Howard University has always been a leader among HBCU institutions, and recent news demonstrates this once again.
According to Boardroom, Howard will enter into a major partnership with Jordan Brand that will see the company outfit Bison teams for their upcoming seasons.
This is a reunion for Jordan Brand in the HBCU space.
Back in 1997, they signed deals with Cincinnati, St. John’s, Cal, and HBCU institution North Carolina A&T.
After that, unfortunately, interest in HBCU programs waned.
But in recent years, HBCU athletic programs have experienced a resurgence that has seen them expand their program offerings, attract top talent and, once again, become a destination for high school athletes.
For Howard, the deal with Jordan Brand is another landmark deal for their athletic department.
Back in 2016, the Bison became the first HBCU to sign a deal with Under Armour.
Through their deal, the Baltimore-based company agreed to provide training and game day gear for all 19 of their athletic teams.
But the Jordan Brand deal puts Howard in a new category, joining elite programs like UNC, Michigan, UCLA and Oklahoma.
The only team that will be excluded in Howard’s deal is their golf team, which has a partnership with Under Armour through Stephen Curry.
Back in 2019, after a chance meeting with a Howard student, Curry agreed to help launch and fund men’s and women’s golf teams at Howard.
The Bison’s golf program teed off in the 2020-21 school year and garnered success immediate success as Gregory Odom Jr. won the individual title at the HBCU national championship in the program’s inaugural season.
Curry has continued to help the program, participating in a fundraiser in July of 2021 that raised an estimated $3 million for the burgeoning program.
Now armed with Jordan Brand, and already bolstered by the power of Steph Curry, Howard University once again leads from the front of the HBCU pack.
