Norfolk State needs to think boldly about its future following Hampton's departure from MEAC

NORFOLK, Virginia -- Give Hampton University President William Harvey credit for thinking big. Historically black colleges and universities tend to remain in their comfort zones, and that means in HBCU athletic leagues.

Only one Division I HBCU school currently competes outside of the Mid-Eastern Athletic or Southwestern Athletic conferences: Tennessee State, which joined the Ohio Valley in 1986.

Harvey announced Thursday that Hampton will become the second to compete in a league with majority-white schools when it joins the Big South Conference in July. It’s a move with deep implications not only for HU, but also the MEAC and Norfolk State.



Harvey has been Hampton’s president for almost four decades, and has always been something of a dreamer and innovator. That’s why Hampton, which does not have a medical school, opened the region’s first proton therapy center, which uses an advanced technology to fight cancer.

Reaction to Hampton’s move to the Big South on social media has been mixed. Many alumni are happy the Pirates are moving up. And although it’s only a marginal step up, the Big South has better football and basketball, and a better TV presence, than the MEAC.

But other fans are miffed, wondering why Hampton officials believe they have to leave an HBCU league to better themselves.

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