Howard University men’s basketball coach Kenny Blakeney has proposed an innovative and ambitious plan to secure a $100 million investment for the Bison basketball program. Recently, Blakeney detailed his proposal to Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post.

This plan involves leveraging private equity to elevate the program’s status and ensure its long-term success. Blakeney’s proposal is inspired by the success of Deion Sanders at Jackson State, where businesses recognized the value of partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

How Kenny Blakeney’s plan works

Blakeney’s strategy involves selling a 33 1/3 percent stake in the men’s basketball program to private equity firms and wealthy individuals. The revenue generated from a sale would be split between the potential owner, the university, and the basketball program. This influx of capital would upgrade Howard’s facilities, establish Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) deals with players, and make the Bison an attractive option for other conferences.

Howard is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, home to a set of HBCUs. The shifting landscape of conference realignment puts mid-major and low-tier conferences in danger of being pushed further back. Being a more recognizable program gets eyes and resources on the program that usually aren’t there for schools alike. And possibly, if they outgrow their current home, the Bison could be enticing to a conference with higher TV rights revenue.

In 2022, Howard signed a 20-year deal with The Jordan Brand. The pact hopes to give the Bison’s athletics as a whole more recognition. But a shoe deal isn’t enough. Programs like Howard’s men’s basketball need to channel other avenues of funding. Blakeney’s proposal goes deeper into gaining greater resources.

The benefits of private equity ownership for Howard

One of the primary benefits of private equity ownership is the increased financial resources it brings. With significant capital, the Howard basketball program can invest more in recruiting top talent. The Bison can offer competitive salaries, signing bonuses, and other incentives to attract high-caliber players. Additionally, the program can upgrade its facilities and training programs, making them more attractive to potential recruits. State-of-the-art facilities and advanced training programs can be a significant draw for players looking to develop their skills.

Private equity firms also bring strategic management expertise toward player recruitment. They can involve data-driven approaches to identify and target the best talent and build strong scouting networks. Furthermore, private equity investors can help teams build networks that reach both local and international markets, expanding the pool of potential recruits and increasing visibility on a global scale for the program.

Another advantage of private equity ownership is the focus on long-term development. Private equity firms often invest in the long-term success of the teams they support. That strategy can lead to a focus on developing young talent and building a sustainable pipeline of players for the future. By prioritizing long-term development, the basketball program can ensure a steady flow of talented players and maintain its competitive edge.

The potential downside of a private equity ownership

However, there are potential downsides to private equity ownership. The pressure to deliver high returns could lead to a focus on short-term gains over long-term development. In turn, this could result in decisions to prioritize immediate success at the expense of the program’s future. Additionally, non-revenue sports might get deprioritized. Private equity firms may focus their resources on the most profitable aspects of the program.

Despite these potential challenges, Blakeney’s proposal represents a bold and forward-thinking approach to securing the future of Howard’s basketball program. By leveraging private equity, he aims to ensure that Howard remains competitive and does not fall into a secondary tier of NCAA tournaments. This plan could significantly reshape Howard’s men’s basketball future and set a precedent for other HBCUs.

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Seth Towns scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds in Howard’s 64-53 win over Boston University on Wednesday. The NCAA cleared the 26-year-old Towns, granting him a rare eighth year of eligibility.

A Columbus, Ohio native, Towns’ collegiate career began in 2016 at Harvard University. He played two years for the Crismon, averaging 16.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in 30 games as a sophomore. Towns got named to the All-Ivy League First Team.

A 6-foot-9 forward, Towns looked promising playing in the Ivy League. However, his college career took the first of many turns when he suffered a knee injury ahead of the 2018-2019 season.

The knee injury cost Towns the entire season. He lost the following year when he underwent a season-ending knee surgery. After missing back-to-back seasons due to injury, Towns transferred to his hometown Ohio State in March 2020.

