When Black student-athletes arrive on campus on a sports scholarship, it’s a safe bet that their performance in stadiums and arenas will be priority while their education might end up on the sidelines.
Joseph Cooper, an education professor in the Sport Management Program at the University of Connecticut, is on a mission to turn that game around.
He is the founder of a student-athlete group called Collective Uplift, which emphasizes the holistic development of the student, not just what they can do to score points on the field or on the court.
The group meets regularly on campus to give Black male members of the Huskies a safe venue to explore their different roles and their relationship with the university, where Black students represent just 5 percent of the student population.
Participants say Collective Uplift has greatly enhanced their collegiate experience.
“It allows you to begin to think more critically about the environment you’re in, the situations you’re in,” said Marquise Vann, who sports the No. 46 jersey as an inside linebacker for the Huskies.
“You don’t have to come here like, ‘Oh, I’m going to the NFL,” Vann said. “That doesn’t have to be the only mindset.”
