Tag: HBCU

Arizona high school football camp hosts HBCU scouts for recruiting

Five HBCUs attended an Arizona high school football camp for a joint recruitment event.

A group of five Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) gathered at Higley High School in Gilbert, Ariz. for a joint recruiting event.

With a lack of recruiting in Arizona by HBCUs, organizers set up a high school football camp with 35 participants to run drills with scouts from Howard University, Morgan State University, North Carolina A&T University, Alabama A&M University, and Lincoln University in attendance.

“Recruiting is really hard,” said Britney Buckles, event organizer and former Howard athlete, to Cronkite News. “We talked to a lot of coaches that there’s not a lot of HBCUs that come out here to recruit. So, we thought, ‘Let’s try to put something together where the Black colleges are out here recruiting, (and) the kids are learning about the opportunities they have.’”

After months of preparation, the event took place on Saturday, May 18. The group of players, a relatively small crowd compared to many recruiting events, got exposure from warmups, a 40-yard dash, positional drills and seven-on-seven passing drills, according to Cronkite News.

This provided opportunities for both the schools to recruits and students to meet coaches from HBCUs.

“It’s important that we scout talent out west because these guys need opportunity just like kids in our wheelhouse,” Alabama A&M recruiting coordinator Bobby Turner told Cronkite News. “Unless you’re exposed to something, you sometimes won’t get an opportunity because that’s not the norm. So us getting out here to the desert gives these students an opportunity but also allows us to build our brand from an HBCU athletic and academic standpoint.”

All five HBCUs are from the east coast, the closest of which (Alabama A&M) being 1,600 miles away from Higley High School and the furthest being 2,300 miles away. For programs with limited resources, a recruiting event tailored to the schools helps increase access.

Jayden Wooden, a former Morgan State player who attended Centennial High School in the Greater Phoenix area, told Cronkite News he wanted to emphasize what an HBCU offers students.

“I wanted to let these kids know that there is no experience like an HBCU, from the culture to the community,” he said. “You can’t get those personal experiences at predominantly white institutions. That’s my main thing – the Black cultural experience on the West Coast is lacking, and it’s important to bring that to light.”

Arizona high school football has been elevated over the last decade, with recent players making the NFL like Brock Purdy (Iowa State), Bijan Robinson (Texas) and Kelee Ringo (Georgia). HBCUs are now getting a better opportunity to see if any of the state’s talent meets their standards.

How to watch and stream the 2024 HBCU Legacy Bowl

The HBCU Legacy Bowl will be televised on NFL Network at 2 p.m. MT today.

The 2024 HBCU Legacy Bowl will be played at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. MT. The game will be televised on NFL Network and available to stream on fuboTV (try it free).

Steve Wyche (play-by-play) and Bucky Brooks (analyst) will serve as NFL Network’s commentators for the game with Sherree Burruss reporting from the sideline.

The HBCU Legacy Bowl teams are named after former coaches Jake Gaither and Eddie Robinson. Team Gaither defeated Team Robinson 22-6 in the inaugural game in 2022. Team Robinson bounced back to win last year’s game 10-3.

The Denver Broncos signed running back Emanuel Wilson as a college free agent after he played in last year’s all-star game. Broncos safety Justin Simmons will serve as an honorary captain at this year’s game.

Wyche has identified cornerback Eric Smith, defensive linemen Loobert Denelus and Jeblonski Green, safety John Huggins and quarterback Davius Richard among the players to watch at this year’s game. View the 2024 HBCU Legacy Bowl rosters on the all-star game’s website.

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Broncos signed one player after last year’s HBCU Legacy Bowl

After playing in last year’s HBCU Legacy Bowl, RB Emanuel Wilson signed with the Broncos as a college free agent.

The 2024 HBCU Legacy Bowl will be played at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans this afternoon (how to watch). Last year, the Denver Broncos scouted Fort Valley State running back Emanuel Wilson at the college all-star game.

Wilson only got three carries in the 2023 HBCU Legacy Bowl, but he must have stood out at practice and on film because the Broncos promptly signed him as a college free agent following the 2023 NFL draft.

Denver also signed fellow running back Jaleel McLaughlin, who ended up winning the team’s third-string running back job. The Broncos cut Wilson last May to make room for XFL signings, but his NFL career did not end there.

Wilson went on to sign with the Green Bay Packers and he ended up making their 53-man roster. He played in five games a rookie before being placed on injured reserve. After returning from IR, Wilson rushed 12 times for 36 yards and caught one pass for 11 yards during Green Bay’s two-game playoff run.

