Morehouse and the MEAC

[Finchwidget]

The Pac-12 has stolen the show regarding conference realignment recently, but something that slipped under the radar amidst all of that chaos was the news that Morehouse has been in discussions with the MEAC regarding moving to Division I. Their new head coach spoke to the media prior to their matchup against Howard last week and confirmed that there has been talks about the Maroon Tigers moving up.

https://hbcusports.com/2024/09/22/wh...e-hbcu-league/

From a competitive standpoint, at least with regard to football, this is basically a non-starter, as they're currently coming off back-to-back 1-win seasons in football. Not so sure about their other sports like basketball, maybe someone more familiar can fill me in there. They're also a men's-only college, and their female counterpart, Spelman, doesn't field sports anymore, so it would almost be like adding half a member. However, they're a very, very highly regarded institution academically, and adding them would bring the MEAC a coveted presence in Atlanta, where HBCU alumni have a significant presence, so I can see why they'd be a target for the MEAC in spite of their shortcomings.

[LegalRam]

Not having to worry about the women's scholarship equivalents does make it appear to be an easier jump than for most D2 schools; however, I would be surprised if they make the move to the MEAC. The MEAC needs members in the worst way, there were even talks of Chicago State joining a few years ago. While the MEAC would love to have Morehouse, I don't know if it's the best move for Morehouse.

Outside of needing to increase scholarship amounts, they'd have to increase their travel budget by a lot. The SIAC currently offers them an opponent down the street, multiple opponents in state, and multiple opponents in states boarding GA. SC State wouldn't be too far of a trip, but after that NCCU is about the only other really feasible bus trip. Maybe they could try to justify taking a bus to Norfolk, but I hope they wouldn't try to bus teams from Atlanta to the DC, Delaware, and Maryland schools. So that's a lot of flights for a school who probably only has to fly when it's covered for attending a Football Classic.

They have played Howard a good amount over the last decade and a half, so they probably have thoughts of grandeur about being D1. However, a one off somewhat annual game that draws a decent crowd doesn't justify them trying to make the move to the MEAC at this point.