North Carolina Central University Educational Advancement Foundation
History of the Eagle Club
The North Carolina Central University Educational Advancement Foundation, Incorporated (the “Eagle Club”) was incorporated in 1979 as a non-profit corporation. The members of the club financially supported athletics at NCCU through the payment of annual dues and fund raising activities. Several members of the club also paid an amount that allowed them to become sustaining members of the club. These individuals were designated as Gold Life members.
Individual sports at NCCU also had booster clubs that raised funds on behalf of those sports. The Quarterback Club supported football, the N2EaglesHoops Club supported men’s basketball, the Ball-N-Eagles supported women’s basketball and the Spike Club supported track.
In 2005 the Board of Trustees of NCCU voted to reclassify the entire athletic program from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II level to the Division I level. Football was reclassified to the I-AA level (now Championship Subdivision). The board also voted to apply for admission to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The university filed it application for reclassification with the NCAA as an exploratory member and also filed its application to join the MEAC.
On September 10, 2009, NCCU was accepted into the MEAC effective July 1, 2010.
The move from Division II to Division I increased the need for larger operating and scholarship budgets. In order to meet these needs, the university decided to unify its fundraising efforts by merging the various booster clubs on campus into one university sanctioned booster club. The decision was made to keep the name "Eagle Club."
In July, 2009, members of the initial board of directors of the Eagle Club were selected by members of the legacy booster clubs and the athletic director. The by-laws of the Eagle Club provide for a board of directors not to exceed 25.
