Trevion Goins graduated from Grambling State University in December after proving that he is a student-athlete champion on the field and in the classroom. He’s a part of the 2016 HBCU National Championship football team, and he earned a 4.0 in the fall while helping his team to nationwide prominence.
Goins and the rest of the championship team were celebrated Saturday at GSU during a day of activities, including a parade, a celebration program and a fan fest. About 1,000 fans cheered them on during an early afternoon parade around campus and through town.
The championship parade was a time for everyone from students to alumni to celebrate the G-Men winning the HBCU National Championship at the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia. The parade had a mixture of thrills from the World Famed Tiger Marching Band and the Orchesis Dance Company putting on a show to the GSU cheerleaders and floats. Organizations in the parade threw candy and beads to the overzealous crowd.
Star quarterback DeVante Kincade said he is proud of being a part of the national championship team. “I really couldn’t believe it because it felt like a dream,” he added.
Running back Martez Carter enjoyed the day with all the alumni and fan attention. “It felt really good. It felt better than good to see the support from the alumni and the fans; all of those people traveling to come see us play. It was heartwarming,” he said. “Like I told everybody else, I felt like the mini LeBron (James of the Cleveland Cavaliers). When LeBron won he had a whole nation out to see him, and just to see the city of Ruston and the city of Grambling come out and support us…it just made us feel like doing it again.”
Even though Goins has already graduated, he made it a priority to return to campus to enjoy the celebration. He said he wouldn’t have missed it because he wanted to be a part of the big day, “to give back to all of our supporters who were with the team throughout the year, and to also be around my teammates once more.”
Goins is training for NFL Pro Day in March with former G-Man Tyree Hollins, a Canadian Football League player. As he prepares for a shot at the NFL, he’s also planning to test for and attend the fire academy in Monroe, Louisiana to become a firefighter.
Goins celebrated with fellow G-Men Brandon Varner, Tyler Olivier, Jonathan Wallace and Trenton Scott, who each earned a 4.0 GPA in the fall as they worked with the team to have a championship season.
Fans were as excited as the team.
Adrianne Gray, a 2003 GSU alumna, was one of many in the crowd in front of McCall Dining Hall as she waited for the parade to come her way. She took her son to GSU’s Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Championship Game in Houston, the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta to watch the G-Men win and she came out to support the team again. “They had a fantastic year and I just wanted to show the community support,” she added. “We are standing behind them.”
Edwin Mason, president of the B.T. Crawford Alumni Chapter representing the Bienville Parish area, loves to watch the games, home and away. He is also a part of the Arcadia Tailgaters, a group that has had a permanent tailgating spot for all GSU home games for 25 years. “We just wanted to come out and show our love for the tigers and Coach (Broderick) Fobbs today,” he said. Mason said Fobbs “has a great demeaner, attitude and humble spirit and is leading us to higher heights.”
The national championship team was led by SWAC Coach of the Year Fobbs, who talked about what it means to be a true G-Man.
“It’s a high standard. It entails being a gentleman, being a graduate, a good person, and treating people the right way,” he said. “But then more importantly being very, very competitive and winning football games and winning in life in general.”
This past football season the Grambling Tigers set their minds on a winning campaign. Grambling started the seaon at the University of Arizona where they played a Pac-12 Conference team, winning at halftime before falling 31-21. The team finished the season with an 11-1 record, winning the Bayou Classic, the SWAC Western Division, the SWAC championship and the HBCU National Championship.
Through it all, Goins and several other football players paid attention to their studies. The football program has study hall every night, Sunday through Thursday, for two hours and they have tutors to assist them. There were 36 players who earned a 3.0 GPA or higher during the fall semester.
“It was really hard work,” added Goins. “You have to do a good job maintaining your time like study hours and practice you have to have a set schedule.”
GSU Athletic Director Paul Bryant, in his job less than a month, had a blast during the day, and he said the team’s academic success made him most proud.
“To have them experience a championship is something that I think every player works for, but I’m more excited about their grades because they are really being student athletes,” said Bryant.
