Since transitioning to Division I in 1995, Hampton University had never lost to a lower-level team. In fact, there hadn’t been many close calls.
But there always seems to be a first time for everything. On a picturesque Saturday night at Armstrong Stadium, the Pirates were outplayed in every phase by a former rival from the D-II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Panthers quarterback Khalid Morris completed only 7 of 21 passes, but he threw four touchdowns that covered 192 yards. Wideout Charles Hall had 152 yards on three catches, each for a touchdown.
“I knew they had a good football team,” HU coach Robert Prunty said. “And they played exceptionally well tonight.
“Their quarterback was 7 for 21, but we gave up the big plays. And they connected for them. … You’ve got to give Virginia Union credit, man. They played well.”
Morris and Hall made the big plays. In between, 225-pound running back Tabyus Taylor rushed for 165 yards, 126 coming in the second half, on 25 carries.
“That kid is an NFL player,” Prunty said. “He’s one of the biggest backs we’ll see. He’s huge.”
Virginia Union, No. 25 in Lindy’s preseason Division II poll, also made history. It was the program’s first win over a D-I opponent.
“We came into it like it was just another game,” Panthers coach Alvin Parker said. “We never came in with a David and Goliath type of mentality like I guess everybody expected us to. They came out and played their hardest.
“We’ve got a good, tough group. They’re taking coaching well. We came in at halftime and we knew as a staff we had to coach aggressive. That’s what we did, and the kids responded.”
President Donald Trump will deliver remarks at the 2019 National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Conference on Tuesday, Sept. 10, a White House official exclusively told BLACK ENTERPRISE Friday.
More than 1,800 people are expected to attend the conference, which is themed “Enhancing HBCU Competitiveness: Student Achievement. Quality Partnerships. Institutional Performance,” including representatives from each HBCU around the country. It will be held Sept. 8–10 in Washington, D.C. Sources did not specify where Trump will make his speech.
In 2017, President Trump promised to make HBCUs an “absolute priority” and increase federal funding for these institutions. Since then, HBCUs have been included in the federal five-year STEM Education Plan and the federal Research and Development Budget Priorities. In addition, investment in HBCU programs has increased under Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965. According to a White House statement, this has resulted in the following:
A $35 million increase in the Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program
A $9 million increase in the Strengthening Historically Black Graduate Institutions
A $1 million increase in the Strengthening HBCU Masters Programs
Meaningful increases investments in student support like Pell Grants, Federal Work Study, and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
Increases in Howard University’s annual appropriation by nearly $11 million, bringing its fiscal year 2018 investment level to $232.5 million
The bill also increased by $30 million investments in the HBCU Capital Financing Program, helping eight schools experiencing financial difficulty to redesign and restructure to better meet student and community needs and fulfill loan obligations
Republican President Ronald Reagan created the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities back in 1981. In 2002, President George W. Bush moved the initiative from the White House to the Department of Education. President Barack Obama’s administration also put a number of pro-HBCU reforms into place, including doubling the annual investment in Pell Grants, tripling investment in higher education tax benefits, making student loans cheaper to repay, and increasing institutional aid to minority-serving institutions.
In addition, in 2016, Obama revamped a series of laws and regulations that aimed to curb the number of black and brown students who are disproportionately classified by schools as having disabilities and placed into special education. Trump’s U.S. Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, however, has delayed implementation. The matter is currently being reviewed in court.
ATLANTA (SEPTEMBER 3, 2019) – Spelman College recently received a $2 million grant from the Department of Defense to support its continued growth in STEM education.
The Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM, which will be affiliated with the Office of Research, Innovation and Collaboration, is the first center of its kind and will serve as the hub for all STEM undergraduate research and training activities at the College.
“The Center aligns with the College’s strategic priorities and ensures that our students are empowered and equipped to enter competitive STEM fields,” said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., Spelman president. “We are honored to be awarded this grant, and to have the support of the Department of Defense in assisting Spelman in fulfilling its mission to diversify STEM.”
