True statement up there^^^^^. We do need to upgrade. Better administrations and hire folks who know what they are doing regardless of race or gender. We also need to realize we don't have to give like the PWCs meaning one lump sum. Give in small increments. They add up. But we need to get a lot of folks to think like that. Even the PWCs take the small donations. They just have more folks who give. We have to get out of our mindset. If all you can give is 10 dollars a month then do so.
But like some folks have said, these kids grow up differently. They are not kids of the Civil Right Era and not kids who have been part of integration of these schools. They were born seeing black players all over these schools. They have not witnessed HBCU HOF players for the most part. Even the last great SWAC or HBCU players like Strahan, Aeneas Williams, McNair, Donald Driver and more recently Pro Bowl player like Robert Mathis are not on these kids radar as HBCU grads. These kids see all these PWC superstars and then what they do on the next level and get enamored. Then you have the facilities that entice them as well. Seeing these schools on TV every week don't hurt either. A lot of these kids go to school with white kids now anyway and they all mingle so they don't feel like its a big deal going to these PWCs. Especially the surburban school athletes. The Urban school athletes are more fooled to go to a PWC than the suburb kid. The suburb kid aint shocked at amenities like those kids from an urban HS who see all those nice things and get pressure from their family to go to the big time schools because their folks have no clue on the value of a HBCU education. All they see is dollar signs. Kids from the hood back in the day actually had more informed parents than they do now. You would think it would be the other way around. But when you have all these single black Moms struggling with multiple kids. They aint trying to send their kid to a HBCU. They think that is a step backwards. They are not thinking about their son getting a college degree. This is their chance for the bigtime and a way out the hood. And the ones who do think about the college education still think those schools are better than ours. I have talked to many kids and their parents over the years and they rather send their kid to a low level FBS school over taking a full ride to a school like the Naval Academy that can write their ticket forever. It is just our mindset. As long as money is involved with these big schools and they way they recruit. It will be tough to change the mindset. I don't worry about the surburban black kid so much. Because normally they are equipped to handle them other folks and their environment since they have exposed to them. Our HBCUs will have to change their strategy in recruiting not just athletes but regular students to attend our schools. The PWCs are snapping up these brilliant black kids from High School like no tomorrow. This where we have really lost the battle. They are giving out more scholly money to attract our best students.