North Carolina A&T head coach Shawn Gibbs says the HBCU football program must stop looking to the CAA for validation and reconnect with the championship identity that once defined it.
The Aggies will enter their fourth CAA football season in 2026 with little evidence that the transition has worked on the field. They have compiled a 4-31 overall record and a 2-22 conference mark since joining the league in 2023.
CAA coaches reflected that struggle in the 2026 preseason poll. North Carolina A&T received 28 points and finished 12th among 13 teams, ahead of only Hampton.
Gibbs noticed. However, the second-year head coach does not want outside opinion to become the center of A&T’s rebuild.
“I think for too long, we’ve been trying to prove that we belong and that we can play in this conference,” Gibbs said during CAA Media Day. “And for me, that’s no longer our approach.”
His new approach begins with how the Aggies see themselves.
“Our approach isn’t to prove anything to anybody,” Gibbs said. “Our approach is to honor and glorify who we’ve always been. And we’re a championship football program, and we’re going to start carrying ourselves and conducting ourselves like that and go out and show the world what we can do.”
North Carolina A&T still searching for CAA breakthrough
North Carolina A&T left the MEAC after 50 years and began competing in the Big South in 2021. The university became a full CAA member in 2022, while football remained in the Big South for one additional season. A&T officially joined CAA Football on July 1, 2023.
The move came shortly after one of the greatest stretches in Aggies history. Between 2015 and 2019, the Aggies won four MEAC championships and four Celebration Bowls.
Success did not follow them into the CAA.
A&T went 1-10 overall and 0-8 in conference play during its 2023 debut under Vincent Brown Sr. What followed a 1-11 record and another winless CAA season in 2024.
Gibbs took over before the 2025 season and produced modest progress. North Carolina A&T finished 2-10 and earned its first two CAA victories, including a win over fellow HBCU member Hampton.
That was not enough to change the conference’s expectations for 2026.
“Seeing where we were predicted to finish is motivating,” Gibbs said. “That tells us what the people in this conference think of us.”
Gibbs puts the process ahead of predictions
The coach insists North Carolina A&T cannot rebuild by chasing a preseason poll. He wants the Aggies to focus on preparation, discipline and daily improvement.
“We want to be a process-driven program,” Gibbs said.
His goal is to make the Aggies better each day.
Gibbs believes the roster now has enough talent to compete in the CAA. He also understands that North Carolina A&T cannot reclaim its reputation through words or history alone.
“We know my job at the end of the day is to win football games,” Gibbs said. “So that’s definitely in the back of our heads, and we know we have to get that done.”
North Carolina A&T no longer wants to prove it belongs. The 2026 season will show whether the Aggies can begin playing like the championship program Gibbs invoked.