Spelman is one of six “model institutions for excellence” designated by the National Science Foundation for its significant track record of recruiting, retaining and graduating minority women in the sciences.
Over the past three academic years, the percentage of students pursuing STEM majors at Spelman has grown significantly. In 2017, 26 percent of Spelman students received degrees in STEM compared to 16 percent at other HBCUs and 17 percent at other liberal arts colleges.
The Center seeks to address minority under-representation in the sciences, particularly in computer science, mathematics and physics, explained Tasha Inniss, Ph.D., associate provost for research.
“Spelman has a strong record of educating women in STEM disciplines; however, there is still a lack of representation among women of color in STEM-related careers,” said Dr. Inniss.
The Center will offer three main access points for students and faculty, including research support, academic enrichment and professional development through mentorship opportunities. In addition, the grant will allow the College to introduce an annual Women in STEM Speaker Series, designed to increase knowledge among faculty, staff, and students about emerging areas, including artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science.
The Center also will encourage year-round research collaborations between faculty, students and DoD personnel, which is expected to increase the capacity of faculty to do research, said Dr. Inniss.
“Our overall goal is to increase the skills of our students and resources for our faculty,” she said.
Recently, Spelman participated in the annual second annual HBCU Diversity in Tech Summit, where 47 companies, 34 HBCUs, and members of Congress gathered for conversations around tech diversity and student preparation for careers within emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
The College is also part of a new initiative designed to prepare students within the Atlanta University Center Consortium to meet the growing demand for data scientists and data analytics experts. Funded by the UnitedHealth Group, the five-year $8.25 million investment in the AUCC and its membership: Spelman, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Morehouse School of Medicine, will fund the launch of the Atlanta University Center Data Science Initiative.
In addition, Spelman recently announced a new scholarship initiative with Booking.com, designed to help bridge the gender-divide within the tech sector. The scholarship initiative is designed to provide women students with the funding needed to advance their education in STEM.
Undergraduate research and training programs at the College have been supported over the last 30 years by the NSF, National Institutes of Health, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Security Agency and the Department of Education.
“According to the university, it was planned in connection with her contract extension in 2018.
The Board of Trustees has launched the search for the next president. The Board is appointing a Presidential Search Advisory Committee to work with search consultants and the Board to find the next president.
A new president is expected to be appointed in the first quarter of 2020, the university said, to allow for a transition period between the two presidents.”
Oprah Winfrey is taking her talent on the road. Time Magazine is reporting that the megasuperstar, in conjunction with WW (Weight Watchers Reimagined), will be heading an Oprah 2020 wellness tour to several cities beginning in January. Winfrey says she wants to empower audiences to “support a stronger, healthier, abundant life.”
“Oprah’s 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus” tour will kick off on Jan. 4 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As she visits Los Angeles; San Francisco; Atlanta; Dallas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Brooklyn, New York; and St. Paul, Minnesota, the tour will conclude in Denver on March 7.
“What I know for sure is we can all come together to support a stronger, healthier, more abundant life—focused on what makes us feel energized, connected and empowered,” Winfrey said in a statement. “As I travel the country, my hope for this experience is to motivate others to let 2020 be the year of transformation and triumph—beginning first and foremost with what makes us well. This is the year to move forward, let’s make it happen in 2020.”
This isn’t Winfrey’s first speaking tour as she has previously held “Oprah’s Life Class” and “Oprah’s The Life You Want Weekend” in 2014. During her upcoming tour, Winfrey plans to speak of her own wellness journey with the audience and will help develop their 2020 action plan. She will also share the latest in wellness research and interactive workbook exercises.
Over $1 million from tour proceeds will go toward benefiting WW Good, a philanthropic area of the organization to help bring fresh and healthy foodto underserved communities. She promises to include celebrity guests and a select lineup of wellness experts to join her on this excursion.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity for (WW) to do what we do best: bring communities of people together with a shared goal of health and wellness,” states Mindy Grossman, who serves as president and CEO of WW.
