By Emory D. Thompson, Emory University School of Law J.D. Candidate ‘24
Introduction
The Original “Great Migration”
When one mentions the Great Migration, the mind usually thinks of the period in U.S.
history between 1910 and the 1970s, when one of the largest movements of people in the nation took place. Within this span of time, approximately six million Black people moved from the South to Northern, Midwestern, and some Western states to escape Jim Crow racism and pursue better opportunities.
However, Blacks were again met with racism and discrimination. Localities in these areas implemented restrictive covenants and redlining that perpetuated segregation and served as a foundation for many of the nation’s existing economic and political disparities.[1]
The Great Migration provides many parallels to the shift in Black male football talent
from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (“HBCUs”) to Predominantly White Institutions (“PWIs”) post-desegregation that will be discussed below.
The Game Plan
This work briefly explains the origin and statutory purpose of HBCUs; (2) explores inequities in public funding for HBCUs compared to PWIs; (3) discusses college football before and after desegregation; (4) unpacks the commodification of Black football players in Power Five (“P-5”) conferences; and (5) offers ways to ensure the professional success of Black football players at P-5 programs.
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities: The Genesis of Football for Black America
The Birth of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
HBCUs were established in the United States primarily through Black churches supported by the American Missionary Association and Freeman’s Bureau in the early 19th century.
Passed by Congress in 1862, the Morrill Act allowed states to establish public colleges funded by the development or sale of associated federal land grants.[2] These institutions provided opportunities to thousands of farmers, preachers, and common working people previously excluded from higher education.[3]
The Second Morrill Act of 1890 required states—especially former confederate states—
to provide land-grants institutions for Black students if admission was barred elsewhere.[4] Thus, approximately 89% of HBCUs are located in the South.[5]
The majority of HBCUs were established between 1865-1900, with the greatest number founded in 1867, a few years after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declared that “all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free.”[6]
Some HBCUs include Alabama State University, Howard University, Grambling State University, Southern University, Kentucky State University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University, Florida Agricultural and Mechanic University, and Jackson State University.
As academic institutions like these were formed, opportunities for learning, social impact, and economic growth increased greatly for the Black community.
The Statutory Definition and Purpose of HBCUs
Decades after the Morrill Acts, the Higher Education Act of 1965 was promulgated by Congress and defined HBCUs as “any historically Black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority.”[7]
- Disparities in Public Funding for HBCUs Compared to PWIs
Since their inception, HBCUs have been forced to find ways to survive despite the racialized inequities that saturate this country. During Jim Crow segregation, HBCUs were targets of racial violence, neglect, and intentional federal and state underfunding compared to PWIs.
Accordingly, it is estimated that between 1987 (the earliest year for which comprehensive data is available) and 2020, Black land-grant institutions were underfunded by the government $12.8 billion dollars, adjusted for inflation.[8]
Simply put, HBCUs began behind the financial “eight ball” and have remained there due in large part to governmental financial treatment that unduly favors PWIs.
- HBCU Football Pre-Desegregation
In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, established the concept of “separate but equal” facilities for Blacks and Whites, despite facilities and resources being far from equal.[9] Broadly, this ruling was a shocking blow in the fight for racial equality, but HBCUs continued having almost exclusive access to top Black athletes authorized by the “Highest Court in the Land.”
Yet, as noted, resources like quality practice facilities, fields, and equipment that go into operating a top football program were not available like at PWIs. Dr. Derrick White says, “HBCUs were deeply rooted and loved within their communities, but the money to strengthen them has been the longstanding issue.”[10]
HBCU Football Post-Desegregation
Brown v. Board of Education
In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, overturned Plessy, asserting that racial segregation inherently reinforcedideologies of Black inferiority amongst adults and children of both races.[11]
Dr. White notes, “[HBCU] Staff believed that the students could learn. The question is, how does one prove that? Football became a really good measurement. They were producing high numbers of professional athletes, and that was a proxy for their quality.”[12]
Football helped create another dimension of Black identity, pride, value, and hope. “Football became the athletic representation of Black culture, and success on the gridiron held the possibility of equality, on and off the field.”[13]
The HBCU Football Experience
Imagine FAMUs “Marching 100 Rattlers” in the 1980s playing their rendition of Cameo’s famous, “Talkin’ Out the Side of Your Neck” in Bragg Memorial Stadium with such passion that the vibrations of the drums, horns, and wind instruments shake your body. Think about being in a filled Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in the 1970s as the “Sonic Boom of the South” plays, and the crowd proudly waives and sings in a hymn-like cadence, “I’m so glad I go to JSU
. . . singing glory hallelujah . . . woah . . . I’m so glad!!”