With Ohio State, Towns appeared in 25 games during the 2020-21 season. He averaged 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds. Towns underwent back surgery before the 201-22 season, which put him on the shelf for the third season in four.

Ultimately, Towns stepped away from basketball in September 2022. With his back healed, Towns committed and enrolled at Howard. On Tuesday, the NCAA cleared Towns to be eligible.

Towns made his presence felt off the bench. In 25 minutes, he had 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, including 3-of-6 from three. He also had six rebounds.

The addition of Towns gives the Bison more depth, giving head coach Kenny Blakeney a confident eight-man rotation.

Howard is the reigning MEAC regular season and tournament champion, looking to reach the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year. Towns’ next opportunity to get in the groove is Saturday when the Bison travel to play at Rutgers.

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Former James Madison standout Odicci Alexander is joining the Howard Bison softball team’s coaching staff. Howard announced the hire on Monday.

“I am so excited to have Odicci join our Bison family. Who she is, and what she represents is much deeper than softball,” Coach Tori Tyson said in a statement. “This a big deal for not just our team, but the entire DMV community, the MEAC and all HBCUs.”

Alexander rose to stardom as the Dukes star pitcher. At James Madison, Alexander was a three-time All-American and two-time Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year. She also was named Softball America Pitcher of the Year as well as CAA Pitcher of the Year in 2021.

Alexander became a household name for her defensive web gem during the 2021 College World Series. She stopped a sac bunt attempt before making a game-saving dive at home plate to get a key out in the Dukes’ 2-1 win against Oklahoma State.

With Alexander, James Madison became the first unseeded team to reach the Women’s College World Series semifinals.

In her five-year career at James Madison, Alexander posted a 81-18 record with a 2.18 ERA. She also had a .337 batting average with 39 home runs — the fourth most in JMU softball history.

Howard is looking to build off its historic season in 2022 in which the Bison won the MEAC tournament and earned a berth into the NCAA tournament.

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Howard University athletic program is jumping ship with their apparel deal. Howard announced on Thursday the school has entered a 20-year pact with the Jordan Brand.

Jordan will provide uniforms, shoes and other equipment for the Bison’s athletic programs. They will also dress Howard’s iconic marching band. The first of Jumpman uniforms will debut on Aug. 27 when the football team plays Alabama A&M in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Atlanta.

Howard athletic programs have been outfitted by Under Armour since 2016. That deal expired this summer. The Bison became the first Division I historically black college and university to join Jordan since North Carolina A&T did so in the brand’s early days going back to 1997.

Jordan will look to elevate Howard’s presence with recruiting and “inspire a new generation of excellence.”

Jordan continues to deepen its presence in the Washington, D.C. area. The brand has an apparel deal with Georgetown University. It also has shoe deals with Washington Wizards players Bradley Beal and Rui Hachimura.

As part of the deal, Jordan committed $100 million to the Black Community to help “advance the work of organizations fighting to create systemic change.”

Jordan’s current college roster includes Michael Jordan’s alma mater North Carolina, UCLA, Michigan, Marquette, Morehouse, San Diego State, Houston, Oklahoma, Georgetown and Florida in addition to Howard.

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In what could be described as a huge upset in college sports realignment, Howard University has decided not to leave the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) for the Colonial Athletic Association. 

According to FCS insider Daniel Steenkamer, Howard recently informed the CAA that the school will not join the conference at this time.

Howard expressed interest in leaving the MEAC for the CAA recently. Conversations led to Howard verbally committing to pursue membership with the CAA, according to Steenkamer. The Bison would have joined the CAA during the start of the 2023-24 academic year.

However, in the end, Howard opted to pass on the opportunity. 

Howard’s decision is considered a huge win for the MEAC, at least in the short-term. The historically Black athletic conference has been decimated by departures in recent years. 

Five schools have left the conference since 2019. Howard’s biggest rival, Hampton, left the conference in 2019 to join the Big South. Savannah State returned to Division II the same year. 

