MEAC Set To Announce Football MVPs Tuesday On ESPN 3
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame will reveal the league’s offensive and defensive players at a 9 a.m. press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. The conference will be streamed live on ESPN3.
In August, the MEAC and NFF announced a partnership for the unveiling of the MEAC Offensive Player of the Year and the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year. The announcement, moderated by veteran journalist Bonnie Bernstein, will take place as part of the festivities surrounding the 59th NFF Annual Awards Dinner next Tuesday at the Waldorf Astoria. The finalists will also partake in a series of events along with fellow student-athlete award honorees from across all levels of football in addition to having the opportunity to network and meet national media personalities and college football stars of the past and present.
The respective athletic directors and head football coaches of the finalists will also attend the event.
MEAC Commissioner Dr. Dennis E. Thomas served nine years on the board of the National Football Foundation. The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include FootballMatters.org, the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, The William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Fidelity Investments, annual scholarships of more than $1.3 million and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future.
The MEAC boasts 14 College Football Hall of Fame inductees, including Coach Earl Banks (Morgan State), Emerson Boozer (Maryland Eastern Shore), Roger Brown(Maryland Eastern Shore), Harry Carson (South Carolina State), Coach Jake Gaither(Florida A&M), Willie Galimore (Florida A&M), Coach Willie Jeffries (Howard, South Carolina State), Coach Billy Joe (Florida A&M), Willie Lanier (Morgan State), Coach Vernon "Skip" McCain (Maryland Eastern Shore), Tyrone McGriff (Florida A&M), Coach Doug Porter (Howard), Art Shell (Maryland Eastern Shore) and Donnie Shell(South Carolina State).
Several MEAC players have received coveted NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, including Malcolm Benson (Hampton), Timothy Benson (Hampton), Michael Bland(Hampton), Roy Ellison (Savannah State), Jerrell Moore (South Carolina State), Willie Thompson (Morgan State) and James Thurman (Florida A&M).