“I’ve had my share of life’s ups and downs,” the network owner says in a Facebook video promo for the tour. “We’ll come together (with some of my friends) to support each other for a stronger, healthier and more abundant life.”
Tickets will be going on presale for WW members, American Express cardholders, and VIPs on Sept. 9 on Ticketmaster.com and then it will be made available to the general public on Sept. 13.
This post was written by Cedric ‘BIG CED’ Thornton, a writer at Black Enterprise, where it was originally published. It is published here with permission.
The founder of Papa John’s has donated $1 million to a historically black college in Kentucky after more than a year of backlash for his use of a racial slur.
News outlets report John Schnatter announced the donation Wednesday at Simmons College of Kentucky. The college’s president, the Rev. Kevin Cosby, and its board of trustees chairman, Mark Lynn, emphasized that people should focus on Schnatter’s actions and not his words.
Schnatter stepped down as CEO of the Louisville-based pizza chain in 2017 and later resigned as its chair after blaming disappointing sales on the NFL player protests and using the N-word during a company conference call.
WLKY-TV reports Simmons is Kentucky’s only private historically black college. The Courier Journal reports Schnatter left the announcement event without speaking with reporters.
In the summer of 2018 Kayvon Thibodeaux, who was then ranked as the top high-school football player in America, visited Florida A&M University, in Tallahassee. When a player of Thibodeaux’s caliber visits a perennial football power—say, Alabama—it’s called Wednesday. But when he visits a historically black college or university (HBCU) like Florida A&M, it threatens to crack the foundation on which the moneymaking edifice of college sports rests.
“I really just wanted to learn the history of FAMU,” Thibodeaux, a defensive end who received a scholarship offer from the school after his freshman year in high school, told me. “And I wanted to show there were more opportunities out there than just big-time Division I schools.”
Ultimately, and perhaps inevitably, Thibodeaux announced that he was going to one of the top football programs in the country, the University of Oregon. “Nobody wants to eat McDonald’s when you can get filet mignon” is how Thibodeaux put it. But over the course of the five months between his visit to FAMU and his decision to enroll at Oregon, Thibodeaux—who gushed about the historically black university on social media—galvanized alumni and boosted national awareness of the institution. It was a moment of hope for HBCUs, and it should have been a moment of fear for the predominantly white institutions whose collective multibillion-dollar revenues have been built largely on the exertions of (uncompensated) black athletes.
The NCAA reported $1.1 billion in revenue for its 2017 fiscal year. Most of that money comes from the Division I men’s-basketball tournament. In 2016, the NCAA extended its television agreement with CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting through 2032—an $8.8 billion deal. About 30 Division I schools each bring in at least $100 million in athletic revenue every year. Almost all of these schools are majority white—in fact, black men make up only 2.4 percent of the total undergraduate population of the 65 schools in the so-called Power Five athletic conferences. Yet black men make up 55 percent of the football players in those conferences, and 56 percent of basketball players.
Black athletes have attracted money and attention to the predominantly white universities that showcase them. Meanwhile, black colleges are struggling. Alabama’s athletic department generated $174 million in the 2016–17 school year, whereas the HBCU that generated the most money from athletics that year, Prairie View A&M, brought in less than $18 million. Beyond sports, the average HBCU endowment is only one-eighth that of the average predominantly white school; taken together, all of the HBCU endowments combined make up less than a tenth of Harvard’s.
Why should this matter to anyone beyond the administrators and alumni of the HBCUs themselves? Because black colleges play an important role in the creation and propagation of a black professional class. Despite constituting only 3 percent of four-year colleges in the country, HBCUs have produced 80 percent of the black judges, 50 percent of the black lawyers, 50 percent of the black doctors, 40 percent of the black engineers, 40 percent of the black members of Congress, and 13 percent of the black CEOs in America today. (They have also produced this election cycle’s only black female candidate for the U.S. presidency: Kamala Harris is a 1986 graduate of Howard University.)
