Report: Tennessee State to announce it will become first HBCU to add hockey program

Months after a collegiate hockey executive expressed a desire that the sport would be adopted by HBCUs, one school is reportedly making it a reality.

Tennessee State, which has previously conducted a feasibility study into adding the sport, is expected to announce it will introduce a hockey program, according to a report by ESPN NHL reporter Ryan S. Clark.

Here’s more from the release: pic.twitter.com/FSRIwQMtHM

— Ryan S. Clark (@ryan_s_clark) June 28, 2023

Currently, none of the 109 HBCUs across America offer organized hockey at any level.

Tennessee State announced in 2021 it would conduct a feasibility study to determine whether the school could start a Division I hockey program.

TSU already has established a relationship with the Nashville Predators through a “$1 million in 1 month” fundraising scholarship campaign for Tennessee State students.

“The idea of establishing a collegiate hockey program at TSU is a tremendous opportunity as the nation’s first HBCU to take on this endeavor,” TSU President Glenda Glover said then. “This allows us to expand the sport, increase diversity, and introduce a new fan base.”

Last February, Tennessee State athletics director Mikki Allen and Predators president and CEO Sean Henry announced a fundraising campaign to launch men’s and women’s hockey programs.

The funding will go toward scholarships, an on-campus venue, equipment, travel and other expenses. The school, however, has not publicly disclosed a dollar figure needed to support hockey or a timeline for when the program would start.

Mike Snee, the director of College Hockey Inc., explained during a press conference at the Frozen Four in April that there is a desire to expand the sport at the collegiate level, and HBCUs would be a target.

“It would mean not just a lot for college hockey, but for the sport of hockey,” Snee said in response to a question about what it would mean if HBCUs were involved in hockey.

Though ambitious, Snee said College Hockey Inc. wants to be “more deliberate” in creating a pathway for hockey to be a reality at Black colleges.

“We’re working with the NHL to expand what college hockey does, and part of that would be even more deliberate with the 109 HBCUs,” he said. “Even if it’s club hockey, not NCAA hockey, but just club hockey.

“Because if we just can get hockey there, that’s a great thing. And then we have something that we can try to continue to elevate. So whether or not Tennessee State happens, it’s a project we’re still working on.”