MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament

MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament
Conference Basketball Championship
MEAC Logo
Sport	Basketball
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Number of teams	11
Format	Single-elimination tournament
Current stadium	Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Current location	Winston-Salem, NC
Played	1972–present
Last contest	2011 MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament
Current champion	Hampton University
Most championships	North Carolina A&T Aggies (15)
TV partner(s)	ESPNU
Official website	[1]
Sponsors
ESPNU, Russel Athletics, State Farm Insurance, Coca-Cola, Nike, Wachovia

The MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament (popularly known as the MEAC Tournament) is the conference championship tournament in basketball for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The tournament has been held every year since 1972. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner, declared conference champion, receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

History

During the first 17 years of the MEAC Tournament, the Aggies of North Carolina A&T dominated the field; winning multiple titles from 1972 to 1988, including a run of seven straight tournament titles from 1982 to 1988 under coach Don Corbett.^[1] The Aggies currently lead the conference with a total of 15 conference titles. Through the 1970s and ‘80s, the conference witnessed several different tournament champions. The Eagles of Coppin State University won three titles during the 1990s (1990, 1993 and 1997) and earned seven No. 1 seeds. CSU Coach Ron “Fang” Mitchell also won six MEAC Coach of the Year honors, tying him with Corbett.^[1]

In 2008, Mitchell guided his Eagles to their fourth tournament title with a 62–60 win over The Bears of Morgan State University. The Number 7 seed Eagles earned its way to the finals after getting by the Bison of Howard University in the first round, followed by the Spartans of Norfolk State in the quarterfinal, and then the Pirates of Hampton and Morgan State Bears respectively.^[1] From 1989 to 2003, the Bulldogs of South Carolina State University captured more championship titles than any other team in the MEAC.^[1] Led by coach Cy Alexander, the Bulldogs won five tournament titles (1989, 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2003) and earned the top seed going into the tournament six times.

Among many outstanding MEAC players, NC A&T's James Sparrow, three time MVP, Eric Boyd, Howard University's Larry Spriggs, and most recently, Coppin State University's Tywain McKee. Sparrow, who earned two tournament Outstanding Performer honors, posted 21 points and 13 rebounds in the 1978 championship game against Morgan State.^[1] Three time Tournament MVP Larry Spriggs of Howard averaged over 14 points and seven rebounds each year during the MEAC tourney.^[1] In more recent MEAC history, Coppin State’s Tywain McKee holds the record for most total points scored during a single tournament with 93 during the 2008 tourney.^[2] McKee is also known for his 2008 championship game performance against number 1 seed Morgan; in which McKee scoring on a five-foot floater with three seconds remaining to clinch the 2008 title.^[1]

