Whew! It’s been a tough month for the HBCU sports family.

First, legendary sports broadcaster Charlie Neal passed last week at the age of 80. Neal helped usher in HBCU sports on a national stage, starting at BET for 23 years. ESPN hired him in 2005 to cover its HBCU broadcasts, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg of his legacy.

Former Virginia Union football student-athlete William Davis took his life at just 22 years old. Davis played at VUU from 2022-24 before transferring.

“This one hurts deeply,” VUU coach Alvin Parker wrote on X. “William Davis was more than a player to me, he was family. A young man I loved and was proud to coach.”

And, before we could exhale, longtime Fayetteville State educator and administrator Peggy Green died after a long fight with cancer. The CIAA Women’s Coach of the Year Award is named after Green.

"Dr. Peggy Green was a trailblazer, mentor, and champion for everything Fayetteville State athletics represents," director of athletics Anthony T. Bennett said. "Her impact is immeasurable – not only in the success of our programs, but in the lives of the student-athletes, coaches, and administrators she guided along the way. She helped build the foundation we stand on today, and her legacy will continue to inspire future generations of Broncos."

WOMEN

N.C. Central

The ladies won the most medals in the Division I era at the MEAC Outdoor Track Championships with a fourth-place finish and 104 points, their best point total in DI.

Tia Lucas and Laila Jackson led the way with gold medals in the high jump and 1,500 meters, respectively.

Howard won its fifth straight championship, followed by Morgan State and Norfolk State.

In softball, the program is looking for another head coach after the departure of Now-Allah James. After finishing .500 in the MEAC last season, NCCU regressed to 6-15 and 8-40 overall. The team missed qualifying for the MEAC Tournament.

Shaw

The Bears finally have a head coach, and it’s the first female in program history. Hard to believe, isn’t it? But before Jacques Curtis’ 25-year run, there was Bobby Sanders who was the head coach when CC arrived in 1998.

We had a big laugh reading Shaw’s press release announcing Ebony Tanner. It took a couple of paragraphs before it mentioned Tanner was coming from Elizabeth City State. Understandable. If we had a 13-39 record in two seasons, we wouldn’t want it to be at the top of the list either. Anyway, alumni and supporters can greet both Tanner and men’s basketball coach Wykevin Bazemore at a press conference May 27.

Hampton

Led by senior Brianna Charles, the Pirates finished second at the CAA Women’s Outdoor Championships. Elon was first.

Charles won both the 100- and 200-meter dashes to earn CAA track athlete of the meet. N.C. A&T was fourth.

MEN

N.C. Central

The Eagles have a pipeline at Brunswick Community College. Point guard Darius Kane is another transfer from the college. Also joining Eagleland is guard Ryan Archey from Clinton, Maryland.

In track, the men tied with Howard for fourth place, their highest point total in DI era. Aaron Alukunyang won three gold medals in all three distance events. He also was named most outstanding men’s track athlete.

Norfolk State won its fifth straight title, followed by South Carolina State and Delaware State. The NCAA East Regional is May 27 in Lexington, Kentucky.

N.C. A&T

The Aggies are starting to dominate in track and field. The men claimed their second straight CAA outdoor track title, easily outdistancing second-place Northeastern by almost 30 points. Hampton was fourth.

“This one is different,” head coach Allen Johnson said. “The first one, you get really excited about because it’s the first. This one is different and feels different because this one says we have established our mark on this conference. We came here and did what we were supposed to do.”

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