:North Carolina A&T Aggies

North Carolina A&T sponsors athletic teams in 7 men's and 8 women's NCAA sanctioned sports:{{cite web |publisher=North Carolina A&T State University |title=Official Site of North Carolina A&T Aggies |url=http://www.ncataggies.com/ |access-date=June 12, 2015}} As of 2023, all sports, with the exception of football and women's bowling compete in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). The football team competed in the Big South Conference in the 2022 season before moving to CAA Football, the technically separate football league operated by the all-sports CAA, in 2023. The bowling program competes as an affiliate member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), where the Aggies previously held membership from 1970 to 2021.

{{Main|North Carolina A&T Aggies football}}

{{See also|Truist Stadium (North Carolina A&T)}}

The Aggies are led by head coach Shawn Gibbs. Gibbs was named head coach ahead of the 2025 season, following then head coach Vincent Brown being relieved of his duties.{{cite web |last1=Hodgin |first1=Carrie |title=NC A&T fires head football coach Vincent Brown |url=https://www.wxii12.com/article/nc-a-t-aggies-fire-vincent-brown-football-coach/63094053 |website=WXII |access-date=17 January 2025 |language=en |date=4 December 2024}} The 2017 season was arguably the most successful in the program's history with the Aggies finishing the season with a 12–0 undefeated record; breaking the record for number of wins in a single season that was previously held by the 1990 team; and capturing both the MEAC championship and 2017 Celebration Bowl championship over Grambling. Coach William "Bill" Hayes holds the distinction of the all-time most winningest coach in Aggie history, with a record of: 106 victories, 64 losses, and 1 tied game.{{cite web|title=NCAT Football Media Guide|publisher=NCAT Sports Information|date=May 23, 2010|url=http://www.ncataggies.com/fls/24500/old_site/Football/2009%20articles/Football%20Web%20Guide/%2810%29_FB_09_%28127-164%29.pdf?SPSID=593298&SPID=74503&DB_OEM_ID=24500}}

Over the years, North Carolina A&T has developed intense rivalries with Winston-Salem State University, South Carolina State University, and North Carolina Central University. The rivalry between the Aggies and North Carolina Central University dates back to 1924. Numerous players from North Carolina A&T have played in the National Football League (NFL). They include NFL Hall of Fame member Elvin Bethea, Dwaine Board, Curtis Deloatch, Jason Horton, Maurice Hicks, Jamal Jones, Mel Phillips, Junius Coston, Jesse Britt, Maurice Smith, and George Small.

The Aggies play home football games at Truist Stadium. The stadium, then known as Aggie Stadium, opened in 1981. Before the construction of the stadium, the Aggies played their home football games at Greensboro's World War Memorial Stadium, which was home to the nearby minor league baseball franchise.

{{main|North Carolina A&T Aggies men's basketball}}

{{See also|Corbett Sports Center}}

The Aggie men's basketball program is coached by Monté Ross. Ross became the 12th head coach in the program's history, ahead of the 2023-2024 Season. The most notable coaches in Aggie history are Don Corbett and Cal Irvin, which the Aggie's home basketball court is named after (the Ellis F. Corbett Sports Center). Corbett is most known for leading the Aggies to seven straight MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament titles from 1982 to 1988. Corbett is also known for his 37-game home winning streak that lasted from January 18, 1986, to November 30, 1988.

Irwin's legacy stems from his 18-season run as the Aggies basketball coach. During his tenure, the Aggies never finished below .500. Irvin's success carried the Aggies over from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) into the MEAC, where he won the school's first league championship in 1972. Irvin's held a 308–105 record as coach of the Aggies. His first CIAA championship came in 1958. Irvin's teams won CIAA titles in 1959,1962, 1964, and 1967.{{cite web|title=NCA&T Mens Basketball Media Guide |author=NC A&T SU Sports Information|publisher=NCATAggies.com|access-date=May 24, 2010|url=http://www.ncataggies.com/fls/24500/old_site/Mensbasketball/2009-10%20ARTICLES/2009-10%20MBB%20WEB%20GUIDE/%283%29_MBB_INTRO.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=24500}}

The Aggies have appeared in the NCAA tournament ten times (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1995, and 2013). The Aggies have also appeared in the National Invitation Tournament twice (1976 and 1981). The Aggies play home basketball games at the Ellis F. Corbett Sports Center, which opened in 1978. Corbett Sports Center, known for its intense playing atmosphere and loyal fan base, was chosen by ESPN columnist Kyle Whelliston as one of his favorite arena atmospheres.{{cite web|title=Student Spirit Week: Favorite Arena Atmospheres|author=Kyle Whelliston|work=ESPN.com|access-date=May 22, 2010 |url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/columns/story?id=2732030}} Additionally, Corbett Sports Center was ranked the 14th best atmosphere in the nation in an espn.com fan poll. North Carolina A&T was the only historically black college or university (HBCU) in the poll, and in 2007 they had three games nationally televised on ESPNU.