Year	Champion	Score	Runner-up	Location	Tournament MVP
1972	North Carolina A&T	71–62	Howard	Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC	Robert Lewis (HU)
1973	North Carolina A&T	86–81	Howard	Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC	William Harris (NCAT)
1974	Maryland Eastern Shore	77–62	Morgan State	Baltimore Civic Center • Baltimore, MD	Talvin Skinner (UMES)
1975	North Carolina A&T	86–77	Morgan State	Baltimore Civic Center • Baltimore, MD	Marvin Webster (MSU)
1976	Morgan State	82–77	Howard	Greensboro Coliseum • Greensboro, NC	James Sparrow (NCAT)
1977	North Carolina A&T	66–63	Morgan State	Greensboro Coliseum • Greensboro, NC	Eric Evans (MSU)
1978	North Carolina A&T	82–77	Howard	Greensboro Coliseum • Greensboro, NC	James Sparrow (NCAT)
1979	North Carolina A&T	48–46	Howard	Greensboro Coliseum • Greensboro, NC	Larry Spriggs (HU)
1980	Howard	78–69	Maryland Eastern Shore	Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum • Winston-Salem, NC	Larry Spriggs (HU)
1981	Howard	78–69	Maryland Eastern Shore	Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum • Winston-Salem, NC	Larry Spriggs (HU)
1982	North Carolina A&T	79–67	Howard	Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum • Winston-Salem, NC	Eric Boyd (NCAT)
1983	North Carolina A&T	71–64	Howard	Greensboro Coliseum • Greensboro, NC	Joe Binion (NCAT)
1984	North Carolina A&T	65–58	Howard	Greensboro Coliseum • Greensboro, NC	Eric Boyd (NCAT)
1985	North Carolina A&T	71–69	Howard	The Palestra • Philadelphia, PA	Eric Boyd (NCAT)
1986	North Carolina A&T	53–52	Howard	Philadelphia Civic Center • Philadelphia, PA	Thomas Griffis (NCAT)
1987	North Carolina A&T	79–58	Howard	Greensboro Coliseum • Greensboro, NC	Thomas Griffis (NCAT)
1988	North Carolina A&T	101–86	FAMU	Greensboro Coliseum • Greensboro, NC	Claude Williams (NCAT)
1989	South Carolina State	83–79	FAMU	Greensboro Coliseum • Greensboro, NC	Travis Williams (SCSU)
1990	Coppin State	54–50	North Carolina A&T	Greensboro Coliseum • Greensboro, NC	Reggie Isaac (CSU)
1991	Coppin State	54–50 *	North Carolina A&T	Norfolk Scope • Norfolk, VA	Kenneth Davis (FAMU)
1992	Howard	67–65	FAMU	Norfolk Scope • Norfolk, VA	Howard Holley (HU)
1993	Coppin State	80–53	Delaware State	Norfolk Scope • Norfolk, VA	Stephen Stewart (CSU)
1994	North Carolina A&T	87–70	Maryland Eastern Shore	Talmadge L. Hill Field House • Baltimore, MD	Phillip Alien (NCAT)
1995	North Carolina A&T	66–64	Coppin State	Talmadge L. Hill Field House • Baltimore, MD	Phillip Alien (NCAT)
1996	South Carolina State	69–56	Coppin State	Leon County Civic Center • Tallahassee, FL	Derrick Patterson (SCSU)
1997	Coppin State	81–74 *	North Carolina A&T	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall • Norfolk, VA	Terquin Mott (CSU)
1998	South Carolina State	66–61	Coppin State	Richmond Coliseum • Richmond, VA	Roderick Blakney (SCSU)
1999	FAMU	64–61	UMES	Richmond Coliseum • Richmond, VA	Monroe Pippins (FAMU)
2000	South Carolina State	70–53	Coppin State	Arthur Ashe Athletic Center and Richmond Coliseum • Richmond, VA	Mike Waitre (SCSU)
2001	Hampton	70–68	Maryland Eastern Shore	Arthur Ashe Athletic Center and Richmond Coliseum • Richmond, VA	Tarvis Williams (HIU)
2002	Howard	65–56	Delaware State	Arthur Ashe Athletic Center and Richmond Coliseum • Richmond, VA	Tommy Adams (HIU)
2003	South Carolina State	72–67	Hampton	Arthur Ashe Athletic Center and Richmond Coliseum • Richmond, VA	Dustin Braddick (SCSU)
2004	FAMU	58–51	Coppin State	Arthur Ashe Athletic Center and Richmond Coliseum • Richmond, VA	Terrence Woods (FAMU)
2005	Delaware State	55–53	Hampton	Arthur Ashe Athletic Center and Richmond Coliseum • Richmond, VA	Jahsha Bluntt (DSU)
2006	Hampton	60–56	Delaware State	RBC Center • Raleigh, NC	Rashad West (HIU)
2007	FAMU	58–56	Delaware State	RBC Center • Raleigh, NC	Brian Greene (FAMU)
2008	Coppin State	62–60	Morgan State	RBC Center • Raleigh, NC	Tywain McKee (CSU)
2009	Morgan State	83–69	Norfolk State	LJVM Coliseum • Winston-Salem, NC	Reggie Holmes (MSU)
2010	Morgan State	68–61	South Carolina State	LJVM Coliseum • Winston-Salem, NC	Kevin Thompson (MSU)
2011	Hampton	60–55	Morgan State	LJVM Coliseum • Winston-Salem, NC	Brandon Tunnell (HIU)
2012				LJVM Coliseum • Winston-Salem, NC

* Overtime

Tournament championships by school

School	# of Tournament Championships	Last Tournament Championship
North Carolina A&T	15	1995
South Carolina State	5	2003
Coppin State	4	2008
FAMU	4	2007
Hampton	4	2011
Howard	3	1992
Morgan Sate	3	2010
Delaware State	1	2005
UMES	1	1974

See also

• MEAC Women's Basketball Tournament

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} MEAC Tournament History
2. ^ MEAC Tournament Records

External links

• www.MEACHoops.com – Official web site