NORFOLK, Va., Dec. 20, 2022 – Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Commissioner Sonja Stills was honored at ESSENCE’s Black Women in Sports Awards Brunch on Friday in Atlanta, Ga., as the recipient of the Leadership Award.
“I am so freaking humbled,” Stills told BOSSIP at the event. “I’m sitting here and I’m emotional the whole time. It’s just amazing when you think about ESSENCE and being a little girl and reading the magazines and seeing them. [So] to be here and to be honored is totally amazing. This is my Christmas present.”
Stills, who has been with the MEAC for 20 years, is wrapping up her first calendar year as commissioner. She is the first female commissioner in the history of the MEAC and the first female commissioner of a Div. I HBCU conference.
Also honored were 2012 Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross, who earned the Star Athlete Award, and Delaware State head women’s lacrosse coach Pamella Jenkins, accepting the Rising Stars Award on behalf of the Hornets’ program.
The event took place at the Westside Cultural Arts Center in conjunction with the Cricket Celebration Bowl.
The invite-only affair took place in alongside events throughout the week that catered to the HBCU family-oriented audience. The Awards Brunch honored leading women in the sports industry – both professional and collegiate – who serve as a catalyst for change and are making waves in the business of sports to create opportunities for future talent.
In partnership with Coca-Cola, the mission was to provide a safe space for honest conversations around issues that Black female athletes and industry personnel face on a daily basis.