Black College Sports Weekly
Conferences like the MEAC and the SWAC start their 2024 football season this week.
Howard opens at Rutgers on Thursday. The Bison is seeking its third straight MEAC title under Head Coach Larry Scott, who was hired in 2020 and won a share of the conference regular season title in his second season at the helm.
Winning the MIAC “is the absolute goal, year in and year out for us here at Howard,” said Scott on Monday’s weekly media call. He told reporters, including the MSR, “Now that we know that we’re capable of doing that, that’s because [of a] standard of what’s expected as far as our goals and expectations here.
“Winning has a process,” continued Scott, “and you have to be willing to endure what that process is and what it takes to build a championship-type accountable program and win.”
But North Carolina Central is also vying for the top dawg in the MEAC. The Eagles, who lost in a tiebreaker to Howard last season for the right to go to the Celebration Bowl, play Alabama State on September 1, 3:00 PM Eastern Time on ESPN.
Coach Trei Oliver expressed his team’s anxiousness to play this weekend on national television. “We’re excited about the fact of going down there and have an opportunity to compete with these Alabama State folks.”
When a reporter asked him about being snubbed in many national polls, “I’m done with the polls,” declared Oliver. “We were a top 20 team last year, the last two years.
“So, it is what it is,” noted the NCCU coach.
Norfolk State (MEAC) played Florida A& M (SWAC) last Saturday in the SWAC/MEAC Challenge, and Delaware State played at Hawaii to start off Week 0 last week.
Norfolk State lost 24-23 to FAMU last weekend in Atlanta, and the Hornets lost 35-14 to host Hawaii.
The Spartans looked to even its record at East Carolina on August 24, 6 PM in Greensville, North Carolina. Delaware State hopes to do the same at Sacred Heart, August 31, 5 PM.
Traditional conference rivals Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern play each other for their respective season opener on Aug. 31.
“I told my guys yesterday that even though this is a rivalry game, it’s still a game,” stressed Texas Southern Coach Cris Dishman.
Besides being longtime SWAC rivals, both Dishman and Prairie View’s Bubba McDowell are longtime friends.
“Coach McDowell has been very instrumental for me to have in this job, so I can never feel as [we’re] not friends. He and I can always remain friends, no matter what the outcome of this game,” reaffirmed Dishman.