In 2013, the Aggies made their tenth appearance in the NCAA Division I tournament and had their first win.

{{see also|North Carolina A&T Aggies women's basketball}}

The “Lady Aggies” are led by coach Tarrell Robinson, who assumed the coaching position in 2012. The Lady Aggies are one of the top teams in the MEAC, staking claim to six MEAC regular season and two MEAC tournament championships. Under previous coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs, the lady aggies secured notable victories over Wake Forest University and Charlotte in the 2010 WNIT Tournament. those victories gave the program the distinction of being the first Division-I HBCU program to win two postseason games in an NCAA Division I tournament.{{cite web|title=North Carolina A&T Headed to WNIT Sweet 16|author=HBCU Digest|publisher=HBCUDigest.com|access-date=May 22, 2010|url=http://www.hbcudigest.com/2010/03/north-carolina-at-headed-to-wnit-sweet-16/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325100204/http://www.hbcudigest.com/2010/03/north-carolina-at-headed-to-wnit-sweet-16/|archive-date=March 25, 2010|url-status=usurped|df=mdy-all}} The Lady Aggies post a 41–4 home court record and a 25 home court win streak that began during the 2007 season. Their most recent MEAC title was during the 2009 season. The Lady Aggies won the MEAC regular season championship in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

{{main|North Carolina A&T Aggies baseball}}

File:NCA&T Aggies baseball (cropped).jpg]]

The North Carolina A&T baseball team is coached by Ben Hall. The Aggie Baseball program has claimed three MEAC championships and 14 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) championships, including a six-season streak from 1950 to 1955.{{cite web|title=NCA&T Baseball History|author=NCAT Alumni Baseball Association|publisher=www.aggiebaseballalumni.org|access-date=June 9, 2010|url=http://www.aggiebaseballalumni.org/index.php?page=history|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100513010311/http://www.aggiebaseballalumni.org/index.php?page=history|archive-date=May 13, 2010|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} The Aggie baseball program plays all home contests in nearby War Memorial Stadium. The stadium has served as the home of various local minor league baseball clubs

from the 1930s to 2004.{{cite web|title=NCA&T Baseball Home Field|author=NCAT Alumni Baseball Association|publisher=www.aggiebaseballalumni.org|access-date=June 9, 2010|url=http://www.aggiebaseballalumni.org/index.php?page=homefield|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724230023/http://www.aggiebaseballalumni.org/index.php?page=homefield|archive-date=July 24, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}

The Lady Aggies bowling team is coached by Kim Terrell-Kearney who took over the program in 2016.{{cite web |title=Kim Terrell-Kearney - Head Coach - Women's Bowling Coaches |url=https://ncataggies.com/sports/womens-bowling/roster/coaches/kim-terrell-kearney/450 |website=North Carolina A&T |access-date=8 July 2022 |language=en}} The Aggies hold the distinction of winning four out of the first five MEAC Bowling Championships since the sport was officially recognized as a varsity sport by the conference in the 1999–2000 season.{{cite web|title=NCA&T Bowling|author=NCAT Athletics|publisher=www.ncat.edu|access-date=June 9, 2010|url=http://www.ncat.edu/~athletic/Bowling/bowling.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123050451/http://www.ncat.edu/~athletic/Bowling/bowling.htm|archive-date=November 23, 2008|df=mdy-all}}

North Carolina A&T has won one national championship in the program's history. In 2015, the Aggies won the United States Bowling Congress's Intercollegiate Team Championship, in their first appearance, defeating Robert Morris.{{cite web|title=National Champs|url=http://www.ncataggies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=24500&ATCLID=210031759|website=ncataggies.com|publisher=NC A&T Sports Information|access-date=April 19, 2015}}

