For this post, I wanted to touch a subject that has been talked about for years! And I hate to sound stereotypical but I will be focusing on Football and Basketball since those are the two sports where the players in each league are dominated by blacks, Sorry folks! Most of today’s black athlete has come from “Big” schools. The primary reason for that is the school’s name recognition. It is a well-known fact that in order to increase your chances of getting your name out there, you have to be associated with a good program. Of course with a good program comes a “boat-load” of money. The more money your program makes, the better the resources and in turn, the better your chances of getting picked up by a major organization. At least that is how it usually goes.

          With the school comes the star power. For example, We all know that any quarterback or running back that starts for USC (University of Southern California) will instantly become a star and get national attention. So, you can’t blame them for choosing these schools. I mean you get the star power, the title of “big man on campus” and your fair share of groupies (just as long as you wear your jersey around campus to confirm your identity). Just ask Reggie Bush, would we have known who he was, had he went to school at Morgan State University. He would be a local favorite, yes… but Kim Kardashian’s famous boyfriend. No! You would have been saying “Reggie who?” or “oh I know him; he’s the punt returner for the Saints. He’s the backup running back to Pierre Thomas.”

          Most of these players who become professional athletes don’t even graduate and still contribute to the “alumni foundation” on campus. As if, these programs need any more money…

          My question is… What about the black schools? The underdogs? A lot of these schools have rich background in athletics so why don’t they get the same respect? This topic is constantly being challenged on ESPN. Every time they pose a question about Boise State and their National Title contention, the name recognition of the schools they play are called into review. But, who are they to say that these teams can’t compare? That those programs aren’t any match for a “perennial powerhouse school.” It’s funny because shockers like James Madison Univ. beating Virginia Tech (2010) and Appalachian State Beating Michigan (2007) aren’t supposed to happen. Now, I will not get into that, but I will give you the perspective of a former black athlete who once played sports in high school for a predominantly black high school and then made that transition to athletics at a predominantly white University.  I have seen how some “bigger” programs (white schools) match up to smaller, less fortunate schools (black schools). Some would say that the black athlete willingly makes that transition because of the facilities and training. You get better resources than you would at a black school…

          We all know that it’s the common myth, that whatever school you got your degree from will hold more weight with your employers then those who went to college at a lesser known school. That’s why we all know about Harvard, Yale and Princeton. In the sports world, playing 3^rd string defensive back for the University of Florida carries more weight than a 4 year starter from Howard University. Often you will have those players from smaller schools perform well enough to dazzle pro scouts just enough to sign on that dotted line. You’ll see them running impressive 40-yard dash times at the NFL combine or in basketball, they’ll usually take their “no name” school deep into the NCAA tournament. This happens a lot by the way. But believe it or not, not every professional athlete can excel at that level. Every roster has fill-ins, back-ups and utility players that can play well enough not to cost you a loss in a game. These players sneak in the league because of the chances they got from their resume. They came from “such and such” program and were coached by “such and such”… The chances that they would have made it to the league based on pure skill and athleticism are slim without that background. Many former HBCU and Junior college ball players out there never got that chance to shine. They performed well but were passed up at practice and the combine because of lack of recognition. You get that edge by playing for a “Big” school.

          Most of the lack of recognition that black college’s get are the stereotypes. If an extremely talented athlete comes to a historically black school, it is assumed that there is a problem. There is the stigma that they couldn’t go anywhere else because of grades or they have problems with the law or an attitude problem or maybe even a size problem (they are too small to play professionally). Now most of this is true and I doubt that will ever change… But, nonetheless these kids can ball and in most cases, given the right opportunities their life might have turned out different.  Most of the lack of recognition comes from the fact that the best players in the country are already brainwashed by the media before black schools have a chance at trying to recruit them. The “HBCU stigma” doesn’t help either… How can we help black colleges draw in bigger crowds? I don’t think anybody knows…