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Norfolk State men and Hampton women named top all-sports programs in MEAC

   Norfolk State and Hampton have won MEAC All-Sports Awards for 2007-08. Both schools were recognized during the All-Sports Awards Dinner last week at the Sheraton Oceanfront in Virginia Beach.

   This is Hampton's seventh consecutive Mary McLeod Bethune Women's All Sports Award and, including three men's awards, the school's ninth all-sports trophy since joining the MEAC in 1996. Norfolk State's Talmadge Hill Men's Award was its third overall.

   The Lady Pirates won the regular-season title in women's tennis, as well as claiming the top seed in the Northern Division in the softball tournament. Hampton won its sixth consecutive outdoor track & field title, and also shared the indoor track title with Maryland-Eastern Shore, which finished second in the McLeod standings with 77 points.

Posted May 28, 2008

   Hampton finished third in the running for the men's award, compiling 47.5 points. Points are awarded in descending order, beginning with 12 points for championships or first-place finishes. Second place earns 10 points. Teams who tie split the total points.

   The Mary McLeod Bethune Award, named after the founder of Bethune-Cookman, awards the top women's athletic program during the course of an academic year. Delaware State won the first women's award in 1987. Florida A&M leads the MEAC with nine titles.

   The men’s award is named in honor of Talmadge Layman Hill, a former player and coach at Morgan State who was also the MEAC's first president. Howard won the first men’s award in 1972, while South Carolina State leads the conference with 11 such awards.

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