As North Carolina A&T kicks off another season, the move from historic HBCU-centric conferences to the prestigious CAA has sparked conversations nationwide about representation, legacy, and what it means for Black colleges to compete beyond HBCU borders.
“Being in the CAA gives us another stage,” said first-year Aggies coach Shawn Gibbs at CAA Media Days.
“We’ll always be an HBCU, but now we’re showing what we can do in one of the nation’s top FCS conferences. It’s a challenge, but it gives us a chance to do something never really done before at this level.”
The Benefits: Exposure and Opportunity
The move is strategically significant for N.C. A&T. Competing in the CAA, a conference it joined in 2022 after a brief stint in the Big South and multiple decades in the MEAC, means regularly playing against well-known programs in larger media markets such as Philadelphia and Boston.
N.C. A&T Chancellor Harold L. Martin previously called the transition “the right thing to do,” underscoring the alignment between A&T’s academic mission and athletic goals.
“We dominated HBCU football, won four Celebration Bowls; now it’s time to try to replicate that success at the next level,” said Gibbs, an assistant at the school under then-coach Rod Broadway.
He wants the Aggies to compete for a national championship despite the Aggies only winning two games in as many seasons.
Gibbs notes, “If you’re not trying to be the best, then why are you doing it?”
