When you think of Black college sports, it’s usually Saturday afternoons on a football field and weeknights in a gymnasium where basketball players soar and marching bands teams duel to hype the fans and competitors.
It will be interesting to see how the “Coolest Game on Earth” will factor into the equation as Tennessee State University announced Wednesday that — in partnership with the NHL and NHL Players Association — the university will begin men’s and women’s ice hockey programs for the 2024-25 season.
Tennessee State will become the first HBCU to sponsor and offer ice hockey at the varsity level, and as often as the HBCU community laments being stuck in a box, this is a tremendous way to think outside of the box as our athletic programs could certainly benefit from making an impact in sports that aren’t The Big Revenue Two, which is of course, football and basketball.
Ice hockey and Black folk have a surprisingly long history as the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes began play back in 1895 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and a Black Canadian, Eddie Martin, is thought to be the first player to use the quickest and most powerful way to score a goal, the slapshot.
The NHL color barrier was broken by Willie O’Ree with the Boston Bruins in 1958, and it would another 20-plus years before their first impact player, winger Tony McKegney became the first Black player to score 40 goals in a season with the St. Louis Blues in 1988. The trailblazer at the goaltender position was Grant Fuhr, who was the starting goalie on Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier’s powerful Edmonton Oilers squads that won five Stanley Cups between 1984 and 1990.
Others would follow over the years with strong NHL careers, such as Mike Grier, Anson Carter, Donald Brashear, P.K. Subban, Wayne Simmonds and Jarome Iginla, who scored 625 goals in a 22-year career and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020.
With this history becoming widely acknowledged, it was only a matter of time before hockey came out of the shadows and became a game that was of interest to diverse groups of people.
🎶 Hello out there, we’re on the air
It’s ‘Hockey Night’ tonight …— Tennessee State Hockey (@TSUTigersHockey) June 28, 2023
Tennessee State is an interesting first choice but not without merit, as the Nashville Predators are routinely among the NHL leaders in attendance. A partnership with the Preds can certainly give TSU the boost their programs will need to become successful.
Innovation and adaptation are the best ways for HBCU athletics to survive – it’s been the calling card of our schools’ very existence.
Aside from hockey, lacrosse is becoming a sport to watch as Virginia State University is introducing men’s and women’s programs and the Next Level Collegiate Lacrosse league, which just wrapped its second season, is an exciting brand of Olympic lacrosse that features seven men’s club HBCU teams. Howard and Delaware State have women’s varsity programs as well.
In addition, the SIAC’s commitment to men’s volleyball has opened another avenue for young Black men to go to college and play a fun and exciting sport that best uses not just their athleticism, but their minds. Morgan State relaunching its wrestling program will also be an added bonus to HBCU sports culture.
Wednesday was a big day for Tennessee State University, but it could also prove to be a turning point in the story of HBCU athletics.
In the quest to be competitive with PWIs and Power 5s with larger budgets and a head start that spans multiple generations, building complete athletics programs outside of the usual suspects will make Black colleges not just good at sports, but destinations for young people who aren’t used to seeing themselves in the sports they play.
