HBCU football legacy: Is Chennis Berry off to best start in MEAC history?

Chennis Berry has turned his first two MEAC seasons at South Carolina State into one of the strongest starts in HBCU football history.

The question now is simple. Has anyone in MEAC football history started better?

Berry has gone 10-0 in MEAC play across his first two seasons with South Carolina State. He has won back-to-back conference titles and reached the Celebration Bowl twice. He also added a Celebration Bowl win and a Black College national title in year two.

That is a heavy résumé for any coach. It is even more impressive because it came right away.

South Carolina State was not broken when Berry arrived. Buddy Pough had built too much history for that. But the Bulldogs needed new energy. Berry brought it quickly. He did not ease into the job. He grabbed the league by the collar.

That makes this more than a hot start. It makes it a MEAC history discussion.

MEAC history gives Chennis Berry serious competition

The MEAC has never lacked great football coaches.

Willie Jeffries made South Carolina State a league pillar. Bill Hayes pushed North Carolina A&T into championship form. Joe Taylor helped Hampton become a force after its move into the league. Buddy Pough turned South Carolina State into a modern MEAC standard.

But this question is different.

This is not about career greatness. It is about the first two seasons in the league. That narrows the field.

The strongest modern comparison is Sam Washington at North Carolina A&T. Washington took over in 2018 and kept the Aggies rolling. His first two teams won back-to-back MEAC titles. They also won back-to-back Celebration Bowls.

Washington went 2-0 in Atlanta. Berry is 1-1 so far. If the argument is about postseason finish, Washington has a real case.

But Berry has the cleaner conference record.

Washington's first two A&T teams were not undefeated in MEAC play. Berry's first two South Carolina State teams were. That gives Berry a major edge inside the league race.

Jerry Mack of NC Central also belongs in the conversation. He led NCCU to back-to-back shares of the MEAC title as a coach in his mid-30s in 2014 and 2015. But both those teams fell short of the outright bid and 2015 missed out on the inaugural Celebration Bowl.

Bill Davis at South Carolina State may have the strongest old-school argument. Davis won back-to-back MEAC titles in 1981 and 1982. His teams also won FCS playoff games in both seasons. That is serious historical weight.

Still, Davis did not go unbeaten in league play across those two years.

The HBCU football standard depends on the question

So is Chennis Berry off to the best start in MEAC football coaching history?

The answer depends on the measuring stick.

If Celebration Bowl wins are the top standard, Sam Washington has a strong claim. His first two North Carolina A&T teams finished the job twice on the biggest HBCU postseason stage.

If FCS playoff success matters most, Bill Davis deserves a hard look. MEAC playoff wins have never been easy to find.

But if the question is about total conference control, Berry has the best argument.

Berry is unbeaten in MEAC play and he has two outright conference titles. Over the 10 MEAC games played across 2024 and 2025, South Carolina State outscored its conference opponents by a grand total of 225 points (an average of 22.5 points per game).He has already won a Celebration Bowl and restored South Carolina State to the front of HBCU football without needing a long runway.

That combination is what separates him.

Plenty of MEAC coaches have started fast. Some started with bigger postseason wins. Others built longer legacies.

But nobody appears to have started cleaner and been more dominant.

Through two seasons, Chennis Berry has not just won the MEAC. He has controlled it. And until someone finds a better two-year opening act, his start at South Carolina State belongs at the top of the conversation.

The post HBCU football legacy: Is Chennis Berry off to best start in MEAC history? appeared first on HBCU Gameday.

HBCU Gameday

This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 12:55 PM.