Time was, when you mentioned HU and Black college football supremacy, you were talking about storied Howard University.

No more. Hampton University ascended to lofty heights this year, claiming the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title in its first year of eligibility while also grabbing a national ranking in NCAA Division I-AA. It was the school's second year of competition on that level.

And while ninth-ranked Hampton proved to be the class of the MEAC, the conference itself proved formidable with the ascendance of two other schools. Florida A&M and South Carolina State Universities were both ranked in the Top Twenty-five of Division I-AA. Additionally, Jackson State University and Southern University, members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), also had Division I-AA Top 25 rankings.

All of the schools enjoyed the prestige of being invited to participate in postseason play. And for the first time in the Division I-AA playoffs, two Black institutions were extended at-large bids. Hampton earned an automatic bid because of its MEAC championship. Florida A&M, ranked eleventh, and Jackson State, ranked fifteenth, received the at-large bids.

Twelfth-ranked Southern, the SWAC champion, played in the Bayou Classic against conference rival Grambling University. South Carolina State, ranked No. 20, will play in the upcoming Heritage Classic against Southern.

Despite playoff losses by Hampton, Florida A&M, and Jackson State, the exposure bodes well for Black colleges and for their conferences, MEAC and SWAC. Hampton, which moved up to the MEAC and Division I-AA in football two years ago, wasn't expected to be competitive in its conference -- let alone nationally -- this soon.

A Ten-year "Overnight" Success

The seemingly overnight success was well calculated, according to Dr. William R. Harvey, president of Hampton, who says the school began planning the move to an upper division ten years ago.