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The North Carolina A&T women's golf team is led by Coach Richard Watkins. Watkins was the first head coach in the program's history and coaches both the women's and men's teams. The women's program played their inaugural season in 2016 and the men's program began in the fall of 2017.{{cite web|title=Watkins Named Head Men's and Women's Golf Coach |url=http://www.ncataggies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=593278&SPID=74500&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=210219991&DB_OEM_ID=24500 |website=ncataggies.com|publisher=NCAT Sports Information|access-date=October 17, 2015}} A&T uses Bryan Park Golf Course as their home course. Bryan Park has served as the host course for the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in 2010. The Bermuda grass course was recently awarded the prestigious 4-star ranking in Golf Digest{{'}}s Best Places to Play Guide.{{cite web |title=Aggies Select Home Golf Course|url=http://www.ncataggies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=593278&SPID=74500&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=210296759&DB_OEM_ID=24500|website=ncataggies.com|publisher=NCAT Sports Information |access-date=October 17, 2015}}

The A&T men's golf program received considerable publicity in the 2021–22 season when former NBA player J. R. Smith, who had gone directly from high school to the NBA and thus had never attended college, enrolled at A&T and joined the team.{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/32383411/ex-nba-guard-jr-smith-makes-golf-debut-north-carolina-at |title=Ex-NBA guard JR Smith makes golf debut with North Carolina A&T |agency=Associated Press |website=ESPN.com |date=October 11, 2021 |accessdate=October 11, 2021}}{{cite web|date=April 25, 2022|title=North Carolina A&T's Academic Athlete of the Year, with a 4.0 GPA: JR Smith, Men's Golf|url=https://twitter.com/fos/status/1518742197805400064|access-date=April 25, 2022|website=Front Office Sports on Twitter.com}}

The Lady Aggies softball team is coached by interim head coach Shawn Hendrix. Hendrix assumed the head coaching position After the departure of former coach Diego Ibarra. The Lady Aggies play their home contests at the Aggie Softball Complex which was built in 2005.

The North Carolina A&T men's and women's tennis teams are led by Coach Dejon Bivins. Bivins assumed the position of head coach in 2021, after serving as the interim coach. Bivins has served as an assistant coach for the programs since 2017.{{cite web |title=Dejon Bivens - Head Coach - Staff Directory |url=https://ncataggies.com/staff-directory/dejon-bivens/172 |website=North Carolina A&T |access-date=15 April 2023 |language=en}} The Aggies host their home matches at the Aggie Tennis Center. The facility, built in 2003, possesses eight synthetic surface courts where the Aggies play five to six tennis matches per year.{{cite web|title=Aggie Tennis Center|url=http://www.ncataggies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=24500&ATCLID=204937093|website=ncataggies.com|publisher=NCAT Sports Information|access-date=October 17, 2015}}

The North Carolina A&T men's and women's track and field and Cross Country teams are led by Coach and Olympian Allen Johnson. Johnson oversees all six of NC A&T's track and field programs, which include men's and women's cross country, men's and women's indoor track and field and men's and women's outdoor track and field.

The Aggies host their home track meets at Marcus T. Johnson Track at Truist Stadium.

The track surface is Mondo Super X Performance track and features eight 48-inch lanes and wide turns.[https://sites.google.com/site/collegeovalscom/mid-eastern/aggie-stadium Collegeovals.com] Belk Track has played host to many regional, national, and international events, such as International Friendship & Freedom Games, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships – East Regional, the New Balance Outdoor Nationals (formerly the Nike Outdoor Nationals), and the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships.[http://nc.milesplit.us/venues/4867 Aggie Stadium MileSplit.us profile] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20070627103232/http://nc.milesplit.us/venues/4867 |date=June 27, 2007 }}

The North Carolina A&T volleyball team is coached by Hal Clifton. Clifton is the ninth head coach in the program's history, and he replaced former coach Toni Conway, who took over the program in 2009.{{cite web|title=NC A&T Volleyball Media Guide 2010 |author=NC A&T SU Sports Information|publisher=NCATAggies.com|access-date=September 1, 2011 |url=http://www.ncataggies.com/fls/24500/2010VolleyballWebGuide/%288%29_Full_Web_Guide.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=24500}} Prior to joining NC A&T, Clifton held previous assistant coaching positions at NCAA Division II St. Andrews Presbyterian College, as well as six seasons at Division I Elon University. Clifton played an integral part in turning the Phoenix program from a 9–23 team, in the 2005 season, into a squad that finished in first place in the Southern Conference North Division in 2010 with a 21–14 overall record and an 11–5 mark in the league.{{cite web|title=Aggies Name New Volleyball Coach|author=NCAT Sports Information |publisher=www.ncataggies.com|access-date=September 1, 2011|url=http://www.ncataggies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=593343&SPID=74514&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205237036&DB_OEM_ID=24500}}

The Lady Aggies volleyball program currently hosts all home contests inside Moore Gymnasium.

