Through a partnership between the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Northeast Conference (NEC), the North Carolina Central University men's and women's golf programs will join other MEAC golf programs as associate members of the NEC.

Starting this fall, NCCU men's and women's golf teams will be eligible to compete for NEC championships and claim the NCAA automatic postseason qualifier, and student-athletes will be able to receive all-conference honors.

"North Carolina Central University is enthusiastic about the partnership between the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Northeast Conference to provide our men's and women's golf student-athletes with the opportunity to compete for conference championships and earn award recognition," said Dr. Louis Perkins, NCCU Director of Athletics. "The collaboration delivers on NCCU's mission to foster a championship-caliber overall experience for our student-athletes."
  
NORTHEAST CONFERENCE PRESS RELEASE:

SOMERSET, N.J. – The Northeast Conference (NEC) has bolstered its membership in a trio of sports thanks to a unique partnership with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).

The collaboration between the two conferences in the sports of baseball, men's golf and women's golf will bring a host of MEAC schools under the NEC banner beginning with the 2022-23 academic year.

The affiliate member relationship will provide uninterrupted regular season, conference championship and NCAA automatic qualifier access to the incoming MEAC programs as they join forces with NEC sponsoring members in the aforementioned sports.

While retaining primary membership in the MEAC, the following institutions have accepted associate membership invitations from the NEC Council of Presidents.
    Baseball: Coppin State, Delaware State, Maryland Eastern Shore and Norfolk State
    Men's Golf: Howard, Maryland Eastern Shore and North Carolina Central
    Women's Golf: Delaware State, Maryland Eastern Shore and North Carolina Central

"We are thrilled to announce this associate member partnership with the MEAC baseball, women's golf and men's golf programs," said NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris. "This is a win-win relationship for both conferences and places the student-athlete experience at the forefront. On behalf of the NEC Presidents and Athletic Administrators, we welcome these MEAC programs to the NEC family."

The addition of Coppin State, Delaware State, UMES and Norfolk State will expand NEC baseball membership to 11 institutions with the MEAC quartet joining NEC full-time members Central Connecticut, FDU, LIU, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, Stonehill and Wagner. LIU is the defending NEC baseball champion. Coppin State won the 2022 MEAC Tournament title and Delaware State captured the MEAC regular season championship this past spring.

NEC men's golf will consist of nine sponsoring members in 2022-23 with Howard, UMES and NCCU set to combine with FDU, LIU, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis U and Wagner. Sacred Heart is the reigning NEC men's golf champion. Howard claimed the 2022 MEAC championship in just its second year sponsoring the sport following a donation by the NBA's Steph Curry to fund both the men's and women's golf programs for a six-year period beginning in 2020-21.

NEC women's golf will feature 11 sponsoring programs with the addition of Delaware State, UMES and NCCU. The trio joins fellow MEAC member Howard, which began its tenure as an NEC women's golf associate this past spring. The 11-team alignment will also include NEC full-time members FDU, LIU, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. Sacred Heart captured the 2022 NEC crown. DSU and UMES competed under the Southland umbrella in 2021-22, while NCCU competed as an independent in its inaugural women's golf campaign.
 
The NEC will showcase associate members in 11 sports in 2022-23, including women's bowling (Duquesne), football (Duquesne), field hockey (Fairfield and Rider) and men's volleyball (Daemen and D'Youville). Along with men's and women's golf, Howard also competes as an NEC associate in women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, and men's and women's swimming.

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 42nd season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Boston (#9), Hartford/New Haven (#33) and Providence (#53). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 24 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 15 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league's official website official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.


MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE STATEMENT:

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) supports the decisions of six of its institutions to join the Northeast Conference (NEC) as associate members for baseball and men's golf and wishes them continued success on the diamond and golf course.
 
The baseball programs at Coppin State, Delaware State, Maryland Eastern Shore and Norfolk State, and the men's golf programs at Howard, Maryland Eastern Shore and North Carolina Central will compete in the NEC beginning in the 2022-23 academic year.
 
The student-athletes at these schools deserve the opportunity to compete for an automatic bid to the NCAA Baseball and Men's Golf Championships on a yearly basis, and this move will allow them to do so.
 
These six institutions remain firmly committed as full members of the MEAC, and this move solely involves their respective baseball and men's golf programs. We look forward to their continued competition in MEAC athletics, which encompasses 14 men's and women's sports. In the event that membership expansion increases the number of baseball and men's golf programs in the MEAC, it is our expectation that these programs will return.
  
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.


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