Orangeburg T&D: Aggies Leaving The MEAC (Part II)

[aggierattler]

Part II

Bulldogs vs. Aggies: Intense rivalry, MEAC supremacy

by Bill Hamilton
Special to the T&D
April 25, 2020




Last week, we discussed North Carolina A&T’s decision to leave the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2021 after 50 years of membership and the ensuing debate on how the Aggies’ move to the Big South Conference would impact the MEAC.

The Aggies will become the second MEAC university in three years to bolt to the Big South. Hampton left in 2017.

This week, we examine how N.C. A&T has fared — in terms of success and championships — during its tenure in the MEAC, and also take a look at its rivalry with South Carolina State for sports supremacy in the conference.

THE MEAC

The MEAC was chartered in 1970 when six Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association schools — Delaware State, Howard, Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State and North Carolina A&T — along with South Carolina State of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference came together to form a league whose primary goal was to eventually seek Division I status for its sports. The first competition was the 1971 football season.

The dream of becoming a Division I conference was realized in 1980. By that time, the league had expanded to nine schools, with the addition of Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M in 1979. Like S.C. State, both were former members of the SIAC.

MEAC membership swelled to 10 in 1984 when Coppin State, a non-football athletic program, was admitted...

Click here to read the rest of this article: thetandd.com/sports/bulldogzone/football/bulldogs-vs-aggies-intense-rivalry-meac-supremacy/article_03c50266-91c2-59f7-a2e3-14a997255f7b.html

And here is Part One: thetandd.com/sports/bulldogzone/football/did-you-see-leaving-meac-behind-n-c-a-t-s-departure-sparks-intense-debate/article_4d80f733-3c63-549f-a1c5-e2357a2f9bbb.html

[oleschoolaggie]

thetandd.com/sports/bulldogzone/football/bulldogs-vs-aggies-intense-rivalry-meac-supremacy/article_03c50266-91c2-59f7-a2e3-14a997255f7b.html

One of the two Aggie wins during the span was a 15-14 controversial triumph in Greensboro in 1976, an outcome that is still debated today. The Aggie victory spoiled what would have been a perfect season for S.C. State and Jeffries, who formerly worked as an assistant for N.C. A&T on Howell's staff. The Bulldogs finished the year 10-1 — including a 26-10 win over Norfolk State in the Bicentennial Bowl — and were declared National Black Champions.

In the one-point 15-14 loss, the Bulldogs led 14-0 with about three minutes left in the contest. The Aggies scored in the final two minutes to close the gap to 14-7, then tried an on-side kick. Jeffries had his "hands" team in and a Bulldog wide receiver (the late Teddy Carter) clearly covered the ball, but there was no signal from the officials who let everyone pile on. During the pileup, the Aggies stole the ball from Carter and were awarded possession.
N.C. A&T went on to score and instead of kicking the PAT, forging a 14-all tie, Howell opted for a two-point conversion try and the win.

On A&T’s first attempt for a two-point conversion, the Aggie runner was stuffed, but an offside penalty was called against the S.C. State defense.
On the second attempt, a Bulldog defender knocked the pass attempt away in the end zone before pass interference was called on the Bulldogs.

On the third try, the Aggie runner was stopped short of the goal line, before another offside penalty was called, giving NC A&T a fourth attempt.

On the next try, the Aggie runner reached the end zone, giving the host team a controversial win. To say that Jeffries was visibly agitated is an understatement. One newspaper report noted he had to be restrained by his staff.

omg! i'll never forget that '76 game! i was a "wide eyed" freshman and i was at that game which was played in front of a "packed house" at memorial stadium. scsu was undefeated and "heavily" favored to win that game. what i remember the most about that game is how "loud" the uproar from the home crowd was after converting that 2 point conversion. i swear, it seemed like all of east greensboro heard that uproar that day.

however, scsu was "pissed"!! the following year and "seemingly" every year thereafter, they beat us like we stole something from them. i mean, they really took that '76 upset win out on us every year after that. i don't think we came within "30 points" of beating them the rest of my undergrad years at a&t.

back in those days, every home game we played against scsu was a "sellout"...

[AggiePride]

I never knew we had a series lead over them. From 2001 to 2011 they were dominant.