NORFOLK, Va., Sept. 7, 2023 – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) has named Yoro Sidibe from Norfolk State University as the 2023 Male Student-Athlete of the Year, the conference office has announced.
 
Sidibe is the first Norfolk State student-athlete to earn the honor.
 
“Congratulations to Yoro Sidibe for being named the 2023 Male Student-Athlete of the Year,” MEAC Commissioner Sonja Stills said. “He has had a remarkable career for Norfolk State as part of a championship-caliber basketball program, and he demonstrated a consistent track record of excellence not just in the realm of competition, but also in the classroom and in the community.”
 
Sidibe was a four-year letterwinner for the Norfolk State men’s basketball program, part of a team that had a combined record of 79-41 (41-15 MEAC) during his time. Sidibe and the Spartans won the MEAC regular-season titles in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and tournament crowns in 2021 and 2022, making two trips to the NCAA Tournament.
 
In 2021’s tournament, the Spartans defeated Appalachian State in the First Four, giving the program its second win in the annual tournament.
 
A 2023 graduate of Norfolk State with a degree in accounting, Sidibe made the Dean’s List five times and he was a MEAC Commissioner’s All-Academic honoree in 2023. He won the NCAA Accelerating Academic Success Program (AASP) Career Development Award in 2022, and in 2023, he earned the NCAA Ethnic Minority Scholarship.
 
In addition, Sidibe has earned merit-based scholarships to pursue postgraduate education at such institutions as TCU, Wake Forest, and William & Mary.
 
While matriculating at Norfolk State, Sidibe also interned at the athletic department’s business office. He provided guidance and support to incoming international students, assisting them in adjusting to their new environment.
 
In the community, Sidibe volunteered to read books at local elementary schools, and he also served as an assistant coach for the Norfolk Titans youth team. He also gave back to his native Senegal, founding a non-profit organization to promote sports, leadership, and entrepreneurship in Africa.
 
In June 2022, he hosted a basketball camp in Senegal.
 
 
MEAC Male Student-Athlete of the Year Honorees
2012 -- Jared Baldwin, North Carolina A&T State (Track & Field)
2013 -- Joseph Hutchinson, North Carolina Central (Football)
2014 -- Nesly Marcellon, Bethune-Cookman (Football)
2015 -- Ishaq Pitt, Maryland Eastern Shore (Basketball)
2016 -- Reginald Johnson, Jr., Hampton (Basketball)
2017 -- Khalil Rmidi Kinini, Maryland Eastern Shore (Cross Country, Track & Field)
2018 -- Isaiah Chambers, Maryland Eastern Shore (Baseball)
2019 -- Julius Reynolds, North Carolina A&T State (Football)
2020 -- Ian McBorrough, Morgan State (Football)
2021 -- Troy Baxter, Jr., Morgan State (Basketball)
2022 – Kobe-Jordan Rhooms, Morgan State (Track & Field)
2023 – Yoro Sidibe, Norfolk State (Basketball)

 
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is in its 53^rd year of intercollegiate competition with the 2023-24 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. For more information about the MEAC, visit www.MEACSports.com.