:North Carolina Central Eagles football

{{Short description|College football team representing North Carolina Central University}}

{{Infobox NCAA football school

| CurrentSeason = 2025 North Carolina Central Eagles football team

| TeamName = North Carolina Central Eagles football

| Image = NCCU Eagles wordmark.svg

| ImageSize = 200

| HeadCoach = Trei Oliver

| HeadCoachYear = 5th

| HCWins = 37

| HCLosses = 21

| Stadium = O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium

| StadCapacity = 10,000

| StadSurface = Turf

| Conference = MEAC

| FirstYear = {{Start date and age|1922}}

| Location = Durham, North Carolina

| WebsiteName = nccueaglepride.com

| WebsiteURL = http://nccueaglepride.com/index.aspx?path=football

| ATWins = 434

| ATLosses = 361

| ATTies = 31

| BowlWins =

| BowlLosses =

| BowlTies =

| NatlTitles = 2 (Black College): 2006, 2022

| UnNatlTitles = 2
(Black College): 1954
(Black College Div. II): 2005

| ConfTitles =

| Heismans =

| AllAmericans =

| uniform =

| FightSong =

| MascotDisplay =

| MarchingBand =

}}

The North Carolina Central Eagles football program is a college football team representing North Carolina Central University. The Eagles play at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

History

=Classifications=

1952–1972: NCAA College Division
1955–1969: NAIA
1970–1986: NAIA Division I
1973–2010: NCAA Division II
2011–present: NCAA Division I–AA/FCS

=Conference memberships=

1922–1927: Independent
1928–1970: Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
1971–1978: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
1979–2006: Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
2007–2009: NCAA Division II independent
2010–present: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Championships

=National=

class="wikitable"
{{CollegePrimaryHeader\|team=North Carolina Central Eagles\|Year\|Championship\|Coach\|Overall record\|Conference}}
1954	Black College National co-champions	Herman Riddick	7–1–1	CIAA
2005	Black College National DII Champions	Rod Broadway	10–2	CIAA
2006	Black College National co-champions	Rod Broadway	11–1	CIAA
2022	Black College National Champions	Trei Oliver	10–2	MEAC

=Conference championships=

North Carolina Central has won fifteen conference championships, five shared and ten outright.

class="wikitable"
{{CollegePrimaryHeader\|team=North Carolina Central Eagles\|Year\|Conference\|Coach\|Overall record \|border=2}}
1953	CIAA	Herman Riddick	5–3
1954	CIAA	Herman Riddick	7–1–1
1956*	CIAA	Herman Riddick	5–2–2
1961	CIAA	Herman Riddick	7–0–2
1963	CIAA	Herman Riddick	8–1
1972	MEAC	George Quiett	9–2
1973	MEAC	Willie Smith	7–4
1980	CIAA	Henry Lattimore	7–5
2005	CIAA	Rod Broadway	6–1
2006	CIAA	Rod Broadway	7–0
2014*	MEAC	Jerry Mack	7–5
2015*	MEAC	Jerry Mack	8–3
2016	MEAC	Jerry Mack	9–3
2022*	MEAC	Trei Oliver	10–2
2023*	MEAC	Trei Oliver	9–3

Alumni in the NFL

Over 25 North Carolina Central alumni have played in the NFL,{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/colleges/nocarolinacentral/|title=North Carolina Central Players/Alumni - Pro-Football-Reference.com|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com|access-date=26 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220054111/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/colleges/nocarolinacentral/|archive-date=20 February 2014}} including:

Playoff appearances

=NCAA Division I-AA/FCS=

The Eagles have appeared in the Division I-AA/FCS playoffs one time, with a combined record of 0–1.

class="wikitable"

{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=North Carolina Central Eagles|Year|Round|Opponent|Result}}

align="center"

| 2023

First Round

Richmond

L, 27–49

=NCAA Division II=

The Eagles made three appearances in the Division II playoffs, with a combined record of 1-3.

class="wikitable"

{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=North Carolina Central Eagles|Year|Round|Opponent|Result}}

align="center"

| 1988

| First Round
Quarterfinals

| Winston-Salem State
Sacramento State

| W, 31–16
L, 7–56

align="center"

| 2005

| Second Round

| North Alabama

| L, 21–24

align="center"

| 2006

| Second Round

| Delta State

| L, 17–24

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of February 26, 2025{{cite web|title=Future North Carolina Central Eagles Football Schedules|publisher=FBSchedules.com|url=https://fbschedules.com/ncaa/nc-central/|access-date=February 26, 2025}}

class="wikitable"

{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=North Carolina Central Eagles|2025|2026|2027|2028|2029|2030}}

vs Southern (Atlanta, GA)
MEAC/SWAC Challenge

| at East Carolina

| vs North Carolina A&T (Charlotte, NC)
Duke's Mayo Classic

| North Carolina A&T

| at North Carolina A&T