North Carolina Central walked into MEAC Media Day on Friday with all the swagger that belongs to a team that had just won a Black National Championship a year ago.
And with good reason.
The Eagles were picked to win the conference championship in the league preseason poll. Star quarterback Davius Richard and NFL-ready linebacker Khalil Baker were identified as the MEAC offensive and defensive players of the year, respectively.
But what the Eagles didn’t do, despite winning the Celebration Bowl, was win the MEAC outright in 2022. NC Central held a share of the conference title with Howard after both teams went 4-1 in league play.
The Bison, which had not won the MEAC since 1993, sported conference championship rings to signify their accomplishment. NC Central, the HBCU champions, were seen wearing their own, too.
However, NC Central head coach Trei Oliver seemingly considered the rings his team fashioned to be more worthy.
Oliver was rather dismissive when asked by former Howard quarterback and ESPN college football analyst Jay Walker whether he noticed the Bison’s jewelry.
“Who?” said Oliver in response to Walker’s question.
“You saw the Bison,” explained Walker.
“What rings?” asked Oliver.
“You saw the Bison,” Walker said with a chuckle, to which Oliver quipped, “Was that a class ring? Don’t do that.”
Walker then finished the exchange with, “I guess he answered the question.”
(NCCU) Coach Trei Oliver… not a fan of Co Champions
pic.twitter.com/vpAVOTxTer
— Flicks
(@Kellyflickss) July 21, 2023
Oliver and the Eagles obviously believe they should have been declared the sole MEAC championship after beating Howard 50-21 in the head-to-head matchup a year ago.
That’s why NC Central wants to leave no doubt and cement its standing as the best team in the MEAC.
“Definitely,” said Oliver in response to whether NC Central would be motivated to run the table after the way last season ended. “I keep getting questions about a conference championship game, but every game is a conference championship game, and we know that. You have to be focused every week, and you can let one get away from you.”
Oliver’s MEAC Media Day comments come a few weeks after Howard head coach Larry Scott defended the notion that the Bison should have won a share of the conference title in a YouTube interview with Jeff Lightsy Jr.
“Howard University did not make the rules,” Scott told Lightsy about the rules that resulted in a co-champion. “We just played by them. That’s all we do. Those rules were in place, and we played by them.”
#Howard Football (@HUBISONFOOTBALL) Head Coach Larry Scott (@CoachLScott70) speaks on wanting a #MEAC Football Championship game after being named Co-MEAC Champs in 2022. pic.twitter.com/hipxKedn1q
— Jeff Lightsy Jr. (@jlightsy7) July 12, 2023
Later in the interview, Scott suggested that the league adopt a conference championship game like other conferences.
“Just like many other sports. Let’s take another week off. Another two weeks,” Scott said. “Let’s tee it off. Let’s have a championship game.”
North Carolina Central and Howard will meet officially in what could be the defacto MEAC championship game on Nov. 11 in Washington, DC.
