The South Carolina State football team – following an extended interruption of normalcy due to the COVID-19 coronavirus that continues to grip the nation and the world after an outbreak last March -- finally returned to the field Jan. 22 when the Bulldogs began preparing for an abbreviated Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference spring football season that gets underway Feb. 20 when Coach Buddy Pough's team hosts Norfolk State.

You may have heard that Pough's team, which last saw action during the fall of 2019, is among six Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference squads that opted to play a spring schedule. The others are Delaware State, Howard, Morgan State, Norfolk State and North Carolina A&T, one of three MEAC teams that will be leaving the league come June 30, 2021.

Delaware State, Howard and Morgan State will comprise the league's Northern Division, while Norfolk State, N.C. A&T and S.C. State will compete in the Southern Division, with each team playing the teams in its division twice for a four-game conference schedule. The team with the best record in each division will meet in an inaugural championship game April 17, with the winner potentially earning a trip to the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) playoffs.

For complete story visit www.thetandd.com and for more information on SC State Athletics visit www.scsuathletics.com or call the Office of Athletic Media Relations at (803) 536-7060.