This is a list of yearly Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football champions. Champions have been determined by the best record in play amongst teams in the conference, which can result in one or multiple champions. In 1978, the MEAC was classified as a Division I conference by the NCAA. Prior to that year, the league operated as a Division II conference.[1]
The MEAC has seen a handful of teams forfeit the championship due to violations. The 1987 Howard Bison, who had won all five conference games under Willie Jeffries, was stripped of their championship in 1989 due to the use of ineligible players. Delaware State, who had won all but their game against Howard, was awarded the championship.[2] Norfolk State was stripped of their 2011 title in 2016, with no champion being awarded the title retroactively.[3] In 2019, North Carolina A&T and South Carolina State were each awarded the MEAC title after each went 6–2 in conference play over Florida A&M, who had gone 7-1 but were under sanctions due to ineligible players.[4]
| Team | MEAC Championships | Years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina State | 18 | 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1994, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021 | |
| North Carolina A&T | 11 | 1975, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 | |
| Bethune–Cookman | 8 | 1984, 1988, 2002, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 | |
| Florida A&M | 8 | 1988, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2010 | |
| North Carolina Central | 7 | 1972, 1973, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022, 2023 | |
| Delaware State | 6 | 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2007 | |
| Hampton | 5 | 1997, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2006 | |
| Morgan State | 4 | 1971, 1976, 1979, 2014 | |
| Howard | 3 | 1993, 2022, 2023 | |
| Norfolk State | 1 | 2011 (vacated) |