In a country where the racial wealth gap remains enormous—the median white household has nearly 10 times the wealth of the median black household, and the rate of white homeownership is about 70 percent higher than that of black homeownership—institutions that nurture a black middle class are crucial. And when these institutions are healthy, they bring economic development to the black neighborhoods that surround them.
Moreover, some black students feel safer, both physically and emotionally, on an HBCU campus—all the more so as racial tensions have risen in recent years. Navigating a predominantly white campus as a black student can feel isolating, even for athletes. Davon Dillard is a basketball player who transferred to Shaw University after Oklahoma State dismissed him for disciplinary reasons. “Going to a school where most of the people are the same color as you, it’s almost like you can let your guard down a little bit,” he told me. “You don’t have to pretend to be somebody else. You don’t have to dress this way, or do things this way. It’s like, ‘I know you. We have the same kind of struggles. We can relate.’ It’s almost like you’re back at home in your neighborhood.” Perhaps partly for this reason, black students’ graduation rates at HBCUs are notably higher than black students’ at other colleges when controlling for factors such as income and high-school success.
– In an effort to help those students and families affected by Hurricane Dorian, Hampton University is entering into an agreement with the University of the Bahamas to allow students who have been displaced by the hurricane to continue their education on HU’s campus.
“I think this agreement is something that can be helpful to a great number of students and families, and is part of something I’ve tried to do my entire career – helping people to achieve and meet their goals,” said Hampton University President, Dr. William R. Harvey.
Dr. Harvey and Dr. Rodney Smith, the President of the University of the Bahamas, the former Administrative Vice President and Chief Planning Officer at Hampton University, came to this agreement after Hurricane Dorian battered the Bahamas with high winds and rain for more than two days, causing extensive damage and several deaths.
Students from the University of the Bahamas will be able to attend classes at Hampton for the fall 2019 semester, receive room and board for one semester, and will have the option to stay at Hampton once the semester is over at regular rates for tuition and fees.
“Hampton has been the educational choice for many Bahamians over its long history. I am grateful to President Harvey and university leadership on this demonstration of kindness and humanity to my home in our time of need,” said Lawrence Rigby, (c/o 2015), 2014-2015 Student Government Association President from Nassau, New Providence. “Young Bahamians from Abaco and Grand Bahama who are looking for the tools to rebuild their lives and our home will find them at Hampton.”
Two-story restaurant and bar will feature key Atlanta University Center figures and civil rights activists in its design.
A father-son duo with a connection to the Atlanta University Center (AUC) neighborhood later this year will open The Hill Social in the community famous for its historically black colleges and universities.
Charles S. Hill Jr., a Morehouse College alumnus and Dr. Charles S. Hill Sr., the owner of Decatur’s Hill Eye Clinic, are in permitting for the new restaurant and bar.
The Hill Social, at 140 James P Brawley Drive SW, is slated to open in fall 2019.
“We’re hoping our project will continue to spur development in this corridor,” Hill Jr. in a telephone interview Monday told What Now Atlanta.
Hill, who got his masters from Harvard after graduating Morehouse in 2008, was inspired by two professors—Dr. Abraham Davis, a 1961 Morehouse College graduate and Dr. Christopher K. Bass, a 1992 Clark Atlanta University graduate—to bring economic development to the AUC.
“The AUC doesn’t have the kind of amenities seen at other college campuses around the Atlanta-area. This is our opportunity to give back.”
The Hill Social will occupy nearly 2,500 square feet across two floors including the addition of a deck upstairs.
Its walls will be adorned with artwork featuring key AUC figures and notable civil rights activists.
While the restaurant and bar will feel upscale in its design, the menu will offer college-friendly eats like burgers (with vegan options), wings, salads, and wraps.
