Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have become more popular in the sports world. Highly coveted high school recruits, such as Mikey Williams, voiced their interest in committing to HBCUs. HBCUs are gaining more attention in the recruiting process than ever before. In this article, we will discuss the top HBCUs for football, basketball, and baseball.
Football
Football at HBCUs has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, thanks to dynasty teams like North Carolina A&T, and football celebrities such as Deion Sanders voicing their support of HBCU football. Most HBCU football teams are part of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), which is in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
Some notable teams from this division are Jackson State University, Alcorn State University, Alabama A&M, and Florida A&M. Jackson State is perhaps the most popular up-and-coming HBCU football team as of right now ever since Deion Sanders, former superstar NFL safety, got hired to be the head coach for the Tigers. However, the HBCU that has dominated football in the past decade is North Carolina A&T. The North Carolina A&T Aggies are part of the Big South division in the FCS and have dominated the league, winning 4 championships in their past 5 seasons.
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Basketball
Out of all the sports on this list, basketball has garnered the most attention for HBCUs due to professional athletes supporting the schools and high-level recruits showing interest in playing for HBCUs. The top three teams that have dominated their respective conferences are Texas Southern University, North Carolina Central University, and Norfolk State University.
Texas Southern University is perhaps the most popular HBCU team due to its dominance in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and 9 appearances in the March Madness tournament. North Carolina Central University and Norfolk State University belong to the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and have both dominated the division and made appearances in the March Madness tournament. North Carolina Central University has been more popular recently due to Mikey Williams, top basketball recruit in the class of 2023 and internet sensation, showing interest in committing to the school.
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Baseball
While the popularity of baseball at HBCUs has overall declined in recent years, there are some notable teams on the rise. The most notable HBCU baseball team is Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Florida due to high rankings and effective recruiting.
Bethune-Cookman is led by head coach Jonathan Hernandez, who recruits heavily in Florida and Puerto Rico. In doing so, he has produced the highest-ranked signing class in program history. Other notable teams are North Carolina A&T and Jackson State University, both of which have had recent success in recruiting and winning in their respective conferences.
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* Originally published on February 9, 2022, by Dylan Tehada
