DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University softball team, the reigning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions, have announced a 51-game regular season schedule for the spring of 2024.
The Eagles will once again play majority of their games on the road this upcoming season. NCCU has a total of 37 games slated away from home, including its first 22 games on the road.
In the early stages of the season, NCCU will play 17 of its first 22 games in four weekend tournaments.
The Eagles were invited to the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida, to begin their season against five strong opponents scheduled for Feb. 9-11. NCCU begins play against a 39-win team in the University of South Alabama before playing University of Central Arkansas and Indiana University, who both joined NCCU in playing in the NCAA regionals last season, along with showdowns against a University of Iowa program that won the 2023 National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) postseason tournament and a University of Utah program that advance all to the 2023 Softball World Series.
One week later, NCCU will play five different teams from the SWAC at the first annual HBCU Collegiate Softball Invitational that will be contested at the Newton County Turner Lake Softball Complex just east of Atlanta, Georgia.
The Eagles will conclude its 22-game road swing with 12 consecutive games within North Carolina, including four games at the Pirate Invitational hosted by East Carolina University from Feb. 23-25 and five games at the Catamount Classic hosted by Western Carolina University from March 8-10.
Despite only 14 home games, Eagle fans will have a chance to see NCCU play locally a few other times within the Triangle with key dates at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Feb. 27 and Duke University on April 24.
NCCU's road travels will also feature a single game at Elon University (March 19) and doubleheaders at Queens University of Charlotte (March 2), Campbell University (March 26) and Hampton University (April 17).
The Eagles will have to wait until the weekend of Saturday-Sunday, March 16-17 for their first home games at Thomas Brooks Park in Cary when NCCU begins MEAC play with a showdown series against Howard University.
League play will once again feature three-game weekend series against the other seven MEAC institutions. Along with the Howard Bison, NCCU will also host Coppin State University (March 29-30), Delaware State University (April 20-21) and South Carolina State University (April 27-28). The Eagles will have to play conference road series at Norfolk State University (March 23-24), Morgan State University (April 6-7) and University of Maryland Eastern Shore (April 13-14).
Western Carolina will be the only non-conference opponent the Eagles will host with the Catamounts coming into Cary for a doubleheader on April 3.
The 2024 MEAC Softball Championship will once again be hosted by Norfolk State University and it is scheduled to be contested from Wednesday-Saturday, May 8-11.
NOTE: The 2024 NCCU softball schedule is subject to change and fans are encouraged to visit NCCUEaglePride.com for the most up-to-date schedule throughout the season.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
