When will HBCU athletic programs be viewed as typical mid majors?


While Historical Black College and University (HBCU) sports and historical black institutions continue to trend in a positive direction, I've recently heard two prominent voices express feeling "tired" of the HBCU moniker and/or label. One would have to be blind in effort to not see the ever-growing attention on historically black colleges from a general sense with athletics deemed as the doorway to these universities. There is also the well-known sentiment that alumni, students, student athletes, coaches, faculty, and beyond appreciate the world taking notice of black excellence. 


Tired in a good way

With that being said, some may have questions as to the reason anyone would be "tired" considering such unequivocal growth and evolution in the world of HBCUs. To provide context, this subject came to mind during an interview where Grambling State University Head Football Coach Hue Jackson joined myself and Wole on the Urban Sports Scene to discuss the current state of his program as well as the vision for the future. When asked what it meant to coach at an HBCU, Coach Jackson stated "honestly I get tired of talking about HBCU football because we're no different from anybody else. We play great football, there's great coaches in our conference, there's great football players, and that stigma to me a little bit means that we're less than". This response was a breath of fresh air on a personal level; as an HBCU alum who desires to see HBCU sports return to prominence as was the case many years ago without the label. 

In a separate discussion with Morgan State Head Men's Basketball Coach Kevin Broadus, he alluded to how it was the norm on college campuses such as Grambling to see NFL prospects "walking around" in a similar fashion that's currently typical at Power 5 schools. Despite being in agreement with Coach Jackson, the thought process shifted to recent advancements including the NFL's HBCU combine as well as the NBA's HBCU classic that was featured during all-star weekend this past year. Coach Jackson never denied that such recognition was evolutionary, however remained steadfast by indicating that he would prefer the NFL host one combine for all players.

The Solution

So, I began to ponder how HBCU athletic programs can shed the label and gain recognition beyond race and stigmas. Being confronted with this sort of dilemma led to advanced discourse that largely revolved around the standard "winning cures all" focus. The "winning is everything" mindset simply preceded more questions as to how HBCU programs get to a place of consistent success. Then it happened as the light bulb finally went off during the Urban Sports Scene's recent sit down with Norfolk State Men's Basketball Coach Robert Jones. Like Coach Hue Jackson, Coach Jones expressed similar sentiments in reference to feeling tired of the HBCU label. In doing so, Jones would go on to expound upon how a different thought process and specific strategy can change this dynamic. His words instantly captured me while stating "We're an HBCU yes, but we're a mid-major football program, we're a mid-major basketball program, and like what I do is I look at what other mid-major programs are doing. It's no disrespect to anybody in the MEAC or SWAC or anything, but I don't really care about what any of those other programs are doing. Whatever they are doing, we're doing something comparable. I'm looking at what Murray State is doing, what Loyola Chicago is doing, stuff like that bring back to Norfolk State to get us in those same breaths as those institutions.".

In short, HBCU athletic programs have to view themselves differently while taking a look outside of the HBCU world in effort to elevate the discussion beyond simply being great black institutions. It's a genius move on the part of Coach Jones and in part explains his program's recent success. I long for the day where a school such as Norfolk State takes on the likes of Creighton in any sport with the event being deemed a clash of two mid-major programs. I truly believe we are headed in that direction and there is nothing that can impede this momentum except ourselves. 

Ray Rogers


   

        


    

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