Written by: Marvin Kimwon
Edited by: Giana Graziano
In modern U.S. society, most, if not all citizens are aware of the prominence of racial discrimination that still exist to this day, especially in in regards to education, being that it is a powerful mechanism for addressing economic and social inequalities at the forefront. According to Ebony Thomas, the Racial Equality and Economic Opportunity Initiatives Executive for Bank of America, HBCUs have been chronically underfunded over the past 150 years, but in light of the recent legalization of Name Image and Likeness (NIL) deals, it seems this trend may end.
In essence, NIL deals are means by which college athletes are able to receive financial compensation through the marketing and promotion of their name, image, and likeness. The NCAA’s hope when allowing players to earn money via these means was to spread out the talent and allow mid-major teams to compete with larger schools. In theory, a recruit would rather be a star at a smaller school, than one of many stars at a larger school, due to the marketability of being the solo star. Given the fact that larger programs have the resources to get better NIL deals for players, the same power houses of college sports still continue to dominate in terms of recruiting; however, the recent signing of Travis Hunter, the nation’s number-one rated recruit in the 2022 class, with Coach Deion Sanders at HBCU Jackson State hints at an oncoming change.
Travis Hunter’s announcement in changing his commitment from Florida State to HBCU Jackson State is indicative of how closely the current landscape of major NCAA athletics reflects the professional level of sports. Now, more than ever, players have the power to leverage their playing time and NIL deals with the schools that want them instead of being pressured into committing to the “best” program. With NIL deals now in the picture, coaches from smaller programs, such as that of HBCUs, are able to gather top high school talent with limited resources, as in the case of Hunter, who decided to pass up scholarships to Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, and Florida State to sign with an HBCU.
Although Jackson State is an FCS school and thus can not compete for the college football playoff in its current format, their coach, Deion, was still seemingly able to land a top 60 recruiting class in the nation. Sanders has been very vocal about his support of NIL deals and how he would use them to his advantage when trying to build the program at Jackson State, signing defensive end, Antwan Owens to Jackson State on June 30, 2021, in what is believed to be the first NIL deal in history. While most other HBCUs haven’t experienced the same success as Jackson State in terms of signing top recruits with NIL deals, the program under Deion Sanders is carving the way for other HBCUs to follow.
As aforementioned, NIL deals have helped HBCUs garner greater publicity as well as funding by means of bringing big name athletes on board and the addition of the transfer portal only seems to further this rise. With the transfer portal, commitments do mean nearly the same thing as they did just ten years ago. In 2010, if a recruit was committing to a team, they were basically locked in at that school for three to four years. While transferring was an option, the player would have to go through the long, strenuous process of hiring lawyers and other external procedures in order to switch schools. Now players are essentially free agents every single year of their eligibility and have the option to demand better NIL deals the better they play.
While Deion Sanders has made his presence known at Jackson State, other former athletes are in the process of building programs at HBCUs. Former New Jersey Mets star Kenny Anderson was hired in 2018 to be the head basketball coach at Fisk University and former Heisman trophy winner Eddie George was also hired in 2021 to be at the helm for the Tennessee State Tigers. With many former stars with business experience coaching at HBCUs, it is very possible to see the NCAA sports landscape change even more drastically than it already has, bringing about unforeseen funding and support for HBCUs.
Extraordinary piece Marvin!