A full-service bar will occupy The Hill Social’s second floor and will be accessible to guests 21 and older.
Daiquiris, margaritas, and other “fun” cocktails will be at the beverage program’s focus, in addition to beer and wine.
The Hill Social will be the second AUC business for the Hill Family.
The Hill Family for years have been purchasing and renovating dilapidated houses in the neighborhood and renting rooms to college students through their business Rooms Around Campus.
Wilma Mishoe, the first woman to lead Delaware State University as president, announced her retirement Thursday morning after a little more than a year.
Her retirement will be effective Dec. 31. On Jan. 1, Tony Allen will take over as president. Allen is executive vice president and provost of the university, roles he’s held since 2017.
Mishoe officially assumed her role in July 2018, having served as interim president since January 2018. She is the eleventh president of Delaware’s only historically black university.
Mishoe practically grew up on Delaware State’s campus. Her father, Luna Mishoe, became the university’s seventh president when she was 12 in 1960 and the family lived on school grounds. The school’s longest-serving president, Luna Mishoe led the school until 1987.
“There was something special about growing up surrounded by eager students headed off to class each day, and listening to the faculty and administrators guiding them,” Mishoe said in a letter to faculty and students. “That experience led me into my life’s work.”
Drawing on her personal and administrative experiences, Mishoe is a leader who lives and breathes HBCUs, Allen said in an interview with the News Journal.
“None of the university’s achievements over the past two years would have been possible without the graceful, powerful leadership of this president,” He said in a press release. “She carries a legendary last name, but she is her own powerhouse and will forever be the grand dame of Delaware State University.”
Stacey Abrams is definitely not trying to fit anyone else’s standards of beauty.
During an in-depth interview with OWN, the Spelman College graduate said she was pressured to change her look during her run for governor of Georgia in 2018.
When asked if she had to work hard to change her image in order to cater to men, Abrams responded, ”Beauty is not the thing I think about all the time.”
”I used to be that thin and I miss those days but not enough to go back to them,” she told the audience,” adding, “I want to be healthy but I’m not trying to fit anyone else’s image.”
Abrams also discussed how even her own longtime friends go on at her about physical changes she needed to make during her gubernatorial run, reports Blavity.
Sunday after the Bethune Cookman University football team defeated Jackson State 36-15 in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge here in Atlanta, the Wildcats expected to head back to their campus in Daytona Beach, Fla.
But with Hurricane Dorian churning in the Atlantic Ocean and steaming towards Florida’s east coast, that plan was made impossible. And it left the 125-person traveling party of BCU players, coaches and support staff stuck in in their Atlanta hotel.
That’s when a former Clark Atlanta University football player reached out to his alma mater for help.
The result: the CAU family has stepped in and provided a place for the Wildcats to eat, workout and do other things until they’re able to get back to Florida.
“Honestly, it’s all been a godsend for us – President Dr. George T. French Jr., Athletic Director Dr. J Lin Dawson, and Head Coach Tim Bowens for just allowing us to work out over here,” said BCU head football coach Terry Sims as his Wildcats practiced at CAU Panther Stadium Tuesday afternoon. “They opened their doors to us.”
After Sunday’s game, the Wildcats found out they wouldn’t be allowed to travel back to Daytona Beach as Dorian headed in that direction. Reginald Thomas, BCU’s senior associate athletic director for Student Athlete Services, is a Clark Atlanta graduate who was a four-year letterman for the Panthers’ football squad.
In true “Find A Way or Make One” fashion, Thomas tapped his CAU family for help. He and Sims called Andre Burgess of Sodexo, who runs the CAU cafeteria and once worked at BCU, to ask for help. Burgess then called Bowens to see if the football program could give them a place to practice and tend to their other needs.
“He said, ‘This is what’s happening with Bethune-Cookman,'” Bowens said. “‘They can’t go back. They want a place where they can stretch their legs, move around a little bit. We’re going to feed them here.'”
