DEVELOPING A MODEL FOR FOOTBALL CONFERENCE EXPANSION

Developing a Model for Football Conference Expansion: The Demand for Winston-Salem State University and Attendance in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Football

Developing a Model for Football Conference Expansion

1.0 INTRODUCTION:

College athletics in the United States has prospered significantly since its inception. It has also been faced with controversy ranging from threatening the academic integrity of higher education to extreme levels of commercialization. Regardless, college athletics has provided millions of students with opportunities to not only compete in athletics but also achieve an education and ultimately a college degree. This entry examines college athletics in higher education. It uses both historical and sociological sensitivities to provide a conceptual framework for this analysis. These sensitivities provide a historical context to understand the origin and development of college athletics and a sociological context to understand how college athletics has evolved into a social spectacle that provides millions with a source of entertainment and a cultural event that inform their daily life.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between game-specific attendance in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the presence of recently admitted expansion member Winston-Salem State University in games during the 2007 football season.

1.1 Overview of MEAC

MEAC was founded in 1970 with seven schools: Delaware State University (then Delaware State College), Howard University, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University, and South Carolina State University. Membership has fluctuated through the years, but now stands at twelve schools, including six of the founding members.

Both North Carolina Central University and Savannah State University have submitted applications to join the MEAC and are being considered at this time with the MEAC's moratorium on expansion being lifted.

1.2 Overview of Winston-Salem State University

Winston-Salem State University is a four-year public, coeducational, research university located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It was established by Dr. Simon Green Atkins in 1892. It is a historically black university.

Chartered by the state of North Carolina in 1897 as Slater Industrial and State Normal School and renamed Winston-Salem Teachers College in 1925, it was the first African American institution in the United States to grant degrees in elementary teacher education. The name was changed to Winston-Salem State University in 1969, and it merged into the University of North Carolina system in 1972. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.

Table 1: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Members

School

Location Founded

Affiliation Enrollment

Years Nickname

Bethune-Cookman

Daytona Beach, FL

1904

Private/Methodist

3,400

1979-present

Wildcats

Coppin State

Baltimore, MD

1900

Public

3,200

1985-present

Eagles

Delaware State

Dover, DE

1891

Public

3,700

1970-present

Hornets

Florida A&M

Tallahassee, FL

1887

Public

11,700

1979-1984,

 

1986-present

Rattlers

 

 

 

 

 

Hampton

Hampton, VA

1868

Private

4,500

1995-present

Pirates

Howard

Washington, DC

1867

Private

11,200

1970-present

Bison

Maryland - Eastern Shore

Princess Anne, MD

1886

Public

4,000

1970-1979,

 

1981-present

Hawks

 

 

 

 

 

Morgan State

Baltimore, MD

1867

Public

6,600

1970-1979,

 

1984-present

Bears

 

 

 

 

 

Norfolk State

Norfolk, VA

1935

Public

8,500

1997-present

Spartans

North Carolina A&T

Greensboro, NC

1891

Public

10,400

1970-present

Aggies

South Carolina State

Orangeburg, SC

1896

Public

4,500

1970-present

Bulldogs

Winston-Salem State

Winston-Salem, NC

1892

Public

6,400

2008-present

Rams

North Carolina Central University left MEAC to join the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) in ...