The cultural richness, passion, creativity, and influence found in HBCU football is arguably equivalent to an “Athletic Harlem Renaissance.” It has helped moved the needle of equality in a positive direction by highlighting Black pride in a way that has transcended the “color-line.”
The HBCU gameday experience is a true testament of the Black community’s resilience. To keep striving for change and finding joy amid the pain and mistreatment endured in the United States is in a way a form of resistance. It says, “we belong, are equal, and here to stay.”
A New Target: The Diversification of Recruitment in College Football
Although facially neutral in the sense that it set a precedent for equal access and treatment for all, Brown also operated to the advantage of older and more financially established college athletic programs.
PWIs, particularly those that currently comprise the P-5 began recruiting top Black student-athletes away from HBCUs around the 1950s to take advantage of this new market.
Once big schools opened their recruitment to Black athletes, the Great Migration began as young Black men quickly became the new foundation of top football programs. For example, The University of Alabama has in a relatively short period gone from having two Black players on their team in 1972, to approximately 80% of their starters being Black as of 2017.[14]
Team Resources and Facilities
In large part, the P-5 rout in recruitment has been accomplished by selling the idea of better resources, which already existed due to forementioned systemic inequities.
For example, in the most recent fiscal years covering July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, Georgia spent over $4.5M according to NCAA financial reports, followed by Texas A&M ($2.98M), Tennessee ($2.92M), Texas ($2.44M), and Alabama ($2.32M).[15]
Florida A&M in comparison, like all HBCUs, works with substantially fewer resources than Football Bowl Subdivision (“FBS”) programs. FAMU’s entire athletic budget for 2021-22 was $9.5 million.[16] Additionally, the 2021-22 athletic budget of Kentucky State University, although a substantially smaller institution, was roughly $4 million.
Conversely, the University of Alabama recently spent $9 million dollars to renovate their football facilities, which included two 30-ft long hot tubs with waterfalls, an arcade, and a barbershop.[17] On top of that, the school spent $15 million dollars on a 25,000-square-foot athletic dining facility.[18]
Coach Broadway shared, “When I became Head Coach at North Carolina Central University, I had to use equipment from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I remember a time while Head Coach at NC A&T, I got a couple hundred dollars together to buy peanut butter, loaves of bread, and jelly just so players could eat.”[19]
Although not the first, Deion Sanders shed light on the importance of quality resources and facilities in college football when he became the head coach at Jackson State University two seasons ago. Coach Broadway says, “Deion was able to get more people to listen to what HBCUs have been saying for a long time.”[20]
- The Commodification of Black Football Student-Athletes at Power Five Schools
Coach Broadway says, “At HBCUs, even though there are a lot less resources in place, there is a lot more care given. They were actually there trying to help, direct, and guide kids. It was not just about me getting mine and you getting yours.”[21] Contrarily, the focus amongst P-5 schools appears to be on winning and revenue at the long-term expense of Black players.
Racial Demographic Disparities
The five largest college football stadiums in the United States by seating are the University of Michigan (107,601), Penn State University (106,572), Ohio State University (102,780), Texas A&M University (102,733), and Louisiana State University (LSU) (102,321).[22] During the fall, these venues are overwhelmingly occupied by White patrons watching primarily young Black men play football.
As of 2019-2020, Black students were 5.7% of the general student body at P-5 schools but
approximately 56% of men’s basketball and football players.[23] At Texas A&M, one of the highest athletic revenue-earning academic institutions in the U.S., Black students were 3.1% of the general student body, while 75% of the football team.[24] Statistics like this show how dependent and invested P-5 programs have become on Black male athletic talent.
Who Makes the Money?
Last year, the twenty most profitable college football programs made $925 million dollars combined after expenses. The top 4 programs were the University of Texas ($92M), the University of Tennessee ($70M), LSU ($58M), and the University of Michigan ($56M).[25]
The HBCU with the most revenue across all sports in 2017 was Prairie View A&M, with 17.85 million.[26] Alabama State reported revenue of $14.73 million, followed by Norfolk State with $13.65 million.[27]
As of 2018, the highest-paid public employees by state were college football and basketball coaches like John Calipari – University of Kentucky: $9,276,643.00. and Nick Saban – University of Alabama: $8,307,000.00.[28] However, before Coach Prime landed at JSU, the award for highest paid coach in the HBCU ranks belonged to Southern University’s Pete Richardson, with a three-year deal paying a base yearly salary of $200,000.00 with the possibility of $40,000.00 performance incentives.[29]
Financial access between the two groups of institutions is just staggeringly lopsided.
