HBCU commissioners reach out to Congress for help as legislation threatens their programs
Source: Houston Chronicle/AP
Updated Feb 19, 2025 9:18 p.m.
Just a few years after sports at historically Black schools were thriving, many now are merely surviving. HBCUs are seeking help before things get worse. The commissioners of four major historically Black conferences have sent a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus requesting a meeting and voicing concerns that the growing push to make athletes school employees could potentially destroy their athletic programs if it continues.
Anthony Holloman, commissioner of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) said Yvette Clark, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, has responded with an offer to meet with the commissioners later this month. The SIAC, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) cover 48 Division I and Division II HBCU programs and roughly 15,000 athletes.
The commissioners worry their schools will need to make massive cuts if forced to put athletes on their payrolls. Athletes would have to pay taxes on their incomes and scholarships and the schools would be taxed for employing them. That would make college less affordable for students and come at significant cost to a group of schools that do not generate significant athletic revenue.
The letter also says a growing patchwork of state laws also are creating disparities among the states their programs are in, leading to confusion for prospective students. “To ensure that college sports broadly – and HBCU sports especially – can continue to thrive, it’s essential that Congress allow for consistent and nimble national governance and affirm that student-athletes are not designated as employees of their universities,” the letter said.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/sports/article/hbcu-commissioners-reach-out-to-congress-for-help-20176160.php
You all are about to be erased, and not just the "sports programs". The whole damn thing. The term "HBCU" will soon be censored and the schools defunded.
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