North Carolina A&T releases 2019 football schedule

EAST GREENSBORO – Five home games at BB&T Stadium, two outstanding Division I-Football Championship Subdivision opponents and another quality in-state Football Bowl Subdivision highlight North Carolina A&T’s 2019 football schedule.

Plus, the Aggies will go after their fifth Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title in six years with a conference schedule that includes the return of Howard University to the Aggies MEAC schedule.

“We are continuing to up the ante,” said N.C. A&T coach Sam Washington, the 2018 MEAC Coach of the Year. “We want to be in the top echelon of FCS teams and in order to do that you have to play the teams that are considered in the top echelon of FCS programs. We have two excellent FCS programs on the schedule this year, and we look to do the same in the future.”

The Aggies, the two-time defending HBCU national champions after a 10-2 season in 2018, open 2019 at home against Piedmont Triad foe Elon on August 31. Elon has made the NCAA FCS Playoffs the past two seasons. The Phoenix has also been nationally-ranked the past two seasons even reaching the top-10 on occasions. The two teams last met in 2015 at Elon with the Aggies winning 14-7.

N.C. A&T leads the all-time series 7-4.

For the third straight season, the Aggies will play an in-state FBS when they face the Duke Blue Devils of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) on Sept. 7 in Durham. It will be the first meeting between the two teams. The Blue Devils have reached a bowl game in seven out of the last eight seasons under head coach David Cutcliffe.

Charleston Southern completes the non-conference season for the Aggies on Sept. 14 in Charleston, S.C. The Buccaneers had their first losing season in five years in 2018 after a 5-6 campaign. Prior to that, the Bucs were an NCAA FCS playoff team from 2013-15. It will be the first meeting between the two teams.

N.C. A&T’s conference schedule begins after a bye week as they face Delaware State at BB&T Stadium on Sept. 28. It will be followed by two straight road games, at Norfolk State on Oct. 5 and at Florida A&M on Oct. 19. Howard returns to the Aggies schedule after two years. The two teams played each other every year from 1971-2016 before they rotated off the schedule due to the numerous teams in the league. With Hampton and Savannah State no longer MEAC teams, the two old rivals should return to playing each year for the foreseeable future.

The Bison return in time to be the Aggies Homecoming opponent on Oct. 26. After The Greatest Homecoming On Earth, the Aggies go on the road two straight weeks against S.C. State on Nov. 2 and Morgan State on Nov. 9.

Bethune-Cookman and N.C. Central close out the regular-season schedule for N.C. A&T as both teams come to BB&T Stadium. The Wildcats visit on Nov. 16 and the Eagles come to Greensboro on Nov. 23. If the Aggies are able to win the MEAC, they will play in their fourth Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl in five years at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in December.

“The MEAC is getting better and better because the coaching is really good,” said Washington. “If you look at what Florida A&M did last season, it was impressive. Bethune-Cookman will always be in contention and then you have a legend like Buddy Pough still doing well at S.C. State. Each game is a fight.”

Courtesy: NCA&T Athletics