Four years ago this month, Sonja Stills began serving as Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference commissioner, one of a handful of women to serve as an NCAA Division I conference leader.
Under Stills’ leadership, the MEAC has experienced growth and stability. Recently, she teamed up with other HBCU conference commissioners to lobby elected officials for assistance with NIL rules to keep HBCU athletics solvent.
“We’ve been connecting members of the Congressional Black Caucus for the last three years, and it became very important when we had a discussion with Rep. Lucia McBath in regards to what her recommendations were,” Stills said of the push to have a federal NIL law as opposed to having individual states decide.
“Even though there are representatives that may have come from HBCUs, they don’t really understand the athletic side of it, so we need to get in front of them to educate them about it.”
The cause for concern is that without a federal NIL rule in place, HBCUs would be left without guidance or assistance in figuring out the new landscape, which now consists of providing athletes with monetary compensation or the ability to make money off of their name, image and likeness.
“We don’t have those lucrative contracts; we’re not able to pay our student athletes like the Power 4s,” Stills explained.
“HBCUs are not unlike the majority of NCAA schools who won’t be able to pay their student-athletes. We want to be able to provide those opportunities for why our schools were founded. Our student-athletes are coming for an education. We still want to make sure we’re able to do that and still have championship access. We want them to make money off their name, image and likeness, but also understand the financial limitations that we have.”
Another issue of concern for Stills and the MEAC is President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI sentiment and its uncertain impact on member institutions.
Stills worries about the backlash against DEI but believes the MEAC and the HBCU community at large can soldier on.
“We’ve been able to survive; that’s why we were created, to provide opportunities where there were none,” she says. “I think we will find ways to thrive regardless because that’s what we’re made of. It’s in our DNA to do a lot with a little.”
High-profile football hires bring ‘viability’ to MEAC
Stills is also encouraged that Norfolk State and Delaware State made waves with their football coaching hires this off-season, helping give the MEAC a public boost.
“It’s a great way to bring more attention and eyes to the viability of HBCUs,” she said of Norfolk State hiring Michael Vick and Delaware State bringing on DeSean Jackson. “HBCUs were built on providing opportunities, so giving them both an opportunity to do something they love to do and give back is amazing.”
Conference will stay the course on expansion
Stills says expansion and new sports offerings are on the table (men’s and women’s golf, along with women’s flag football, will be coming soon), but the MEAC will weigh the process carefully.
“We always have membership expansion on our minds, but we have to be patient and stay the course with our strategic and long-range plan,” she said. “You never know what the future will bring.”
