NORFOLK, Va. – After a com- prehensive and competitive national search, the Mid Eastern Athletics Conference Council of Presidents and Chancellors announced Sonja Stills Monday as the next MEAC Commissioner effective January 1, 2022.
With Stills’ selection, she be- comes the first female commission- er in MEAC and HBCU Division I history.
“On behalf of MEAC institutions’ presidents and chancellors, I am thrilled to welcome Ms. Stills as our next commissioner,” said Johnson O. Akinleye, Ph.D., chancellor of North Carolina Central University and chair of the MEAC Presidents and Chancellors Council. “Her extensive portfolio, experience and service with the MEAC make her uniquely prepared to elevate the conference in the coming years. As a proven leader who is making history and service with the MEAC make her uniquely prepared to elevate the conference in the coming years. As a proven leader who is making history for the MEAC, she is equally passionate about providing opportunities for our diverse student-athletes and building a portfolio of athletic and academic successes.”
“I’m honored to be named the MEAC’s next Commissioner,” Stills said. “I’ve learned a great deal in my tenure with the conference and look forward to continuing the MEAC’s history of excellence. Thank you to the MEAC Council of Presidents and Chancellors and thank you to Commissioner Dr. Dennis E. Thomas for your leadership and mentorship over the past 19 years.”
Stills currently serves as the Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. With over 19 years of experience in assisting with articulating and developing a clear, strategic vision for the future of the conference, she brings an unmatched level of expertise to her new role as MEAC Commissioner. A 2021 MEAC 50th Anniversary Pioneers in Women’s Sports Award recipient, Stills embodies all that is the Mid- Eastern Athletic conference.
“Congratulations to Sonja Stills,” said Thomas who is retiring at the end of the year after 19 years at the helm of the MEAC. “I’m thrilled to see her hard work, determination, discipline and integrity being rewarded. Sonja has always demonstrated vision and a passion for student-athlete achievement, which is why I’m confident she will lead the MEAC to its next level of success.”