This fall two historically Black colleges and universities will square off in an intercollegiate football game in the Bahamas. The game is being cosponsored by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and the HBCUX network.
When the University of Texas hired Charlie Strong as its first African American head football coach, the university’s major benefactor called the selection “a kick in the face.”
Florida State University won the national championship in college football. But the success on the field has not been matched in the classroom for Black football players. As a result, the university is beefing up academic support for student athletes.
The championship football game of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association between Winston-Salem State University and Virginia State University was cancelled after an incident at the pre-game luncheon.
Pervis Atkins’ number 27 football uniform was retired but was briefly “unretired” on Saturday so the university could present a uniform jersey to Garrey Carruthers, the 27th president of the university.
The historically Black university last fielded an intercollegiate football program in 1979. Many alumni wanted to restore the program but a task force appointed by the university’s president Juliette B. Bell, found that the institution did not have “either the human or fiscal resources” to do so.
In 1937 Emerson Harvey was the first Black player at ASU. His presence on the football team at the university served to play a major role in the racial integration of college sports in the southwest.
Bernard Muir takes over the athletics program at Stanford and Jerome Fitch does the same at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
In 1994 there were 17 players from HBCUs drafted by National Football League teams. This year there was one.
Bethune-Cookman has and enrollment that is 94.3 percent Black. But not one member of the university’s women’s golf team is an African American.
The director of athletics stated that the cuts will enable the university’s remaining sports teams to be more competitive.
Head football coach Mike London makes a significant contribution to the AccessUVa financial aid program.
In agreeing to the settlement, the university denied any wrongdoing in the case.
Edward P. Hurt was head coach for football, basketball, and track and field. He also served as athletics director.
Leon Kerry has led the conference for the past 22 years and has brought in millions of dollars of revenues which have benefited member institutions.
It is likely that the financial aid provided by an athletic scholarship is a critical factor in enabling many black student athletes to stay in school.
Duke University has never had a black head coach in any sport.
The Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library at Emory University in Atlanta has established a new collection on African Americans in sports.
Nationwide less than 10 percent of all athletic directors at the NCAA’s Division I colleges and universities are women. But recently two historically black universities named women to lead their athletics programs.
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