The Wildcats have been eating their meals at the CAU cafeteria and practicing at CAU Panther Stadium in the afternoons. The Panthers hold their practices in the mornings.
With some additional help from supplies provided by the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and assistance from neighboring Georgia State University, Bowens said the Panthers were more than happy to lend a helping hand to BCU.
“We want to serve others in their times of need because there are a lot of times in life that we’re going to ask for that help as well,” Bowens said. “Whether it’s in the arena of football or in life, I think being able to have somebody or people there who are willing to open their doors and arms and say, ‘We’ll help,’ is important.
“Coach Sims and his crew know that Coach Bowens and Clark Atlanta are going to have open arms and they can be able to get done what they need to get done,” he said.
Dawson said this situation epitomizes the special spirit of camaraderie that links all historically black colleges and universities.
“This shows us that we’re still connected and the success of one largely depends on the success of the other,” Dawson said. “We cannot overlook that. Unfortunately, crisis has a way of bringing us together, but besides that, we are joined at the hip. Their struggle is our struggle. Their triumphs are our triumphs and vice versa.
“We welcome Bethune-Cookman during this time of weather displacement,” he said. “We want to make sure we do whatever we can to make this a home away from home. The University has responded outside of athletics, making sure we provide our fields, training rooms and locker rooms. They have Sodexo as well, so there is a partnership. And President French has been reaching out. So, I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to show a sister institution that we are here for them during this unfortunate time.”
Sims said his team hopes to leave Atlanta by noon on Wednesday to make the nearly six-hour bus ride back to Daytona Beach, though they continue to monitor the storm.
Until then, he and the BCU family are thankful for the help that they’ve received from the Clark Atlanta University family.
“Just them opening their doors and allowing us to come in and make this our home right now, you can’t really put a price on that,” Sims said.
Morgan State University sophomore volleyball player Zoe McBride was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Week, while senior Roi Wallacewas named MEAC Setter of the Week for their season opening performances last week, the conference announced on Tuesday.
Last season McBride, who was named to the All-MEAC Rookie Team, earned five MEAC Rookie of the Week selections, while Wallace garnered four setter of the week honors.
“I am happy to come out strong at the start of the season and it is only up from here,” said McBride. “Of course I thank the rest of the team for helping me because I couldn’t have accomplished it without the sets or the passes. They all work really hard in practice and push me to be better.”
A native of Ridgefield, Wash., McBride led the Lady Bears to a 2-1 weekend to open the season – which included back-to-back five-set wins over Seton Hall and William & Mary in the Morgan/Towson Invitational. The wins marked Morgan State’s first 2-0 start since 1999.
The 6-foot outside/right side hitter hit .268 for the weekend, recorded two double-doubles in three matches and averaged 4.62 kills and 2.4 digs per set. In the opener against Seton Hall, she had a career-high 30 kills, 13 digs and three blocks, while hitting .383 to help the Lady Bears to their first season opening victory since 2011. McBride followed that up with an 18-kill, 10-dig performance against William & Mary. She added 12 kills, eight digs and an ace against Towson in the title match.
Wallace averaged 9.85 assists per set as Morgan State ended a seven-match losing skid in season openers with its win over Seton Hall in the opener of the Morgan/Towson Invitational. She began the weekend collecting 58 assists against the Pirates – two shy of her career high and added seven digs, two kills and a service ace.
The San Dimas, Calif. native then recorded her first double-double of the season with 49 assists and 14 digs against William & Mary. Wallace, who totaled seven kills, 26 digs and four service aces for the weekend, closed out the tournament with 21 assists, five digs, three kills and an ace in the title loss to Towson.
“Being named setter of the week is really an honor to me and it fuels me to work hard and get more weekly accolades over the course of the season,” said Wallace. “It also feels really good to be named the first week out.”
