Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have not only prided themselves in developing some of the brightest and most skilled students in the classrooms. They have also developed some of the top student-athletes in the country. Many of these athletes going on to become well-established professional athletes in their respective sport.

In recent years, though, there has been a gap created between the student-athlete from a black college going to the professional stage.

According to The Maroon Tiger, “Some of the NFL’s greatest talent has come from the HBCUs top conferences, the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Although these conferences were once hotbeds for NFL scouts, they now have extreme trouble getting the prospects that they once enjoyed. With HBCUs struggling to keep producing talent, it’s been hard for them to keep up with major Division 1 programs.”

I have comprised a list of the schools that have been “spearheading” the development of professional athletes over the years, the Top 10 list shown below is based upon the number of athletes in the sports (NBA, NFL, MLB, Olympics, and Canadian League) within the past four decades.

(The data used in this author’s post is based on information provided by The Maroon Tiger article “HBCUs: The Forgotten Source of Great Athletes,” and several sources from black college athletics websites.)

10North Carolina A&T

The Aggies of NCA&T snag the No. 10 spot with 21 professional athletes coming out of their program. The Aggies have a rich history in their athletics program with Al Attles being one of the first African-American coach in NBA. Former NFL Player and Coach Dwaine Board also has drawn his name in history. During his time playing for the San Franscisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints, he became a 4-time Super Bowl Champion.

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Kyle Kidd-Buckner is a 21-year-old, Graduating Senior Mass Communication major from Los Angeles, CA with emphasis in Multimedia Journalism and a minor in Political Science at Jackson State University. He is a proud brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. initiated Spring 2017 into the Delta Phi Chapter where he serves as Associate Editor of The Sphinx. Spring of 2017, Kyle was appointed to the position of Executive President for the Campus Activities Board for the 2017-2018 Academic School year completing his tenure January 2018. He has served as an Author for HBCUBuzz and Collegiate Sports Editor of Black Beat Sports with stories also featured in 7 Hues Magazine and DoerHouse LLC. He currently interns at The Meme Agency as a Public Relations Intern and BYOBSociety as a Marketing Intern and serves as Managing Editor for Watch The Yard. Kyle aims to become a expert in all things media. He was the 2016 National Conference on Student Leadership Scholarship Recipient representing Jackson State in Orlando, FL. Kyle recently Co-Author his first book, "Grown and Gone" a book created to assist high school seniors with their transition into their first independent year as college student. Kyle lives by the life mantra, "I trust the next chapter, because I know the Author..."