Custom Search Hampton University won its 12th consecutive Mary McLeod Bethune Women’s All-Sports Award and Norfolk State captured its ninth consecutive Talmadge Layman Hill Men’s Award, the MEAC announced on Tuesday.
The All-Sports Awards highlight the overall strengths of their respective men’s and women’s athletic programs. Each institution was presented a $20,000 check during a reception at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Orlando, Florida on Tuesday evening.
“I would like to congratulate Norfolk State University including President Tony Atwater, Director of Athletics Marty Miller, and the administrators, coaches, student-athletes and support staff for winning the 2013 Talmadge Layman Hill Award,” said MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas. “I also extend congratulations to Hampton University and President William R. Harvey, Director of Athletics Novelle Dickenson and all of the outstanding individuals including staff, coaches and student-athletes who were involved in winning the Mary McLeod Bethune Award.
Hampton’s women’s programs totaled 100.5 points in the All-Sports tally. The Lady Pirates won conference titles in Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field, Women’s Basketball, and Softball. The Lady Pirates also earned the conference automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball and Softball Tournaments.
For the second year in a row Florida A&M finished second on the women’s side with 89 points while Maryland Eastern Shore finished third (81 points) for the second consecutive year. Morgan State was fourth with 74 points.
The NSU Spartans men’s programs totaled 82.8 points and earned conference titles in Men’s Basketball and Indoor Track and Field. The Spartans were tied at first with Men’s Tennis and finished second in Outdoor Track and Field and Baseball.
Bethune-Cookman finished second with 68 points on the men’s side followed by Florida A&M (63.3) and Hampton (55.5).
Points are awarded in a descending order beginning with 14 points for champions or first place regular season finishes. The second place teams get 12 points. Tied teams split the total points.
Hampton has won 15 overall All-Sports trophies since joining the MEAC in 1996 (three men’s awards including back-to-back victories in 2003 and 2004, and 12 straight women’s awards, dating back to 2002). Norfolk State, which joined the conference in 1997, won its first men’s trophy in 2001 and boasts nine consecutive awards.
The Mary McLeod Bethune and Talmadge Layman Hill Awards
The Mary McLeod Bethune Award, named after the founder of Bethune-Cookman College, awards the top overall women’s athletic program during the course of one full academic year. The first Mary McLeod Bethune award was giving in 1987 to Delaware State University. Hampton leads all MEAC schools with 11 Women’s Awards. The men’s All-Sports Award is named after the late Talmadge Layman Hill, a former player and coach at Morgan State, and former Chairman of the MEAC Steering and Planning Committee, as well as the conference’s first President. Howard University was the recipient of the first Talmadge Layman Hill Award in 1972. South Carolina State holds the men’s record with 11 awards from 1973-84.