Wilson wasn’t able to beat out McLaughlin in Denver, but he’s a talented running back worthy of an active roster spot in the NFL. That’s the kind of talent the Broncos will be looking for at the HBCU Legacy Bowl today.

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Cowboys’ Markquese Bell to be named NFL HBCU Player of the Year

From @ToddBrock24f7: The dynamic safety/linebacker out of Florida A&M joins a long line of Cowboys greats who have come to the pros from HBCUs.

Jerry Rice. Walter Payton. Michael Strahan. Deacon Jones. Richard Dent. Mel Blount. Art Shell. Steve McNair.

Theirs are some of the most legendary names in NFL history, but their individual journeys to the loftiest ranks in the sport had somewhat more humble beginnings.

They are just a few of the players who came to the pros by way of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities. And now one of the Cowboys’ own is being recognized as the most outstanding HBCU player in the game for 2023.

Safety Markquese Bell will be honored during Super Bowl Week as the NFL HBCU Spotlight Player of the Year.

“I am humbly grateful for this honor and acknowledgment to be selected for the NFL HBCU Spotlight Player of the Year for the 2023 season,” Bell said.

The just-turned-25-year-old went undrafted out of Florida A&M in 2022 and made the Cowboys’ initial 53-man roster after impressing coaches during training camp. He was still learning the ropes during his rookie campaign, taking just 22 defensive snaps in five game appearances.

But his second season saw a huge jump in his involvement, as well as his production. In a safety/linebacker hybrid role, Bell was in on 649 defensive snaps in the regular season, representing more than 60% of the unit’s action.

Playing in every game (and starting 12 of them), Bell racked up 94 tackles, second-most on the team and forced two fumbles, also second-best.

But he won’t be resting on those numbers heading into his third NFL season.

“I know that I must work extremely hard during this off-season to condition my body to prepare for the everyday grind as a professional football player,” Bell said, per The Famuan. “I am extremely excited about getting with my coaches and teammates this off-season to study my craft and add more tools to my toolbelt.”

There’s a high bar set for Bell in Dallas, as several of the franchise’s all-time greats also came from HBCUs, including Rayfield Wright (Fort Valley State), Bob Hayes (Florida A&M), Ed “Too Tall” Jones (Tennessee State), Everson Walls (Grambling State), Jethro Pugh (Elizabeth City State), Erik Williams (Central State), and Nate Newton (Florida A&M).

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Several HBCU alums are currently on NFL rosters: Javon Hargrave, Grover Stewart, Isaiah Bolden, Darius Leonard, and Terron Armstead are among them.

While the still-new NFL HBCU Combine and recent national attention given to smaller programs like Jackson State- under the former leadership of Cowboys legend Deion Sanders- have created opportunities for many players who might not otherwise get the looks from NFL teams, Bell is aware that he’s an ambassador for HBCUs and a role model for other under-recognized players every time he steps on the field.

“I do realize God has placed upon me to lead and be an example for many,” Bell explained, “and for that matter, I have accepted my calling to be intentional in the most positive way that I know as to the lives I affect from those watching me.”

There will be plenty watching in the fall as Bell embarks on his third season as a key contributor within the Cowboys defense.

Bell will be honored as the NFL HBCU Spotlight Player of the Year at The Super Bowl Soulful Celebration, airing Feb. 10 on CBS. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will receive the prestigious Faith in Action Award at the same event. Bills safety Damar Hamlin will be presented with the New Beginnings Award,” while CBS host and ex-NFL wide receiver Nate Burleson will be given the Lifetime of Inspiration Award.

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Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes wins the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week award

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes wins the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week award

The Kansas City Chiefs starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes adds another honor to his career trophy case as he was named the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week.

Mahomes won for his impressive performance, completing 32 of 42 attempts (76.2 percent) for 424 yards and four touchdowns for a 129.5 passer rating in the Week 7 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. After winning the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week Award, FedEx will make a $2,000 donation in the reigning league MVP’s name to a Historically Black College or University, which will apply towards needs-based scholarships to deserving HBCU students.

The donations to support HBCU students align with Mahomes’ consistent work to shine a light on the programs. He has supported the annual HBCU Legacy Bowl through his ’15 and the Mahomies Foundation’.

“Yeah, it was a no-brainer for me whenever I got the opportunity through my foundation to help sponsor this game,” Mahomes said in 2022. “I know a lot of players that have been at HBCUs and haven’t got the opportunity that I got coming out of college. So, I wanted to make sure we shine a light on these guys. There are a bunch of these guys that can play in the league.”

