“We had an opportunity to speak volumes and we just didn’t,” he said.

“We had a chance to get into the playoffs ourselves and we didn’t. We don’t have anyone to fault but ourselves.”

Saturday’s 21-14 loss at North Carolina Central cost the Aggies sole possession of the MEAC Championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA FCS (Division I-AA) playoffs. As it turned out, that automatic bid was the Aggies’ only chance to keep playing this season.

The loss dropped A&T into a five-way tie for first place. The tiebreaker and automatic bid went to Morgan State on the basis of its record against the other four teams (2-1, compared to the Aggie’s 1-2; ironically, A&T won a 45-0 victory over Morgan State). The selection committee didn’t pick any other MEAC team for the 24-team playoff field.

For what it’s worth, A&T and the other first-place teams – Bethune-Cookman, N.C. Central and South Carolina State – all can lay claim to being MEAC co-champions.

The Aggies displayed excellence on both sides of the ball this season, ranking first in the MEAC in scoring offense, scoring defense, rushing offense, pass defense, kick return yardage, interceptions, field goals, and turnover margin (tied with NCCU).

Sophomore running back Tarik Cohen ran for 203 yards and two touchdowns Saturday. He leads the MEAC with 1,340 yards rushing, 16 touchdowns and 96 points scored. With an average 121 running yards per game, he leads the MEAC and ranks 10th in the FCS.

An especially hard blow in Saturday’s game came late in the fourth quarter with the Aggies trailing 21-14. Cohen fumbled just three yards short of the end zone. NCCU recovered, and the Aggies didn’t get near the goal line again in two possessions.

“It happens and that is football,” Broadway said about the Cohen play. “Tarik has been great for us all year. He is probably one of the best players in this conference. His contribution to this football team is unbelievable, and I love him for it.”

Regardless of Saturday’s outcome, 2014 was a season of accomplishment for the Aggies.

“I am proud of our guys,” Broadway said. “To win nine football games at this time, at this university, with the things we had to overcome, I’m proud of them. To be co-champions is not that bad, but it’s not as good as being champion.”

Just four years ago, no one was talking about championships and playoffs after a 1-10 season. Then in 2011 Broadway arrived, and he has steadily achieved the objectives necessary to create a quality program. The Aggies have posted three winning seasons in a row and have worked their way out of NCAA academic sanctions. It’s a program all Aggies can take pride in again.

That pride shows in the way Broadway sums up the season:

“We knew going in we had a lot of work to do, but 9-3 is nothing to be embarrassed about so we are going to keep our heads up and walk out of here with dignity. We are going to continue to grind and build this thing the right way.”