By Nathan Rawls
The trip I took to see the Orange Blossom Classic featuring Florida A&M University and South Carolina State University last month was one I will never forget. It was a very energetic day with a lot of marching band music and a strong sense of community pride. HBCU sports are extremely important to me because they are a celebration of Black excellence and provide much needed opportunity for students who are also athletes in sports such as football and basketball. Football and basketball have a long history of producing legendary athletes and trailblazers. HBCU athletics are often viewed negatively in mainstream sports media.
Mainstream sports media often judge HBCU athletic programs harshly due to the large disparity in funding for HBCU’s compared to the large wealthy powerhouses. HBCU’s often enter into “guarantee games” in order to receive money from major FBS schools so that their entire athletic department can be funded. Guarantee games can sometimes create lopsided wins for the major FBS school, such as when University of Miami defeated Florida A&M 77-7. Critics then use the lopsided score as a reason to question the skill and competitiveness of HBCU athletes.
Criticizing HBCU’s based upon blow out losses creates negative perceptions and negatively impacts recruiting efforts. Focusing only on the losses overshadows the great athleticism, pride, and success that HBCU athletic programs achieve when competing on a level playing field.