NC A&T sponsored Women's swimming as a varsity sport from 1998 to 2016 where they competed in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA), an NCAA Division I conference that started in 2007 as the single-sport Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association and adopted its current name when it added women's beach volleyball in 2015.{{cite web|title=Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Launches Website|author=College of Charleston Athletics|publisher=www.cofcsports.com|access-date=June 9, 2010|url=http://www.cofcsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14800&ATCLID=1253287|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725031847/http://www.cofcsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14800&ATCLID=1253287|archive-date=July 25, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} The team was led by coach Shawn Hendrix, who ran the program from its first season.{{cite web |last1=Graham |first1=Latria |title='Black girls do swim': North Carolina A&T swim team leaves behind unique legacy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/19/black-girls-do-swim-north-carolina-at-swim-team-leaves-behind-unique-legacy |website=The Guardian|access-date=August 31, 2017|date=February 19, 2016}}

File:Aggie Stadium (NCAT) Pressbox 2012-1.jpg File:Corbett Sports Center Exterior.jpg

‡ Denotes off-campus facility

{{see also|Aggie (Mascot)}}

Aggie, sometimes referred to as the "Aggie Dawg" or "Aggie Dog", is the official mascot of A&T's athletic teams. Aggie and his female counterpart, Aggietha can be seen at football, men's and women's basketball games, and other university events. Although the physical representation of the athletic teams is a bulldog, the term "Aggie" has a historical connection to the university's agricultural roots as a land-grant university.

According to Albert W. Spruill, the origin of the school's Bulldog mascot stems from a tale of a shepherd dog, that was kept on the A&T farm to assist in herding the animals to shelter. During a football game the Aggies had become despondent and in the game's last few minutes, an A&T fullback broke through the opposition's defense and scored a touchdown that was ruled no good by a referee. It is said that at that moment, an unidentified person untied the bulldog which then attacked the referee. The incident was said to almost cost the school its membership in the CIAA, but it vindicated the Aggies. It is said that from that day on, the mascot for the football team has been a bulldog.{{cite web|title=Origins of The Aggie Bulldog|author=Dr. Albert W. Spruill|publisher=Bluedeathvalley.com|access-date=May 22, 2010|url=http://www.bluedeathvalley.com/originmascot.html}}

{{main|Dear A&T}}

"Dear A&T" is the alma mater of North Carolina A&T. The song traditionally concludes formal university events, including athletic contests such as football and basketball games attended by the North Carolina A&T State University Blue and Gold Marching Machine or the A&T pep band. It is more formal than the traditional fight songs such as "Old Aggie Spirit" and the "A&T Fight Song", and is typically played and sung in a more reverent fashion than other university songs.{{cite web|title=The A&T Alma Mater|url=http://www.library.ncat.edu/resources/archives/almamater.html|website=www.library.ncat.edu|publisher=F.D. Bluford Library Archives|access-date=July 1, 2014}}

The A&T fight song made its debut in 2005. The song is traditionally performed at athletic contests such as football and basketball games attended by the North Carolina A&T State University Blue and Gold Marching Machine or the A&T pep band. It is standard practice for the marching band to perform the song after an Aggie touchdown.{{Cite web|url=https://ncatregister.com/7061/uncategorized/at-unveils-new-fight-song/|title=A&T unveils new fight song|date=September 20, 2005|website=The A&T Register|publisher=North Carolina A&T State University|access-date=2020-02-15}}

"Old Aggie Spirit" is a popular song sung by fans and played by the band at many A&T athletic events, especially at football and basketball games. Before the creation of the school's fight song in 2005, the song served as the de facto fight song for the university's sports teams. It is standard practice for the marching band or pep band to perform the song during the pre game show at football games, after a touchdown, in lieu of the school's fight song, or during time-outs at basketball games. The melody of the song is based on the gospel music song "Old-Time Religion."

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