Graduation Rates and the Educational Development of Black Student-Athletes
In 2018, the graduation rates of Black student-athletes at the Universities of Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, Cal-Berkely, Arkansas, LSU, Ohio State, Tennessee, and others were between 34% and 41%.[30] Generally, Black athletes at P-5 schools are graduating at lower rates than other athletes and even lower rates than non-athletes.[31]
In the 2020 HBCU ranks, the top football program graduation percentages were Mississippi Valley (86%), Jackson State (83%), Texas Southern (82%), and North Carolina A&T (78%).[32] However, four of the lowest graduation rates belonged to Grambling (60%), Alabama A&M (58%), Southern (51%), and Florida A&M (51%).[33]
Although the HBCU graduation rates need improvement, one must remember that
these programs are attempting to educate the same number of athletes as P-5s, but with far fewer resources.
Weaknesses in the Overall Professional Development of Black Football Student-Athletes
Only 7.3% of high school football players play at the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels.[34] Of those fortunate to play in college, only 1.6% make it to the NFL.[35] The NCAA advertises student-athletes becoming professionals in something other than sports, but programs are complicit in a “Labor v. Leadership” infrastructure by not maximizing the employment potential of Black male athletes.[36]
Independence, financial power, and education are some of the most valuable, if not the most valuable ideals struggled for throughout U.S. history. Proof of this lies in the black letter and spirit of racialized historical documents like Plessy, the Slave Trade Clauses, the 3/5 Compromise, and the Thirteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.[37]
During the Civil War, the Confederate States succeeded from the Union because they did not want to relinquish the financial strength created by slavery in the South.
Today, the fight for access and control over these ideals is still ongoing and college football is a battleground. Employers commonly associate skills like leadership, communication, and teamwork with collegiate athletics played at high rates by Black men. However, at many PWIs, these skills are not being properly coupled with education, guidance, and exposure to opportunities beyond sports in ways that can lead to future professional leadership roles for more young Black men.[38]
- Drawing up the Next Big Play
HBCU Funding and Structure
The greatest form of aid to HBCUs would be increased federal and state funding, along with infrastructural guidance provided by programs that are already operating at high levels.
Regarding guidance, an exchange in processes, systems, and protocols would help HBCU programs mirror similar success at their athletic level. For every FAMU there is a University of Florida or Florida State; for every Alabama State University or Alabama A&M there is a University of Alabama; and for every North Carolina A&T or North Carolina Central there is a University of North Carolina or Duke. Coach Broadway shared, “the best coaching experience I received was as an assistant at the University of Florida. It taught me how a top program is run, and I took that knowledge with me to the programs I led later.”[39]
NCAA Regulation of Power Five Conferences
In terms of better serving young Black athletes at P-5 programs, more intentional NCAA regulations aimed at academic and professional development are needed.
The NCAA regulates everything from grade requirements, transportation, sources of meals, acceptable gifts, and drug testing. With so much control, the NCAA should implement statutes in their manual requiring all P-5 schools to encourage and facilitate summer internship opportunities for players; ensure at least 75% of players per team secure such positions; pair each player with an alumni mentor who is a non-athlete professional; along with require each program to secure a minimum of five non-athlete professional speakers to address all players in mandatory team meetings each year. Additionally, each student-athlete would be bound by language amended into their National Letter of Intent on the subject, along with non-scholarship athletes as well.
Albeit facially neutral, this would likely positively impact the futures of a larger number of Black male student-athletes long-term based on P-5 football team demographics.
The Post-Game Wrap Up
With integration came new challenges and advantages depending on what side of the coin an institution fell as it pertains to college football. Yet, federal and state governments can better rectify systemic financial wrongs done to HBCU football programs through increased funding.
Finally, yes, most college student-athletes will go pro in something other than sports. However, the NCAA and colleges have an obligation to better ensure P-5 programs wholistically develop student-athletes for success on and off the field, particularly the young Black men making them billions of dollars each year.
[1] National Archives, The Great Migration, June 28, 2021, https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/migrations/greatmigration#:~:text=The%20Great%20Migration%20was%20one,the%201910s%20until%20the%201970s.
[2] National Archive, Milestone Documents-Morrill Act (1962), May 10, 2022, https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/morrill-act.
[3] Id.
[4] National Museum of African American History & Culture, 5 Things to Know: HBCU Edition, https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/5-things-know-hbcu-edition#:~:text=The%20second%20Morrill%20Act%20of,Universities%20(HBCUs)%20were%20founded (last visited May 18, 2023).
