North Carolina A&T and Hampton will enter the 2026 season with another low projection after the CAA placed the two HBCUs at the bottom of its predicted order of finish.
North Carolina A&T finished 12th in the preseason poll with 28 points. Hampton followed in 13th place with 26 points. Neither program received a first-place vote.
Rhode Island led the CAA poll with 12 first-place votes and 144 points. Monmouth ranked second, while Elon, New Hampshire and Stony Brook rounded out the top five. Stony Brook received the conference’s other first-place vote.
The bottom-two projection continues a difficult stretch for North Carolina A&T and Hampton. The Aggies earned only two victories last season, including a win over their fellow HBCU program. That result gave North Carolina A&T one of the few bright spots in another rebuilding year.
Shawn Gibbs Jr. is entering his second season as head coach at North Carolina A&T. The former Aggies running back returned to Greensboro after building a successful program at Fort Valley State. His first season showed how much work remains as A&T attempts to climb the CAA standings.
New leadership takes over at Hampton
Hampton finished 2-10 overall and went 0-8 in CAA play last season. The Pirates will begin a new chapter under head coach Van Malone, who arrived after serving as assistant head coach at Kansas State.
Malone inherits seven returning starters on offense and four on defense. However, Hampton also overhauled its roster and revamped both sides of the football during the offseason. Those changes give the Pirates an opportunity to look much different from last year’s team.
Still, CAA voters appear unconvinced that either HBCU program is ready to make a major jump. Only two points separated North Carolina A&T and Hampton in the preseason poll, setting up another season in which both programs will have to outperform outside expectations.
The Aggies and Pirates understand the challenge. North Carolina A&T wants to take a meaningful step forward in Gibbs’ second season, while Hampton hopes Malone’s arrival can provide an immediate spark.
For both HBCUs, the 2026 season will offer another opportunity to prove that the preseason poll does not determine where a team finishes.