DURHAM, N.C. — The North Carolina Central University softball team will be looking to build upon its first appearance in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship game last season when the Eagles take the diamond for a 46-game regular season schedule in the spring of 2022.
The schedule features 17 home games, three weekend tournaments, two local Triangle match-ups against 'Power Five' competition and a full league slate instead of divisional play.
The Eagles will play their first 16 games either at away or neutral sites, including opening the season with four games at the Spartan Classic hosted by USC Upstate on the weekend of Feb. 11-12. The first month of the season will also include play at tourneys hosted by Presbyterian College (Feb. 18-19) and UNCW (Feb. 25-27). In those three events NCCU will play a total of 13 games against eight different opponents.
When the calendar flips to March, NCCU will make a short trip over to Greensboro to face rival North Carolina A&T State University (March 1). It will be the first time the Eagles and Aggies will play as non-conference opponents in over a decade with N.C. A&T leaving the MEAC this past summer. NCCU will host the Aggies on March 23 to complete a home-and-away series.
The Eagles will have to wait until March 15 for their first home games at Thomas Brooks Park in Cary, but that will begin a stretch of 14 home games in 27 days. NCCU will make its home debut with a non-conference doubleheader against Western Carolina University.
Four days later NCCU begins MEAC play by hosting rival South Carolina State University in a three-game weekend series on March 19-20. The Eagles will also host league foes Delaware State University (April 2-3), Howard University (April 9-20) and Coppin State University (April 23). NCCU's conference competition will include road trips to University of Maryland Eastern Shore (March 26-27), Norfolk State University (April 15-16) and Morgan State University (April 30-May 1).
NCCU has two other in-state foes on its home schedule, including Campbell University (March 30) and East Carolina University (April 5). The Eagles will also play non-conference road games within the state at North Carolina State University (March 8), Elon University (March 9), Appalachian State University (April 12), University of North Carolina (April 20) and ECU (April 26).
After playing its league slate of seven three-game series for a total of 21 conference tilts, NCCU and the other those seven other schools at the 2022 MEAC Softball Championship on May 11-14. Norfolk State will once again host the double-elimination tournament.
NOTES: The 2022 NCCU softball schedule is subject to change and fans are encouraged to visit NCCUEaglePride.com for the most up-to-date schedule and all other information on the softball program.