Earlier in the day Morgan State hosted Siena and the momentum from the weekend carried over in a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-18) sweep of the Saints, giving the Lady Bears their first 3-1 start since 1999.
“That’s something that myself and the team are really happy about,” said Wallace on the 3-1 start. “To be doing so well so quickly is really exciting and it shows just how hard we’ve been working and how well we can work through adversities and we hope to carry this throughout the rest of the season.”
WILBERFORCE, OHIO – Central State University and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will co-host a virtual fundraiser Sept. 1 – Oct. 11 to promote mental health awareness among its students, faculty, staff and alumni.
The NAMI On Campus Virtual Walk Fundraiser will allow participants to walk, run or ride the 3.1 miles (5K) from anywhere in the world over the six-week period. The Central State NAMI chapter is the first among Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and those who contribute $25 or more to the fundraiser by Oct. 1will receive an event t-shirt.
Additionally, Ohio NAMI will match every contribution dollar-for-dollar, up to $2,000.
WHAT: NAMI On Campus Virtual Walk Fundraiser at Central State University
WHERE: Anywhere, but those interested can run in CSU’s Walk for National Mental Health Awareness 5K, Friday, Oct. 11, during homecoming weekend.
Central State University, located in Wilberforce, Ohio, is a regionally accredited 1890 Land-Grant University with a 132-year tradition of preparing students from diverse backgrounds and experiences for leadership, research and service. The University, which has been named HBCU of the Year by HBCU Digest, fosters academic excellence within a nurturing environment and provides a strong liberal arts foundation and STEM-Ag curriculum leading to professional careers and advanced studies globally.
The 2019 NFL season is set to be a big one. It’s the 100th season of the National Football League and it will lead to the 50th modern-era Championship game and the 54th Super Bowl.
The NFL betting sites have all the usual suspects listed as favorites and are predicting big stuff from the league’s biggest names, but what will this season really have in store?
The Stats
The New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams are the favorites to come out on top during this NFL season, and they are closely followed by the Saints and the Chiefs. The Chiefs are relying on (and should receive) big performances from Mahomes and Hardman, while the Rams have Gurley and Goff to turn to.
Both the Saints and the Patriots have ageing quarterbacks and there are doubts about their abilities, but if last season was anything to go by then they still have what it takes. The Patriots are the favorites to win despite their 42-year-old QB and the absence of Gronkowski, but that’s because they have the quality in-depth to seamlessly replace Gronk and to cover Brady in the event of an injury.
The Bet
The first week of the season will tell us a lot about the capabilities of the four franchises mentioned above, as well as the league’s dark horses. The Rams arguably have the toughest test, as they face the Panthers in Carolina, but the Patriots will also need to get by the Steelers if they’re going to start with a bang.
The Saints, on the other hand, should make light work of the Texans, while the Chiefs will expect to get the W against the Jaguars.
A lot of eyes will also be on the Browns, who play the Titans. They have made some big changes this summer, bringing in Vernon, Hunt, and Odell Beckham Jr. Their goal will be to improve on last season, which should be a certainty, but there is also a slim chance they will make it all the way.
There is no doubt that HBCUs are needed in the United States. Not to exclude any particular groups, but these schools provide an environment where African-American students can study without worry that social stigmas will affect their achievements, or ruin their focus. Intending to further this effort, Footaction has created the No One Way Design Program.
No One Way is created in collaboration with Footlocker’s PENSOLE Academy that will offer more than 85 Historically Black Colleges and Universities a chance to participate in a design competition. The competition will show them as capable designers, and a sparsely tapped market for new talent.
The competition will select 5 winners who will take a 3 week PENSOLE master class. Their designs will be refined and added to apparel that will be shown during New York Fashion Week this coming February. The final winner will be chosen by a panel, and have their design manufactured, and offered in Footaction stores across the nation. Stick with us as more news about the No One Way Design Program competition becomes available.
