Syracuse and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference agree to 10-year alliance
Max Freund | Staff Photographer
SU Athletics announced an alliance with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, which consists of eight historically black colleges and universities.
Syracuse University and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference agreed today to an alliance “designed to connect institutions, students-athletes, staff and alumni.” In a press release SU Athletics called the agreement the “first of its kind.”
The agreement is set for 10 years and will include up to 50 competitions between SU and the MEAC schools. The first game in the partnership will be Syracuse women’s basketball matchup against Morgan State in November. There is also a contract where the Orange and the Bears will play each other in football in 2029.
The partnership has multiple seminars set up for the institutions: the Compliance Matters Seminar, the Student-Athlete Development Seminars and the Athletics Revenue Generation Conference. These seminars will consist of rules compliance workshops and revenue generation strategies for increased funding for athletics.
The MEAC consists of eight historically Black colleges and universities across the Atlantic coast: 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.
The idea for the alliance originated last winter when Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack reached out to MEAC commissioner Dennis Thomas, ESPN reported. Thomas was very open to the union of the school and the conference.
“We both agreed that it shouldn’t be about just games,” the MEAC commissioner said to ESPN. “It should be about professional development. It should be about internships. It should be about sharing expertise, all those kinds of things that we think are a great convergence and synergy for our institutions and Syracuse University.”
In a press release, Wildhack expressed his excitement for Thomas’ openness toward the new alliance.
“My thanks extend to the MEAC Staff and Syracuse Athletics and University staff who have worked diligently to make this idea a reality,” Wildhack said. “We are excited with the opportunities this alliance will create for MEAC institutions, Syracuse University, thousands of student-athletes, coaches and staff from MEAC institutions and Syracuse University.”
Published on September 23, 2021 at 6:06 pm
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