Last year, Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman left for the SWAC. Meanwhile, North Carolina A&T joined Hampton in the Big South.

Howard would’ve been part of a bigger expansion plan in the CAA. Hampton will join the CAA in July while North Carolina A&T will follow in every sport except football and bowling. A&T’s football team will join the conference in 2023. Additionally, Stony Brook will become a full-member of the CAA along with Monmouth.  

Howard remains one of three founding members of the MEAC to never leave the league. MEAC’s other members include Delaware State, South Carolina State, Coppin State, UMES, Morgan State, Norfolk State and North Carolina Central. 

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After winning the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win on Thursday, the Howard Bison women ran into a brick wall against tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, South Carolina.

Howard was held to the fewest points ever scored in a Women’s NCAA Tournament game, as they were throttled by the Gamecocks 79-21.

It was mismatched from the opening tip. The Gamecocks’ stifling defense contributed to Howard making just one field in the first half. The Bison was 1-of-26 shooting from the field, and held to four points in the first half, also a women’s NCAA Tournament record for the fewest points scored in a half.

South Carolina was coming off a stunning upset loss to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament championship game. The Gamecocks got back on track in dominating fashion. 

South Carolina led 60-8 by the end of the third quarter. Howard also had 20 turnovers in the game.

Aliyah Boston led the Gamecocks with a game-high 10 points while grabbing 12 rebounds. Victaria Saxton had eight points and 13 rebounds. South Carolina owned the glass, grabbing 69 rebounds to Howard’s 29 boards.

Iyanna Warren led Howard with eight points and five rebounds.

Howard was coming off a First Four win over Incarnate Word on Wednesday night to advance into the Round of 64. South Carolina improved to a 30-2 record and will meet Miami on Sunday in the second round.

Meanwhile, Howard, who won the MEAC regular season and conference tournament, finishes with a 21-10 record in head coach Ty Grace’s second season.

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The Howard Bison women earned their first-ever NCAA tournament win by defeating Incarnate Word 55-51 in the First Four.

Howard (21-9) was led by their two forwards junior Brooklynn Fort-Davis and senior Krislyn Marsh. Fort-Davis had a team-high 15 points and added 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, Marsh scored seven of her 14 points in the fourth quarter while tying her career-high with 17 rebounds.

UIW (13-17) was led by junior forward Tiana Gardner with a game-high 16 points.

The Cardinals took a 38-35 lead at the end of the third quarter when Destiny Jenkins made a three-point heave at the buzzer.

But the Bison responded with an 8-2 run to start the fourth quarter. The run swung the lead back to Howard at 43-40 that they never relinquished. Destiny Jenkins made a layup with 3:15 remaining that cut UIW’s deficit to one at 47-46.

After trading a couple of empty trips, Fort-Davis scored back-to-back buckets in the paint that extended Howard’s lead to 51-46 with 44 seconds remaining.

Howard led 52-48 when its defense sealed the win. The Bison came away with two steals on the Cardinals’ next three possessions fending off any late rally.

Howard’s ability to control the glass was huge. They outrebounded UIW 51-34. Howard had 22 offensive rebounds that negated 1-of-18 shooting from three and 30.9% shooting from the field.

The Bison also made it a difficult night for UIW’s leading scorer Jaaucklyn Moore. Moore finished with a hard fought 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting. 

Howard was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001. They were previously 0-5 all-time in the tournament before Wednesday night. The win now sets them up for a date with the No. 1 overall seed South Carolina Gamecocks.

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The college basketball world reacted to Monday’s historic game between Notre Dame and Howard in the MLK Day Classic.

Notre Dame ventured outside of the Atlantic Coast Conference to Washington, DC to play Howard at the Burr Gymnasium on the campus of the Bison. Monday’s game marked the first time Notre Dame played on the road at a Historically Black College and University. The rare contest was nationally broadcast on FOX.

