LUT WILLIAMS BCSP Editor
Exciting new additions to the HBCU headcoaching ranks are creating as much buzz as subtractions and additions to rosters spurred by NIL money and the transfer portal. These are the top stories to watch as the 32nd year of the Black college SportS page kicks off this week.
THE COACHES
NFL veterans Michael Vick (Norfolk State),DeSean Jackson(Delaware State),ReggieBarlow (Tennessee State), Sam Shade (Alabama A&M) Terrell Buckley (Mississippi Valley State),Tony Carter (Central State) and Chris Goode (Miles) have stepped in as new head coaches for the 2025 season. NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, now at Colorado, is deemed the forerunner of this trend after he took over at Jackson State in 2020 and led the Tigers to back-to-back SWAC titles in2021 and 2022.
Now, everyone seems to looking for similar ‘lightning in a bottle’ by bringing in these NFL- experienced players as head coaches.
Good luck! As ‘Coach Prime’ will tell you, “there’s only one Deion Sanders.” The fate of these new coaches will generate headlines in 2025 black college football.
ADDITIONS AND SUBTRACTIONS
There’s no more frustrating trend college coaches have to deal with today than the roster changes caused by the introduction of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) money and the proliferation of the transfer portal.
Over the last month, we chronicled some 70 players that left the HBCU FCS ranks for FBS programs and 117 that left the FBS to join HBCU FCS outfits. We don’t have a count of how many left the Div. II programs of the CIAA and SIAC for the
moneyed FBS but there were plenty of them as well. It will be interesting to see if the quality of those coming down to the HBCU ranks is equal to those who moved up.
This phenomenon may not shift the balance of power in each conference but it will certainly make a difference. Almost every HBCU with standout players had one or more of them pilfered by an FBS program. It’s the new normal and an unwelcome extra headache for black college coaches.
So whoever won championships in 2024, check the rosters before you pencil them in as repeat champions in 2025. Many of their studs have moved on to ‘greener’ pastures,’ if you know what I mean!
One sign of this trend is that four of the five players with HBCU experience taken in this year’s NFL Draft (Travis Hunter, Bhayshul Tuten, Shedeur Sanders and Jacory Croskey-Merritt) all finished their careers after transferring to FBS schools.
So, who’s the favorite for black college player of the year in 2025? Which teams will scale new heights as Miles and Virginia Union did a year ago (getting their first ever Div. II playoff wins)?
Which new coach will emerge and steal the spotlight like Chennis Berry at South Carolina State and T. C., Taylor at Jackson State did in 2024? Who will be champions in the CIAA, MEAC,SIAC and SWAC, and can black colleges win titles or make some noise in the OVC and CAA?
I’m looking forward to these questions and more being answered in 2025. I know you are too. Year 32 of the BCSP promises to be as interesting, intriguing and exciting as the previous 31. Stay tuned!
CLASSIC, BOWL & CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
Forty-three (43) games designated as classic, bowl or championship games dot nearly every week of the 2025 schedule (see THE STAT CORNER I).
In addition to the always intriguing big draws –like the Magic City (Alabama A&M vs. Alabama State), Bayou (Southern vs. Grambling State),Florida (Bethune-Cookman vs. Florida A&M),Southern Heritage (Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs.Alcorn State), Circle City (Morgan State vs.Miles), Turkey Day (Tuskegee vs. Alabama State, and Orange Blossom (Florida A&M vs.Howard), etc., there are just as exciting newbies like the Black College Football Hall of Fame (SIAC champ Miles vs. CIAA champ Virginia Union), Red Tail (Tuskegee vs. Winston-Salem State), HBCU New York (Morehouse vs Howard) and others.
The real newbies however are the games set for new places. How about the Boston,Massachusetts area coming together to honor the legacy and excellence of HBCUs and get a taste of the culture at the Essence HBCU Football Classic on Aug. 30 in Cambridge, Mass. matching Morehouse and J. C. Smith.
Abolitionist and statesman Fredrick Douglass is honored in a Classic bearing his namewhen Lane tackles Central State on Sept.27 in Rochester, New York. Another black icon, late Congreassman John Lewis, is honored at the Good Trouble Heritage Classic on Oct. 18 in Augusta, Ga., between Savannah State and Fort Valley State. On the same date the first Caribbean HBCU Puerto Rico Bowl kicks off in Mayaguez,Puerto Rico when Kentucky State takes on Franklin Pierce. And last but certainly not least,’Sin City,’ as it’s called, hosts the Las Vegas HBCU Classic on Oct. 25 at new Allegiant Stadium matching fierce SWAC rivals Grambling State and Jackson State.
HOMECOMINGS
October, or “Homecoming Month,” is looked forward to with forty (40) of the fifty (50) special dates in the month (see THE STAT CORNER II).
Singling out any one would not do justice to the others. They all are special!