It has been a rough start for North Carolina A&T in their first season in the Coastal Athletic Association.
The Aggies currently hold a 0-3 record, most recently suffering a 27-3 loss this past Saturday in their conference opener against Elon.
It is the second season in a row that NC A&T has started its schedule with three consecutive losses, something the program hasn’t done since 2007.
Beyond the team not doing well on the field, the school’s athletic administration was criticized for not valuing its rich HBCU football culture.
Among them is former Aggies running back Jah-Maine Martin, who called out the program on social media for many issues.
It started with the AD Earl changing conferences just for money not thinking about the culture, I feel like he sold us out
— Jah-Maine Martin (@dcmaine30) September 17, 2023
Martin, who was picked up by the Orlando Guardians of the XFL, was candid about North Carolina A&T athletic director Earl Hilton III choosing to move the Aggies out of the MEAC.
“It started with AD Earl changing conferences just for money, not thinking about the culture,” he wrote in a series of posts on Twitter X. “I feel like he sold us out.”
“We came to an HBCU for the HBCU experience,” said Martin. “If we wanted to play Townsend [Towson] for homecoming, we would’ve went to UNCG.”
The Aggies will play HBCUs Norfolk State and Hampton both on the road this year, though the football program has not hosted an HBCU opponent for its homecoming game since 2019.
North Carolina A&T and Hampton are the only HBCU football programs in the CAA. Tennessee State is the only Black college in the Ohio Valley Conference.
