Norfolk, Va.(Nov. 15, 2022) — Hampton University track & field great, Ce'Aira Brown will be inducted into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Hall of Fame as part of the 2023 class, the conference office announced on Nov. 11. The inductees will be officially enshrined during the week of the 2023 MEAC Basketball Tournament from March 8-11.
Brown is a three-time All-American at Hampton (including indoor First Team honors in the 800-meter run in 2016) and is one of the Pirates' most decorated track & field athletes. She was a five-time MEAC Outstanding Runner, earning that honor three times outdoors (2014, 2015, 2016) and twice indoors (2014, 2016) – while also being named All-MEAC in cross country three times. A seven-time MEAC event champion, Brown currently holds the second-fastest times in conference history in the indoor 800 meters (2:04.72) and mile run (4:51.63), and the 2:02.82 she ran outdoors in 2016 currently stands as the MEAC's fastest-ever time in that event. She also holds the MEAC's 25th-fastest cross-country championship time ever, with the 18:10.6 she ran in 2015. As part of the MEAC's 50th anniversary celebration in 2020-21, Brown was named to the all-time teams for women's cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field.
"Ce'Aira was a special athlete," said Maurice Pierce, Hampton University Director of Track and Field. "She was different because she dominated the middle-distance events. She is the fourth former Lady Pirate to be inducted in the MEAC Hall of Fame and it shows the level of success that my athletes and teams had in the MEAC."
Jahsha Bluntt, Delaware State Men's Basketball, Gary "Flea" Harrell, Howard Football, Ramona-Riley-Bozier, Morgan State Women's Volleyball Coach and Maria Rodriguez, Maryland Eastern Shore Bowling make up the rest of the 2023 Hall of Fame class.
"Congratulations to the five individuals who will be inducted as part of the MEAC's 2023 Hall of Fame class," MEAC Commissioner Sonja Stills said. "This year's class represents the MEAC at its best in the realm of competition, in the classroom, and in shining a brighter spotlight on the conference and its member institutions. These five inductees are fine representatives of the MEAC, and I am proud to induct them."
The MEAC Hall of Fame highlights former student-athletes, coaches, university and conference administrators, as well as special contributors, who have enriched the legacy of the conference since its inception in 1970. Enshrinees were selected by an eight-person committee made up of administrators and representatives from member institutions.
The inaugural Hall of Fame class was inducted on May 29, 1981 during a 10-year anniversary banquet in Greensboro, N.C. Since its establishment, the MEAC Hall of Fame has enshrined 168 people, including the Class of 2023.