Running back D’Onta Foreman of the Chicago Bears was awarded his first FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week for his contribution to Chicago’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders, where he rushed for 89 yards on 16 carries (5.6 avg.) and two touchdowns in Week 7.

Mahomes will look to build on his fantastic Week 7 performance with his upcoming road matchup against the Denver Broncos this Sunday.

Rockets rookie Amen Thompson finds strength, role model in older brother Troy Thompson Jr.

“He is the blueprint and role model, for me,” Amen Thompson says of his older brother. “Growing up in Oakland, my family tried to keep me away from certain things, and he was a big part of that.”

HOUSTON — As Amen Thompson walked into Toyota Center for his introductory press conference, he was led by his family. The group consisted of his parents, Maya and Troy Thompson Sr.; his identical twin brother, Ausar, who was drafted one spot after Amen by the Detroit Pistons; and older brother Troy Thompson Jr., one of his biggest inspirations to play basketball.

Laying the foundation for the siblings’ hard work and dedication, Troy, who is eight years older than his younger brothers, was a very skilled high school player. After taking off a year after graduation, he chose to stay close to home and attended City College of San Francisco in 2014. He made the team as a walk-on and received 11 offers to play Division I basketball during his time there.

Halfway through his first year, he wrote down his goals. One of them was to continue his playing days and education at an historically black college or university (HBCU).

Thompson Jr.’s first choice was Howard University. Instead, he selected Prairie View A&M University, which is located 47 miles outside of Houston, to finish his final two years of eligibility from 2016 through 2018.

“I wrote down that I wanted to get 10 Division I offers, and at least one of them be an HBCU,” Thompson Jr. said. “I have family members that went to Prairie View, and it has a little nostalgic vibe with (his parents). I didn’t know a lot about PV until I got there. It was so welcoming, and it was a great experience for me. It helped me become a man. It was a good experience.”

Sharing those experiences with his younger siblings was one of the things that kept them motivated to continue following their dreams of making it into the NBA. Thompson Jr. tried out for Sacramento’s NBA G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, in 2019, but he was not selected for the roster after the final cuts.

“Growing up, I didn’t even know that I was the influence I was,” Thompson Jr. said of being an inspiration to his brothers.

Yet, he was instrumental in the futures of Amen and Ausar, who decided to skip college and play two years at Overtime Elite, where they could strictly focus on basketball. The decision paid off. Amen Thompson was selected by the Houston Rockets with the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, and Ausar was taken with the fifth pick of the draft.

“He is the blueprint and the role model for me,” Amen said of his older brother. “Growing up in Oakland, my family tried to keep me away from certain things, and he was a big part of that because he went through that stuff. Seeing where he was able to get in basketball made me believe that I could do anything.”

 

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At the PGA Works Collegiate Championship at Shoal Creek, Doug Smith is having a full-circle moment

“I’m going to go from holding the trophy to holding the mic.”

Doug Smith got into broadcasting by accident.

He started off doing a podcast with Cheyenne Woods. That led to meeting Golf Channel’s Will Lowery. That got his foot in the door to meet plenty of golf personalities across the country.

Then, as PGA Tour Live started up with its partnership with ESPN+, Smith was approached about joining as a commentator. He eventually signed on and is a part of the broadcast team, even calling action at last week’s Mexico Open at Vidanda.

Come Monday, Smith will call an event as a past champion.

The PGA Works Collegiate Championship begins Monday at Shoal Creek in Alabama, southeast of Birmingham, and it’s a full-circle moment for Smith, who won the championship in 2005 when he played collegiately for Louisville. The championship annually hosts student-athletes enrolled in Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other Minority-Serving Educational Institutions.

“It’s wild for me,” Smith said. “I’m going to be an expert on the broadcast as a past champion. I’m going to go from holding the trophy to holding the mic.”

The PGA Works Collegiate Championship, originally named the National Minority Collegiate Championship, was created in 1986 to highlight golf programs at the most underserved and underrepresented minority-serving institutions on a national stage, and educate and inspire student-athletes to pursue career opportunities in the business of golf.

The PWCC is a 54-hole, stroke-play event contested across five divisions including: Division I Men’s Team, Division II Men’s Team, Women’s Team Division, Men’s Individual Division, and Women’s Individual Division.

The individual competition is open to all minority women and men student-athletes playing collegiate golf at the Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA level, or minority women and men enrolled in one of the PGA of America’s PGA Golf Management University Programs.

And, in 2023 for the first time, Golf Channel will have TV coverage of all three days of competition.

