When North Carolina A&T left the MEAC in 2021, Norfolk State and Howard stepped up and arguably made HBCU track deeper.
Most of the conversation when North Carolina A&T left the MEAC centered on football. That made sense. Football drives attention, money and conference perception.
But the Aggies’ move from the MEAC to the Big South, and then to the CAA, changed something else.
It changed Division I HBCU track.
North Carolina A&T did not just leave a conference. It left a championship vacuum. The Aggies had become the standard in MEAC track and field. They won titles, set records and produced national names. They turned the conference meet into an Aggie showcase.
Then they were gone. But that did not end HBCU track dominance at the Division I level. It spread it out.
North Carolina A&T took its championship model to the CAA. Norfolk State took over MEAC men’s track. Howard took over MEAC women’s track. That is the real story.
Realignment did not kill the dynasty era. It created three of them.
North Carolina A&T track left the MEAC as the standard
Before North Carolina A&T left the MEAC, the Aggies were operating at a different level.
Under Duane Ross, A&T became more than an HBCU track power. It became a Division I track power. The Aggies won 16 MEAC titles during Ross’ tenure. That included four men’s indoor titles, four women’s indoor titles, four men’s outdoor titles and three women’s outdoor crowns.
The Aggies also became the first MEAC school to win four straight men’s and women’s indoor championships at the same time. That kind of run changes expectations.
By 2021, the program had reached its peak inside the league. North Carolina A&T’s men won their fourth straight MEAC outdoor title that year. They scored a meet-record 288 points. They won every event except the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
That was not just a conference title — it was a coronation.
The Aggies were literally running the rest of the conference out of contention.
The departure of North Carolina A&T left a power vacuum in the MEAC. NC A&T had spent years as the league’s measuring stick. Once it left, the rest of the conference had to recalibrate.
But A&T did not disappear from the HBCU track picture. It just changed addresses.
North Carolina A&T track is now winning in the CAA
North Carolina A&T had a short stay in the Big South, with its women’s track programs sweeping that league. Then the Aggies moved into the CAA in 2022.
That move came with a question.
Could A&T keep winning outside the MEAC?
The answer has been a resounding yes.
In 2025, the North Carolina A&T men won the CAA indoor track and field championship. It was a historic moment for the school. It was the first CAA championship for any A&T varsity program since the Aggies joined the league.
Allen Johnson understood what that meant.
“Bringing a CAA championship to A&T for the first time feels awesome,” Johnson said. “It’s something that this team has talked about since our first day of practice in September. So, it was just a lot of hard work and this team coming together.”
That championship showed that North Carolina A&T’s track success was not tied only to the MEAC. The Aggies had built a culture that could travel. And it kept going.
North Carolina A&T won the 2025 CAA men’s outdoor championship. The Aggies repeated as CAA indoor champions in 2026. They also won a second straight CAA outdoor title in 2026.
That gave A&T another dynasty lane.
The Aggies are no longer stacking MEAC trophies. They are stacking CAA trophies. That matters for HBCU track.
It proves that an HBCU program can leave a familiar league, enter a new conference and still dictate the standard.
Johnson made the vision clear when he arrived at A&T in 2022.
“At no time do I want us to be in a position where there’s a good athlete, we go after him, and we say ‘oh, we don’t do that here,’” Johnson told HBCU Gameday. “No, we do track & field, here.”
Norfolk State track filled the MEAC men’s vacuum
North Carolina A&T’s exit changed the MEAC men’s race almost immediately. Norfolk State, the runner up at the 2021 MEAC Outdoor, was ready.
The Spartans have become the new men’s standard in the league. By 2026, Norfolk State had won five straight MEAC indoor championships. It had also won five straight MEAC outdoor championships.
That is not a hot streak. That is a dynasty.
Kenneth Giles has been the architect. In 2026, Giles was named MEAC Outstanding Coach after Norfolk State won another indoor title. The conference called him the most decorated track and field head coach in MEAC history. That kind of recognition comes from consistency.
Norfolk State has not copied North Carolina A&T’s old formula. The Spartans built their own.
NC A&T’s final MEAC years were powered by elite sprint dominance. Norfolk State has leaned more into balance. The Spartans have scored in distance events. They have scored in sprints, relays and generally found points across the meet.
That balance has made Norfolk State hard to catch.
In 2026, Daniel Mathenge helped power the Spartans indoors. He won the 3,000 meters. He won the 5,000 meters. He also finished second in the mile.
Kendrick Winfield added sprint strength. He won the 200 meters and 400 meters. That mix showed why Norfolk State has controlled the conference.
The Spartans can win in more than one way. That is the difference between a contender and a dynasty.
A contender needs everything to go right. A dynasty can survive a bad event because it has points waiting elsewhere.
Norfolk State has become that kind of program.
Howard track became the MEAC women’s powerhouse
Howard has done the same thing on the women’s side.
The Bison have turned MEAC women’s track into their own championship stage.
In 2026, Howard won its fifth straight MEAC indoor championship. The Bison scored 215 points. They finished 90 points ahead of Norfolk State.
That is complete control.
Howard head coach David Oliver understood the weight of the moment.
“I’m extremely proud of this team,” Oliver said. “They’ve done a fantastic job over the years. I’m pleased that we were able to keep the momentum that we’ve had going and that we were able to represent Howard University extremely well.”
Howard then kept that momentum outdoors. The Bison won their fifth straight MEAC outdoor championship in 2026. They scored 235 points. Morgan State finished second with 119 points.
Howard nearly doubled the runner-up.
That is dynasty math.
The Bison also swept major honors. Nilijah Darden and Yahnari Lyons were named Co-Outstanding Runners of the championship. Oliver was named MEAC Coach of the Year.
Howard’s rise fits a larger story around the university.
The Bison have become one of the strongest overall HBCU athletic departments in Division I. Women’s track has been a major part of that climb.
It also gives Howard another recruiting tool.
The school already has national academic prestige. It already has cultural weight. Now it has a championship track program that can sell development, titles and visibility.
That is a powerful combination.
HBCU track now has three power centers
North Carolina A&T’s move could have damaged MEAC track. In one sense, it did.
The conference lost a national brand. It lost a program that could score at NCAA championships. It lost a team with Olympic-level credibility.
But the full story is more interesting. North Carolina A&T left and kept winning.
Norfolk State rose and built a men’s dynasty. Howard rose and built a women’s dynasty.
That is why this realignment story matters.
North Carolina A&T showed that HBCU track could travel beyond the MEAC and still dominate. Norfolk State showed that the MEAC men’s side still had championship depth. Howard showed that MEAC women’s track could build a new power structure.
The Aggies did not take HBCU track excellence with them. They forced others to claim it. Now the map looks different.
North Carolina A&T is the CAA’s track force. Norfolk State is the MEAC men’s dynasty. Howard is the MEAC women’s dynasty.
Realignment changed the conference logos. It also created a new HBCU track era.
North Carolina A&T is not just a sprint school. It is not just a hurdle school. It is trying to be a complete track and field program.
That is how it has carried its dynasty into the CAA and other HBCU programs have built their own.