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Welcome to The EDU Ledger! We’ve moved from Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.

Section: Sports

A Q&A with the NCAA’s Felicia Martin, VP of the Eligibility Center

Here is a Q&A with the NCAA’s Felicia Martin, VP of the Eligibility Center

April 27, 2021

Shaking Up the Athletic Lottery

Sports has long been a fixture in American life generally and in communities of color more specifically. One could argue that there is seemingly more at stake on average for Black athletes because of the economic condition of Black communities in the United States. The cultural embeddedness of the athletic route and the sports dream in the lives of young Black men is something that is taken for granted in many cases. For the small few who make it to play in college or the pros, a glimmer of hope for the masses is given.

April 27, 2021

A Q&A With Shonna Brown From Conference USA

We sat down with associate commissioner for business affairs/CFO of Conference USA.

April 19, 2021

NCAA Forum: A Collegiate Athletics Call to Action

Sports has often been viewed as the “great equalizer” in our society, where no one sees color or race and focuses on teamwork and collectively building success. However, at the same time, throughout history and especially currently, athletes of color are being told to “Shut up and dribble” and to avoid social justice and political involvement.

April 13, 2021

Former Tennessee Titans Star Eddie George to Be Tennessee State Head Football Coach

Former Tennessee Titans star Eddie George has been named Tennessee State’s head football coach, ESPN reported. George, 47, starred as a running back for the Tennessee Titans from 1996 to 2003. George does not have much coaching experience but he has served as a mentor to multiple Titans players, particularly Derrick Henry. George won the […]

April 13, 2021

Former Tennessee Titans Star Eddie George

More Than an Athlete: Pivoting to a New Paradigm

Student-athletes all have some level of investment in their particular sport. This investment can come in the form of effort, time, emotions, money, hopes, and dreams. Perhaps the most impactful investment that they make is the investment of their identity. This is the level of which one’s view of their self is defined as being an athlete in their sport. How one defines themselves and how others define them makes up their identity.

April 7, 2021

Deion Sanders Helps SWAC Land Pepsi Sponsorship

Deion Sanders, head football coach at Jackson State University, has helped the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) land a sponsorship with Pepsi, making Pepsi the official soft drink supplier of SWAC football and basketball events through 2023, Football Scoop reported. PepsiCo will hire at least one graduate from each SWAC school. And Sanders will be a […]

April 6, 2021

A Q&A With Tiffany Howard, Assistant Athletics Director at Temple University

A Q&A with Tiffany Howard, assistant athletics director for Business Operations at Temple University.

April 5, 2021

NCAA President Dr. Mark Emmert to Meet With Protesting Basketball Players

NCAA President Dr. Mark Emmert is planning to meet this week with basketball players who protested rules banning student-athletes from earning money from their names, images and likenesses (NIL), ESPN reported. Emmert is scheduled for a videoconference call with Michigan’s Isaiah Livers, Iowa’s Jordan Bohannon and Rutgers’ Geo Baker on Thursday. The three protestors used a social media campaign […]

March 31, 2021

NCAA President Mark Emmert

Are Your Institution’s Diversity and Equity Efforts Cosmetic or Courageous?

The hardest and most needed changes will require courage. It will require some degree of risk. It will require upsetting the status quo. It will require fearless advocacy on behalf of students even if it means that it may cause some level of institutional discomfort. Unprecedented change requires unprecedented action at the time when windows of opportunity are made available.

March 30, 2021

A Q&A with Jessica Gray, Assistant Athletics Director at Texas Tech University

Jessica Gray, assistant athletics director at Texas Tech University, discusses student-athlete activism, COVID-19-related challenges and the little things that have helped her get through the pandemic.

March 22, 2021

Why College Basketball Players Should Boycott the NCAA Tournament

The players have more power and leverage than ever before as there can be no games without them and no tournament without games. They are in a unique position to force the hand of the NCAA to make a decision and fulfill the promise that was made back in 2019 to dictate how athletes would be able to benefit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). The NCAA Board of Directors pledged to have this done by January 2021 and failed to do so.

March 17, 2021

Duke University Men’s Basketball Withdraws from Tournament and Ends Season After Positive COVID-19 Test

Duke University’s men’s basketball has withdrawn from the ACC tournament and ended its 2020-21 season due to a positive COVID-19 test in the program, ESPN reported. This breaks the team’s 24 consecutive NCAA tournament appearance streak. The team’s conference tournament quarter final game against Florida State was canceled after “a positive test, subsequent quarantining, and contact […]

March 11, 2021

NBA All-Star Game Honors HBCUs, Donates to Multiple Funds

Team LeBron defeated Team Durant 170-150 in the 2021 NBA All-Star Game Sunday, People reported. Art by HBCU students was displayed throughout the arena, with the All-Star Game’s court itself featuring art honoring HBCUs – designed with help from HBCU alumni. As part of the event, the NBA also gave more than $3 million to […]

March 8, 2021

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Florida A&M Sign Six-Year School-Wide Apparel Contract with Nike

Florida A&M University (FAMU) has partnered with athletic apparel brand Nike and NBA star LeBron James for six years, UPROXX reported. The partnership contract applies to all 15 sports at the school. The school’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will now be “Team LeBron”, with James’s crown icon on their uniforms and their new FAMU […]

March 5, 2021

Florida A&M University (FAMU)

Q&A: Denise Thompson From the Big Sky Conference

Diverse discusses sports leadership with Denise Thompson, assistant commissioner/communications and external affairs, Big Sky Conference in Q&A.

March 3, 2021

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The Pickens Playbook: 7 College Readiness Moves to Make for Student Success

Miami Northwestern Senior High is a school that is nationally known for producing some of the best football players and football teams in the country on a yearly basis. This year, the school has produced one of the best all-around scholars in the country in George Pickens. He is not only the top ranked academic student in the school, but he is also actively involved in extra-curricular leadership roles.

March 2, 2021

TIDES Report Shows Increased Diversity in College Sports Is Slow

In the latest report from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), “The 2020 Racial and Gender Report Card, College Sport,” college sport receives an overall grade of C+, which breaks down to a B for racial hiring practices and a C+ for gender hiring. As the report notes, intercollegiate athletics remains predominantly white and male.

February 25, 2021

Dr. Richard E. Lapchick