[5] Thurgood Marshall College Fund, History of HBCUs.
[6] Thurgood Marshall College Fund, History of HBCUs.
[7] Higher Education Act of 1965, Sec. 322, 20 U.S.C. § 1061.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-765/pdf/COMPS-765.pdf.
[8] Susan Adams & Hank Tucker, How America Cheated Its Black Colleges, Feb. 1, 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2022/02/01/for-hbcus-cheated-out-of-billions-bomb-threats-are-latest-indignity/?sh=40074521640c.
[9] Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896).
[10] Telephone Interview with Dr. Derrick White, Full-Professor, University of Kentucky (Feb. 20, 2023).
[11] Brown v. Bd. of Ed. of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Opinion, Black Athletes Prop Up White Coaches Enormous Salaries, Washington Post, Sep. 8, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/black-athletes-prop-up-white-coaches-enormous-salaries/2017/09/08/3c980572-9292-11e7-8482-8dc9a7af29f9_story.html.
[15] Marc Weiszer and Steve Berkowitz, Georgia’s Yearly College Football Recruiting Spending Reached $4.5 Million, One-Third More Than any other School, USA Today, Feb. 8, 2023. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/sec/2023/02/08/georgia-spent-4-5-million-college-football-recruiting-last-year/11213930002/.
[16] Stewart Mandel and Chris Vannini, Why Did FAMU Players Levy Complaints Against the University? What We Know, The Athletic, Aug. 31, 2022. https://theathletic.com/3553383/2022/08/31/famu-football-complaints/.
[17] Tony Manfred, Alabama’s New $9 Million Football Facility Is Like Something Out of MTV Cribs, Business Insider, Jul. 22 2013, https://www.businessinsider.com/alabama-football-facility-pictures-2013-7#there-are-two-30-foot-long-hot-tubs-that-are-pretty-much-pools-6.
[18] Mike Buzalka, Univ. of Alabama Opens Spectacular New Athletic Dining Facility, Food Management, Sep. 18, 2018, https://www.food-management.com/colleges-universities/univ-alabama-opens-spectacular-new-athletic-dining-facility.
[19] Telephone Interview with Coach Rod Broadway (March 8, 2023).
[20] Id.
[21] Telephone Interview with Coach Rod Broadway (March 8, 2023).
[22] Anthony Chiusano, The 25 Biggest College Football Stadiums in the Country, National Collegiate Athletic Association, July 30, 2018, https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2018-07-30/25-biggest-college-football-stadiums-country.
[23] Nathan Kalman-Lamb et al, ‘I signed my life to rich white guys’: athletes on the racial dynamics of college sports, The Guardian, March 17, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/mar/17/college-sports-racial-dynamics.
[24] Id.
[25] Athletic Scholarships, Top 20 Most Profitable College Football Programs, https://www.athleticscholarships.net/profitable-college-football-programs.htm (last visited May 18, 2023).
[26] Steve Gaither, Ballin’ On A Budget: How HBCUs make and spend their money on athletics, HBCU Gameday, July 2, 2018, https://hbcugameday.com/2018/07/02/ballin-on-a-budget-how-hbcus-make-and-spend-their-money-on-athletics/.
[27] Id.
[28] The Center Square, Head Football Coach is Highest-Paid Public Employee in Georgia, Jan 17, 2020,
[29] Id.
[30] Male Sports Inequalities, P. 9-14. (2018).
[31] Id.
[32] Steven Gaither, HBCU Graduation Rates Mixed Bag in Revenue Sports, HBCU Gameday, Nov 17, 2020, https://hbcugameday.com/2020/11/17/hbcu-graduation-rates-mixed-bag-in-revenue-sports/.
[33] Id.
[34] Estimated Probability of Competing in College Athletics. https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2015/3/2/estimated-probability-of-competing-in-college-athletics.aspx. (2023).
[35] Adam Robinson, NCAA To NFL: How many NCAA football players make it to the NFL?, The Juice, July 18, 2022, https://sujuiceonline.com/2022/07/18/ncaa-to-nfl-how-many-ncaa-football-players-make-it-to-the-nfl/#:~:text=Of%20those%20who%20are%20lucky,makes%201700%20players%20in%20total.
[36] RefineryNYC, NCAA Commercial, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ltaRIJ0N2o. (2010).
[37] National Constitution Center, The Slave Trade Clauses, https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/articles/article-i/clauses/761. (2022).
[38] Peter Chalfin, et al, Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, The Value of Intercollegiate Athletics Participation from the Perspective of Employers who Target Athletes, P. 19. (2015).
[39] Id.