Golf Channel and Peacock together will present all three championship rounds at Shoal Creek Club on Monday through Wednesday from 4:30-7:30 p.m. ET.

“I get to use words to paint pictures to show what this championship does to your validity as a player,” Smith said. “It’s going to be full circle. It just shows people even if you don’t make it professionally, there’s other avenues in the game.”

Having the tournament at Shoal Creek is also a big milestone, considering the club’s history.

Shoal Creek hosted the 1990 PGA Championship, and it made plenty of headlines around hosting the tournament because club founder Hall Thompson defiantly said the club would not be pressured to accept Black members.

He told a reporter: “We have the right to associate or not to associate with whomever we choose. The country club is our home, and we pick and choose who we want. I think we’ve said that we don’t discriminate in every other area except the Blacks.”

Smith said he hopes it’s a turning point for the club and the PGA of America, which sponsors the championship, not just trying to check a box and be inclusive.

“We can do one of two things: we can keep the status quo or we can work together, have uncomfortable conversations and move forward in a way that’s amicable and representative of the future that we want to be a part of,” Smith said.

“I’m hoping it’s the second part.”

Fran Charles, Smylie Kaufman, Steve Berkowski and Julia Johnson will also be on the broadcast team.

“We are very excited to have the PWCC broadcasted live on Golf Channel and Peacock this year,” Shoal Creek Club president Greg King said. “We look forward to showcasing Shoal Creek as one of the premier golf clubs in the country. More importantly, this opportunity will allow us to highlight the student-athletes, colleges and universities on a national level.”

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Quail Hollow puts HBCU golfers in the spotlight once again with PGA Tour pro-am, Wells Fargo and First Tee clinic

“I want to see more kids play the game that look like me,” said Ahmad Raoul, a First Tee alum and HBCU golfer.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ahead of the Presidents Cup last fall, Quail Hollow Club put HBCU golf in the spotlight, as it hosted six top programs for the inaugural Charlie Sifford Centennial Cup.

On Wednesday, with the help of the folks from Wells Fargo and the First Tee, a trio of HBCU players were featured once again at the Queen City’s crown jewel.

First Tee alumni Kai Dawson (North Carolina A&T State University), Ahmad Raoul (Winston‑Salem State University), and Nyla Sims (University of Maryland Eastern Shore) played the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship pro-am with none other than three-time Wells Fargo winner Rory McIlroy before helping host a First Tee clinic to support the Greater Charlotte chapter alongside PGA Tour players like Joseph Bramlett, Austin Eckroat and Trey Mullinax.

“Wells Fargo is committed to advancing opportunities for diverse communities inside and outside of the financial industry year-round,” said Kristy Fercho, Wells Fargo’s head of Diverse Segments, Representation and Inclusion. This year’s tournament offered exemptions to the APGA Tour’s Marcus Byrd and Quinn Riley. “In addition to their friends and families supporting these young men, they now have 240,000 new fans in Wells Fargo’s employees who will be cheering them on during the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship.”

“For me, I want to see more color in the game. Seeing all these kids come out to watch us at the clinic, it’s a big step in my dream to diversify the game,” said Raoul, who like Byrd and Riley has dreams of making it to the PGA Tour. “I want to see more kids play the game that look like me. Having this opportunity to show who I am to these kids, be a role model, to introduce myself to them and then have them go on a better path than what I grew up with, with more accessibility to technology, golf courses like this, that just a dream come true.”

MORE: HBCU golf is on the rise once again, but the hard work isn’t done

“I have students back home in West Palm Beach, and me being away this week, my coach called me this morning, he’s like, ‘The kids miss you, they’re upset that you’re gone, but they’re all rooting for you,'” said Sims, who now teaches for the First Tee. “It kind of made me emotional because I really am making a significant impact. I’m getting to expose them to golf and doing the same thing that the First Tee did for me. It’s just been nothing short of amazing.”

For Dawson, the experience was nothing new. He’s been a role model for his 11-year-old sister, Zoe, who picked up golf at the age of 7 and now participates in her local First Tee chapter.

Wells Fargo First Tee clinic
PGA Tour players and First Tee participants during a clinic ahead of the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship on Wednesday, May 03, 2023 in Charlotte, N.C. (Nell Redmond/AP Images for Wells Fargo)

What was new, however, was the opportunity to tee it up with not only a PGA Tour, but McIlroy, a four-time major champion and the world No. 3.

“It was an honor to play in the big leagues, on the PGA Tour,” added Dawson.

