NORFOLK, VA. — The MEAC football championship trophy sat under a spotlight in the middle of the Hilton ballroom Tuesday morning in Norfolk, Va., as the conference held its annual summer media day.
If all goes according to preseason predictions, North Carolina Central will once again be hoisting that prized hardware by late November.
The league’s coaches and sports information directors voted the Eagles from Durham as the preseason favorites to win the six-team conference. Coach Trei Oliver’s team edged out Howard for the top spot in the balloting, 110 points to 92, followed by Morgan State 80, South Carolina State 78, Norfolk State 50 and Delaware State 22.
Both North Carolina Central and Howard received four of 12 possible first-place votes. South Carolina State picked up two first-place votes, while Morgan State and Norfolk State had one apiece.
Howard and NCCU finished with identical 4-1 MEAC records last season. Since Howard beat the Eagles 50-20 in a November showdown, the Bison earned the conference’s berth for the Celebration Bowl.
Central (9-3) still made a trip to the post-season, becoming the first team in school history to advance to the FCS playoffs.
This year’s NCCU-Howard game will be played on a Friday night, Nov. 15, in Durham — the next-to-last week of the regular season. ESPNU will broadcast the game. Central’s Halloween night (Thursday) game at South Carolina State also will be on ESPNU.
—> READ MORE: North Carolina Central’s future football schedules
The MEAC also released its preseason all-conference team on Tuesday.
North Carolina Central put four players on the first team and four more on the second-team.
First-teamers include OL Trevon Humphrey, DL Jaden Taylor, DB Kole Jones and P Juan Velarde. Second-team picks from Central include RB J’Mari Taylor, WR Joaquin Davis, OL Ja’Quan Sprinkle and LB Max U’Ren.
Howard running back Jarett Hunter was voted the MEAC preseason offensive player of the year. Bison defensive back Kenny Gallop Jr. earned preseason defensive player of the year.
MEAC Predicted Order Of Finish
| Team (First-Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. North Carolina Central (4) | 110 |
| 2. Howard (4) | 92 |
| 3. Morgan State (1) | 80 |
| 4. South Carolina State (2) | 78 |
| 5. Norfolk State (1) | 50 |
| 6. Delaware State | 22 |
