Our Mission: Tell the great story of the MEAC and its member institutions to audiences everywhere.
Our Values: The MEAC's greatest asset is our ability to tell our stories to people with respect, passion, integrity, and accuracy. In a world which values the power and potential of diversity, we are the beneficiaries of the innovative pursuit of new ideas combined with a rich legacy and the innate ability to craft stories on platforms for new generations to come.
MDN Fact Sheet
The MEAC Digital Network is the first national, multimedia sports entertainment brand owned, operated and solely focusing on an NCAA Division I HBCU conference and its broadcast portfolio of multimedia sports assets.
- Based in Norfolk, Virginia, The MDN is housed in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference headquarters, a building fully owned and operated by the conference.
- MDN traces its origins to the 2018 football season, the first year in which every conference football game was produced on-campus and broadcast live on an ESPN platform. MDN is 100 percent owned by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
- The MEAC was founded in 1970 and conducted its first season of intercollegiate competition with the 1971 football season. The conference received Division I classification from the NCAA in 1980.
- Sonja Stills was named the MEAC's sixth all-time commissioner in January 2022. She is the conference's first female commissioner and the first female commissioner of an NCAA Div. I HBCU conference.
Key Programming
- Countdown to Kickoff: Debuting in 2021, Countdown to Kickoff is the MDN's flagship football show. It offers pre-game lead ins, highlights, features, and in-depth analysis from award-winning journalists on the weekly MEAC football matchups, plus a special leading up to the Cricket Celebration Bowl.
- Countdown to Tipoff (Scheduled to debut in January 2023): MDN's flagship basketball show offers pre-game lead-ins, highlights, features, and in-depth analysis from award-winning journalists on the MEAC's weekly regular-season basketball matchups, as well as postseason tournament specials. Exact schedule and number of shows to be determined.
- Countdown to Championships (Spring 2023): A special show designed to focus on the MEAC's races for the crown in each of its spring championships, including men's and women's tennis, men's and women's outdoor track & field and softball.
- MEAC NATION Podcast: A weekly podcast covering all the issues that affect your life and experiences, from the MEAC, individual campuses to the community and beyond…it's much bigger than sports. Exact debut and schedule to be determined.
Assets
MDN's Digital Network Studio went online in 2022 in the MEAC's headquarters complex on Ellsmere Avenue in Norfolk, Virginia (minutes from Norfolk International Airport). The 8,500-square foot facility, valued at over $1 million, houses a production studio and meeting rooms and produces programming for the MEAC Digital Network and its media partners, including ESPN, HBCUgo, and various other outlets.
Corporate Teamwork
The MEAC's philosophy of teamwork is based on the belief that at the heart of every team and partnership is a sense and spirit of family, whether on campus at the institutional level, or in the community with each citizen.
Teambuilding is done on a person-to-person basis, and such is the case with our corporate partnerships. They exist because of a shared commitment and a call to serve the communities in which we live and work.
Among the MEAC's corporate partners are the NFL, ESPN, Jostens, The Home Depot, GEICO, Wells Fargo, TIAA, Disney on the Yard, Army ROTC, Coca-Cola, TowneBank, Penske Truck Rental, iHeartMedia, the City of Norfolk, VisitNorfolk, ESi, Details on Granby, Cricket, Hampton Roads Transit and Nike.
MEAC DIGITAL NETWORK CREATORS
Correspondents and Storytellers
Lynn Thompson: MEAC Strategic Advisor / Executive Producer / Podcast Host
Randy Brent: Producer
Contributors
Alysse Scripter: MEAC Director of Strategic Communications
Ed Hill, Jr.: Storyteller / Writer
Alexis Davis: Storyteller / Writer
Rob Knox: Storyteller / Writer