“This is probably one of the biggest motivators I’ve had in my career,” said Raoul. “We took a picture with Rory, and I told him, ‘I hope to see you one day out here,’ and he said, ‘I hope so to,’ and that set so deeply with me and motivated me to work even harder than I do now. I had other visions in mind of backup plans, but this is Plan A and something I’m gonna strive for.”

The grow the game phrase has become an overly-used cliché in golf, but it accurately describes what occurred on the Quail Hollow range. Wells Fargo prides itself as being the “Bank of Doing,” and its commitment to bring the game to those who may not otherwise be able to experience it – more than 100 First Tee participants were on hand on Wednesday – show the title is more than just a self-proclaimed tagline.

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Dawn Staley pays homage to HBCU history by wearing a classic Cheyney State jersey in NCAA tournament win

With a crisp throwback jersey, Staley paid respect to Yolanda Laney.

We’ve seen Dawn Staley make statements with her sideline fashion before.

She wore a Randall Cunningham jersey ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles’ appearance in this year’s Super Bowl and won her second national championship last season while decked out in Louis Vuitton.

On Sunday, while coaching her No. 1 seeded South Carolina Gamecocks to a 76-45 second-round victory over No. 8 South Florida in a nationally televised NCAA tournament game, Staley paid homage to HBCU and women’s basketball history by sporting a throwback Cheyney State University jersey.

The jersey Staley wore was incredibly fresh and clean, a white shirt with blue sleeves and lettering. It featured the number 44, which belonged to Yolanda Laney, who played on the 1982 Cheyney State team that went to the national championship game in Norfolk, Va.

To this day, Cheyney State is the only HBCU team to ever advance to the Final Four in women’s college basketball, doing so in 1982 and 1984. In 1982, the Wolves lost in the title game to a Louisiana Tech team led by a feisty guard by the name of Kim Mulkey. In 1984, Pat Summitt’s Tennessee Volunteers topped Cheyney in the Final Four.

Those Cheyney teams were coached by Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer, who later guided Iowa and Rutgers to Final Fours too. Laney is a nominee for the Naismith Hall of Fame this year.

Cheyney has faded from the spotlight in the sport over time, and the school dropped its NCAA Division II status in 2018. This season, the Cheyney Wolves competed in volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball, unaffiliated with a conference or a NCAA division.

Still, they’ll always be the first HBCU to play for a women’s basketball national championship at the Division I level, and they’ll always hold a historic spot in the minds of the sport’s fans. Cheyney is located less than 30 miles from Philadelphia, where Staley grew up. She was 12-years-old when Cheyney played for a national championship.

“Yolanda Laney… She’s from Philly, grew up — she actually started leagues for us. Like when I was younger, we played in something called the DBL, and she was very much a part of creating that league to give younger players an opportunity to just come together and play in the summertime. So, fond memories of that,” Staley said after Sunday’s game. “I mean, Cheyney State was the only HBCU to make it to a Final Four, and for them to be led by coach Stringer, who opened doors that now I walk through, I mean, it was truly an honor to wear this jersey and to represent them.”

The Gamecocks remain undefeated this season and are now advancing to their ninth consecutive Sweet 16 behind the play of Aliyah Boston, who will likely be the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft. South Carolina’s victory over USF marked Staley’s 400th as the Gamecocks coach.

Dawn Staley pays tribute to history-making HBCU with outfit

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley never misses an opportunity to respect the culture and educate on the history of Black women in basketball.

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley never misses an opportunity to respect the culture and educate on the history of Black women in basketball.

In her second-round game against South Florida in the 2023 March Madness Women’s NCAA Division I tournament, Staley wore Louis Vuitton pants and a Cheyney State jersey.

Cheyney State is an HBCU that played in the first Division 1 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship tournament which took place in 1982. Not only did they play, but they also made it to the championship game. Cheyney State was and remains, the only HBCU to make it to the championship game and to the Final Four.

Cheyney State made it back to the tournament and won one game in 1983 and three games to advance to the Final Four in 1984.

Staley honored Cheyney State and her former coach, Yolanda Laney, by wearing Laney’s number and replica jersey. Laney led Cheyney State to the championship game back in 1982.

Staley’s outfit always turn heads because her style is impeccable, but this outfit has more behind it than a fancy label. The history it elicits is strong and important. Staley’s team played HBCU Norfolk State in the first round and beat them decisively. But, Staley took the time to go to the locker room and speak to the players and motivate them to keep pushing forward.

While Norfolk State lost to the Gamecocks, the ripple effect of playing in a game like this against the No. 1 seed was not lost on their coach or the media.

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Staley is constantly pushing the game forward and making sure she lifts others up along the way.

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