HBCU HBCU Sports Sports to to the the Masses: Masses: A A Vision Vision By: Asheebo Rojas It's 9 a.m. on an autumn Saturday, and you — a black college football fan — turn to a sports channel to watch the weekly show, Saturday on the Yard. This Saturday, the show is in Jackson, Mississippi, for the match-up between Deion Sanders' Jackson State Tigers and the Alcorn State Braves. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? Maybe for now, at least. Recently, recruiting in collegiate sports has seen multiple cultural shifts, including the rampant use of the transfer portal, NILs, and notably the consideration of HBCUs by the nation's top athletes. Rewind to 2020 when Howard landed five-star recruit Makur Maker. Maker, the cousin of former Milwaukee Bucks forward Thon Maker, was the highestranked basketball recruit to attend an HBCU. Then there's Mikey Williams, the 16th ranked player in the 2023 ESPN 60 who had Alabama State, Hampton, North Carolina Central, Tennessee State, and Texas Southern in his top 10 in 2021. And it wasn't just for show — Williams is projected to land at NCCU after his senior year. Yet, the most impactful push in this HBCU movement was the announcement of Deion Sanders as the head football coach at Jackson State. The Hall of Famer's impact has
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been undeniable, bringing national attention to HBCU football and landing the no. 2 football recruit Travis Hunter. So how does this help HBCU sports reach the national stage? People like to watch the best, and they will watch them wherever they go. (For example, people watched Lebron James play in Cleveland twice, a city known for not winning anything.) Thus, it's no surprise that stations primarily air PWIs because those have been the programs where the best recruits played for decades.
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It's all a loop, as the best players bring more fans who spend more money for better facilities, better staff, and more player benefits — which brings more of the best players. The crucial difference between HBCU and PWI programs is the money. Black college programs are at a financial disadvantage with significantly less T.V. time, smaller fanbases, and less support from donors. Of course, these disparities are partly a result of racial discrimination by state legislatures that handed out unequal funding and support between their Black
