Game Notes


NORFOLK, Va., Aug. 25, 2021 – North Carolina Central University will carry the banner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) this weekend, as the Eagles battle the Alcorn State University Braves in the 16^th annual Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff in Atlanta, Ga. on Saturday.
 
The ESPN-televised contest, slated for 7 p.m. at Center Parc Stadium, will mark the opening of the college football season for both the MEAC and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The MEAC will be looking to extend its dominance in the inter-conference matchup, currently holding a 10-4 record against SWAC teams in the game.
 
For NCCU, it has been 644 days since its last football game back in 2019, when the Eagles went 4-8 overall and 3-5 in the conference. Following the postponement of the 2020 fall season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the cancellation of the MEAC’s spring season, NCCU opted to not compete in the spring.
 
Alcorn State, like NCCU, has not played a football game since the 2019 season. That season, the Braves went 9-4 overall and 6-1 in the SWAC, culminating with a loss to the MEAC in the Celebration Bowl.
 
Saturday’s game will mark both teams’ second appearance in the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge. NCCU fell to Prairie View A&M in its previous appearance in the contest, losing 40-24 back in 2018. Alcorn State faced Bethune-Cookman in 2016, a contest that was suspended in the second quarter due to weather conditions.
 
The 2021 season gets underway in earnest next week, as the remaining five MEAC football-playing institutions will open their respective seasons.