The 2025 calendar year was interesting and action-packed in the world of HBCU sports, so to recap the year, here are the Top 10 stories from this past year.
10. SWAC TV provides new viewing option
SWAC TV debuted this season, joining the CIAA and the SIAC as HBCU conferences with their own streaming/broadcasting services.
While SWAC commissioner Charles McClelland did say that the conference and its TV partners (HBCU GO and ESPN) are on the same page, the development of SWAC TV is a crucial piece of the puzzle that gives SWAC stakeholders a new and exciting option to watch their favorite schools and athletic programs in action.
9. Winston-Salem State grad continues racing toward success
Rajah Caruth continued his ascent up the NASCAR Truck series standings in 2025, picking up one win, five top-five finishes, and 13 top-10 finishes, missing the Truck Series playoffs by the narrowest of margins.
Caruth, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Motorsports Management from Winston-Salem State, is a great example of how HBCU graduates can make their mark in various areas and disciplines, including the good ol’ boys’ club of auto racing.
8. HBCU Classics canceled
Two potential new HBCU football classics never made it to the field as Bethune-Cookman’s game with Southern in Tampa, Florida, and the Georgia Football Classic featuring Florida A&M and Mississippi Valley State were moved back to their original sites.
The Tampa Bay Classic was quickly aborted as Bethune-Cookman announced the Oct. 11 game would be a home game for the Wildcats on Sept. 8.
The Georgia Football Classic was a question mark all the way up until the week of the game, when Florida A&M and Mississippi Valley State decided to postpone the game and meet in Itta Bena on Nov. 29.
The disastrous cancellations spotlighted just how difficult HBCU Football Classics have become to promote and execute in one of the deepest recessions America has seen in a long time.
7. Norfolk State women put together historic season
The Norfolk State women’s basketball team was clearly the best in the MEAC during the 2024-25 season, but they also were the best in a couple of SEC gyms as well.
Led by back-to-back conference player of the year Diamond Johnson and first-team all-MEAC forward Kierra Wheeler, the Lady Spartans defeated Missouri and Auburn on their home floors before running through the MEAC on the way to a 30-5 record and giving Maryland a scare in the NCAA tournament.
6. CIAA remains charmed by The Charm City
As the song goes, Charlotte, North Carolina, wanted that old thing back.
That old thang was the CIAA basketball tournament, but after the city couldn’t agree to terms with the conference, Baltimore, Maryland, will continue to host the tournament through the 2029 season at least.
The CIAA was turned off by Charlotte’s price surging for hotels and restaurants in previous years.
Baltimore stepped in with a deal the CIAA couldn’t refuse, and the partnership has made money for both the city and the league.
Coulda had a V8, Charlotte!
5. Albany State enjoys Golden football season
Albany State’s football team led the SIAC wire-to-wire in 2025, winning the conference championship and advancing to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals before falling to Newberry (SC) 31-24.
The Golden Rams had one of the top offenses in football, led by quarterback Isaiah Knowles (who has since entered the transfer portal) and were coached by Quinn Gray, now the head coach at Florida A&M.
4. Tremaine Jackson leads Prairie View to SWAC championship
When the Panthers hired Jackson away from Division II Valdosta State, the coach was confident that he could take Prairie View from mediocrity to a top-tier program.
Within his first year, he led the team to its first SWAC championship since 2009 and its first Celebration Bowl appearance.
How long Jackson remains at PV remains to be seen, but as long as he’s there, you can expect the Panthers to be in the SWAC championship – and HBCU national championship – race.
3. Delaware State-Norfolk State game moved to NFL Stadium
It was a natural decision for former Philadelphia Eagles teammates Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson to have their first meeting on the field where they terrorized NFL defenses for five seasons.
That’s just what happened as Delaware State’s scheduled home game with Norfolk State was moved to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Stakeholders from various HBCUs showed up in the city of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, as a recorded crowd of 47,266 saw the Hornets defeat the Spartans 27-20 in a nationally televised game.
For two football programs that needed a boost of any kind, the hires of Jackson at Delaware State and Vick at Norfolk State provided that.
2. Hit the Harlon Hill on ‘em!
The Harlon Hill trophy is the NCAA Division II equivalent of the Heisman trophy, and in the award’s nearly 40-year history, an HBCU football player had never won it.
That is, until Virginia Union’s Curtis Allen put together arguably the most dominant performance by a college running back at any level this season.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound senior led all of Division II in rushing yards (2,386), carries (297), and touchdowns (30) and finished top four in yards per carry (8.03) while helping the Panthers to the D-II playoffs for the fourth straight season. Those numbers were more than good enough to earn the Harlon Hill trophy as D2’s top football player.
Allen’s historic win is another epic chapter in the endless book of success that is HBCU football.
1. South Carolina State Celebrates a Black College championship
The 10th edition of the Celebration Bowl had a little bit of everything, including a controversial two-point conversion ruling that gave South Carolina State a 40-38 four-overtime win over Prairie View.
The SWAC champion Panthers led 21-0 at halftime, but the MEAC champion Bulldogs rallied from four separate deficits (21-0, 28-21, 35-28, and 38-35) to win the program’s second Celebration Bowl and the first HBCU national championship for Chennis Berry, whose journey from career assistant to the top head coach in HBCU football is a story that can only happen in HBCU sports.
