There is March Madness in the USA. The NCAA D1 Men’s Tournament started in March and ends in early April. For college basketball fans this is the best time of the year. Big money changes hands during the tournament. The majority of the teams that compete in the NCAA Tournament are predominantly white schools that feature African American players. You have to wonder how the NCAA Tournament would look if African Americans plied their skills at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
The dominant college basketball teams are all in Power Five conferences. For example, you have the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big East, to name a few. These conferences consist of predominantly white schools. Yet, if you look at their basketball teams, in many cases the team features many African Americans. Many of these players are using the college to possibly go to the NBA. On the other hand the school is definitely using the players. Just making the NCAA Tournament brings in a couple million dollars. Imagine if African American players decided to go to HBCUs and ply their trade. How would the power dynamic shift in college basketball and education with millions pouring into HBCUs?
The money that basketball generates for colleges during the NCAA Tournament, is one aspect. The branding that comes from winning and being called a “blue blood” program is incalculable. Take a school like Kansas or, heaven forbid, Duke. These schools are known for having powerhouse basketball programs. The apparel that is sold from having a winning basketball program helps establish the school in the nation’s psyche. What if the money and prestige that comes to these two schools could be transferred to HBCUs like Hampton or Norfolk State? The premier programs would not be the UCLAs or UConns. The premier programs would be Lemoyne-Owen or Wilberforce, two HBCUs that have educated African Americans for years without a lot of glory.
Ironically, many of the best college teams come from former slave states. Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and both Carolinas were slave states that exploited African Americans. Now, more than a century later these slave states are still exploiting African Americans for profit. Does it make sense for African Americans to uplift former slave states? Does it make sense for African Americans to ignore their own colleges and universities to be exploited by schools that may have excluded African Americans during the 50’s and 60’s?
According to the NCAA’s website, HBCUs have won 15 tournament games over the years. There are nine different HBCUs that achieved a victory in the NCAA D1 Tournament. That is a paltry number when you think of the fact that UCLA has won 11 NCAA championships. There were African Americans that played key roles on UCLA’s championship teams. One of the greatest college basketball players ever, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, played at UCLA and brought three titles to the school. Imagine if Kareem would have gone to Rust College and led them to three straight NCAA titles. Would there be a concept of a “blue blood” programs in college basketball? Probably not. The press would probably change the moniker to “black blood”.
The millions and prestige that the NCAA Tournament generates would be a great asset to any HBCU. Think of the way Micheal Jordan looks out for University of North Carolina. In a different world Jordan would still be considered the greatest basketball player, but his time and donations would go to North Carolina Central University. It is a beautiful concept. In all truth though, African American athletes go to the white schools for the exposure that these schools offer. At this time there is no way an HBCU could give an athlete the exposure a player at Kentucky gets during practice. Yet, you have to wonder. What if in the early 60’s African Americans like Jabbar and others would have gone to HBCUs? Would HBCUs be the small schools downplayed or the major schools being catered to?
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the writer and not of the Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper or HT Group, LLC, its staff or management. “Being Frank” is a bi-weekly column exclusive to the Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper.
