 2020-21 academic school year. Located in Norfolk, Va., the MEAC is made up of 11 outstanding historically black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Bethune-Cookman University, Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Florida A&M University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina State University.