MEAC Basketball: Bethune-Cookman weighs potential exit from conference

Impact of Bethune-Cookman staying with MEAC Basketball

Of course, the Wildcats staying put in the MEAC is the best-case scenario for the conference remaining stable. On the court, the departure of both North Carolina A&T and Florida A&M leaves a vacuum at both the top and middle of the conference, which BCU could translate into becoming a serious threat to the stranglehold that North Carolina Central currently has on the conference. The bottom half of the league (Howard, Delaware State, U-Md-Eastern Shore, South Carolina State) saw some improvement during the season, but Bethune standing fast would arguably put them in place for a top-3 finish.

The squad returns conference defensive player of the year and BOXTOROW All-American big man Cletrell Pope, as well as a five-man recruiting class that could be a lowkey sleeper for the best class in the league. Staying would be in the best interest of Bethune Cookman basketball. However, there are factors outside of the hardwood that will ultimately define where the Wildcats will play hoops next year. If Bethune Cookman’s administration decides to stand fast with their MEAC affiliation, it’s unclear that their membership will blunt the momentum that the departure of two of the league’s flagship institutions has generated.

The silver lining to this in terms of basketball is having a Wildcats basketball program take a more prominent role in the visibility of the conference. It could be a boon for the leagues’ competitive profile to see Bethune knee-deep in a MEAC title hunt with the remaining programs at the top of the conference. Will Vedder vs. Lavelle Moten vs. Robert Jones leading squads in a three-way dance for the MEAC crown? Yeah…Sign me up for that. THOSE kinds of match-ups solidify rivalries and create a culture in the conference that pretty much anybody can follow. The MEAC gets that boost with a healthy and talented BCU program firmly in the MEAC fold for the foreseeable future.