The game was three years in making and was originally scheduled to be played last year on MLK Day. But the game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both schools made sure the game was made up this year and the game did not disappoint. The back-and-forth action between the two came down to the wire after a relentless rally by Howard using pressuring defense.

The game ended with a frantic finish. With Notre Dame up 69-68 in the waning moments, Fighting Irish senior guard Maryland native and Gonzaga High School (DC) alum Prentiss Hubb drove down the lane for an uncontested layup with 12 seconds remaining to extend Notre Dame’s lead to 71-68.

With time running out, Howard freshman guard Elijah Hawkins (DeMatha Catholic High School) missed the game-tying three from the right wing at the buzzer. Notre Dame held on to a 71-68 win.

Here’s the reaction from the college basketball world following the thriller:

Here’s two highlights that outline the game. First the turnaround jumper from Notre Dame forward Blake Wesley that proved to be a pivotal play for the Irish.

But the Bison pushed back. Their pressure led to this thunderous alley-oop from Hawkins to Tai Bibbs.

Notre Dame were led by senior guards Dane Goodwin and Nate Laszewski who each scored 17 points. Howard was led by Steve Settle III, another DeMatha product, with a game-high 25 points.

The game came together thanks to the relationship between a pair of DeMatha grads, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey and Howard head coach Kenny Blakeney. Their first meeting was in 2019 in South Bend and Notre Dame made sure to return the favor coming to DC.

It was a great atmosphere at the Burr. The game felt like a big game despite the current standings of Notre Dame (11-6) and Howard (6-8).

Hopefully, games like these — Power 5 schools playing on the campuses of HBCUs — will be more common in future. Notre Dame and Howard put on a thriller and had a HBCU vibe. It was a huge win all-around for college basketball.

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Caylin Newton, the younger brother of former NFL MVP Cam Newton, has entered the transfer portal for the second time in his college career, according to Matt Zenitz of On3.

Newton starred at Howard two seasons as a quarterback. However, he transferred to Auburn in 2020 as a graduate transfer, changing his position to wide receiver and kick returner. The same school his brother Cam won the 2010 Heisman Trophy.

At Auburn, Caylin Newton appeared in five games during the 2021 season. He caught one pass for 31 yards. He also returned a punt for 19 yards. 

His time at Howard was much more stellar. As a freshman in 2017, Newton won the MEAC Rookie of the Year. He threw for 2,432 yards 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He added 753 rushing yards. That season was most noted by him orchestrating Howard to the largest point-spread upset in college football history over UNLV.

In 2018, Newton won the MEAC MVP. He threw for 2,629 yards and rushed for 504 with 26 total TDs. He was a finalist for the Black College Football Player of the Year.

Newton redshirted in 2019 after four games. Ultimately, he transferred to Auburn.

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The Howard Bison football team will kick off the 2022 season representing the MEAC in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. Howard will face Alabama State in Atlanta next season, the challenge’s executive director John Grant announced in an interview with Black College Experience.

This will be the Bison’s first appearance in the annual FCS classic that showcases a team from each of the historically black colleges and universities athletic conferences. The series began in 2005, and the MEAC has a 10-4 edge over the SWAC.

Howard will be led by Larry Scott, who will be entering his first full season as head coach this season. Scott was hired in 2020. The South Florida alum most recently was the tight ends coach for the Florida Gators.

The MEAC cancelled the fall season due to the COVID-19 pandemic which would have been Scott’s first at Howard. The conference held a spring season this year in which Howard went 0-2 with both losses to Delaware State. However, the season was cancelled when all but three teams from the MEAC opted out of the spring season.

Alabama State will be making its third appearance in the challenge. The Hornets played in the inaugural game in 2005, losing to South Carolina State. They also lost in 2012 to Bethune-Cookman.

Grant also announced the 2023 matchup will be between South Carolina State and Jackson State. In 2024, Florida A&M will make its first appearance as a member of the SWAC as they face Norfolk State. Florida A&M, along with Bethune-Cookman, left the MEAC to join the SWAC in July.

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