NORFOLK, Va., Nov. 11, 2022 – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced today the five members of the 2023 Hall of Fame Class. The inductees will be officially enshrined during the week of the 2023 MEAC Basketball Tournament.
“Congratulations to the five individuals who will be inducted as part of the MEAC’s 2023 Hall of Fame class,” MEAC Commissioner Sonja Stills said. “This year’s class represents the MEAC at its best in the realm of competition, in the classroom, and in shining a brighter spotlight on the conference and its member institutions. These five inductees are fine representatives of the MEAC, and I am proud to induct them.”
The MEAC Hall of Fame highlights former student-athletes, coaches, university and conference administrators, as well as special contributors, who have enriched the legacy of the conference since its inception in 1970. Enshrinees were selected by an eight-person committee made up of administrators and representatives from member institutions.
The inaugural Hall of Fame class was inducted on May 29, 1981 during a 10-year anniversary banquet in Greensboro, N.C. Since its establishment, the MEAC Hall of Fame has enshrined 168 people, including the Class of 2023.
Details regarding the induction ceremony are being finalized and will be announced at a later date.
The 2023 MEAC Hall of Fame Inductees
Jahsha Bluntt, Delaware State: A two-time MEAC Player of the Year (2006 and 2007), Bluntt was also the MEAC Basketball Tournament’s Outstanding Performer in 2005. During his career with the Hornets, Delaware State won the its lone MEAC tournament title – and corresponding NCAA Tournament berth – in 2005, while also making two NIT appearances. Bluntt led Delaware State to MEAC regular-season titles in three straight seasons: 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07, and he was a two-time First Team All-MEAC honoree. One of the MEAC’s most prolific scorers, Bluntt currently ranks third in conference history in career made 3-pointers (303) and 20th all-time in scoring (1,721 career points).
Ce’Aira Brown, Hampton: A three-time All-American at Hampton (including indoor First Team honors in the 800-meter run in 2016), Brown is one of the Pirates’ most decorated track & field athletes. She was a five-time MEAC Outstanding Runner, earning that honor three times outdoors (2014, 2015, 2016) and twice indoors (2014, 2016) – while also being named All-MEAC in cross country three times. A seven-time MEAC event champion, Brown currently holds the second-fastest times in conference history in the indoor 800 meters (2:04.72) and mile run (4:51.63), and the 2:02.82 she ran outdoors in 2016 currently stands as the MEAC’s fastest-ever time in that event. She also holds the MEAC’s 25th-fastest cross country championship time ever, with the 18:10.6 she ran in 2015. As part of the MEAC’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2020-21, Brown was named to the all-time teams for women’s cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field.
Gary “Flea” Harrell, Howard: Harrell made a significant impact on Howard University football and the MEAC as both a player and a coach. The Miami, Fla., native was a four-year letterwinner as a wide receiver and punt return specialist. He started every game for Howard’s undefeated 1993 team and was a member of the MEAC championship team and Black National championship team that same season. Harrell holds the Howard program record for most receptions in a game (13) and in a career (184). He ranks eighth in the MEAC in total receiving yards (2,639) in a career, ninth in career receptions (184 receptions), fifth in total receptions (72) in a season, tied for fourth in total touchdowns in a game (4) and tied for fifth in total receptions in a game (13). Harrell also served as head coach at his alma mater from 2011-16, and he was inducted into the Howard University Hall of Fame in November 2005. Harrell also received a proclamation from the City of Miami, declaring it Gary “Flea” Harrell Day.
Ramona-Riley-Bozier, Morgan State: Riley-Bozier came to define Morgan State volleyball, as one of the most decorated coaches in MEAC history, and she is one of the most accomplished coaches in any sport in the history of Morgan State athletics. The winningest coach at Morgan State with 481 victories, Riley-Bozier guided the Bears to nine MEAC regular-season titles, four MEAC tournament championships, three NCAA Tournament appearances and five MEAC Coach of the Year honors (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2006) during her career at her alma mater. Morgan State captured its first MEAC crown in 1992, five seasons after Riley-Bozier took over the program. That was followed by championships in 1997, 1998, and 2000. The 1997 championship team was a history-making contingent; after capturing the conference crown, Morgan State went on to defeat Grambling State in an NCAA play-in match. That victory earned the Bears the distinction of becoming the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) to earn a trip to the NCAA Division I Tournament.
Maria Rodriguez, Maryland Eastern Shore: Rodriguez won three national championships with the Hawks bowling program, including NCAA crowns in 2008 and 2011 and a United States Bowling Congress (USBC) title in 2011 (making UMES the first bowling program to win NCAA and USBC national championships in the same season). She was a four-time All-American, as named by the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA), and was named the 2011 NTCA Bowler of the Year. The three-time MEAC Bowler of the Year (2009, 2010, 2011) led the Hawks to MEAC championships in 2008 and 2011, and she was also a three-time All-MEAC selection. A member of the MEAC’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Bowling Team, Rodriguez currently competes professionally and internationally as a member of the Women’s Professional Bowling Association (WPBA) Tour.
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is in its 52nd year of intercollegiate competition with the 2022-23 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.