Last year, Tennessee State made history when it announced it was launching the first ice hockey team in HBCU sports history. This past week, Tennessee State University President Glenda Glover and Director of Athletics Dr. Mikki Allen made history again when they hired Duanté Abercrombie as the first head ice hockey coach in HBCU sports history.
“I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Abercrombie. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”
Abercrombie’s hiring adds a major piece to the Tennessee St. hockey program puzzle that began in the spring of 2021 when Allen began discussing the idea with Nashville Predators President and CEO, Sean Henry.
“We have tremendous partnerships with the NHL and Sean Henry and the Predators behind us 110%,” said Allen to the Tennessean when the announcement was first made in February 2022. “Now we are assembling a TSU Friends of Hockey Fundraising Team. We are looking for other corporations. It could be a private gift out there or a public gift that could really help ignite this and propel us to where this becomes a reality.“
Two years later, the Tigers have their leader.
According to William Douglas of The Color of Hockey, Abercrombie began playing hockey at the age of six with Washington’s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club. The organization, founded in 1978 by Neal Henderson, the first Black inductee of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, is “an affiliate of the NHL’s Hockey Is For Everyone initiative and the oldest minority-oriented youth hockey program in North America.”
Abercrombie then attended Hampton University, where he was a track and field athlete. After leaving the university, he played in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League (NZIHL) and the Federal Hockey League (FHL) in the U.S.
He then moved into coaching at the college level in 2019 at Stevenson University, an NCAA DIII program. Over the next few years, he became recognized for his work in the sport, including being named to The Athletic’s 40-Under-40 hockey list as an individual shaping the game’s future.
The Tigers’ new head coach has also contributed to the sport’s diversity efforts.
He was a guest coach for the San Jose Sharks 2023 training camp under head coach David Quinn and Mike Grier, who became the first Black general manager in NHL history when he was hired by the San Jose Sharks in June 2022.
He was also part of the Boston Bruins’ 2021-22 scouting mentorship program and while with the Arizona Coyotes’ “first-ever coaching internship program,” he was featured in ESPN’s “NHL Bound,” a four-part series that told the story of two Black hockey coaches pursuing their dream of working in the NHL.
Last season, Abercrombie worked with the coaching staff for the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, including roles with the Leafs, the AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies and East Coast Hockey League affiliate, Newfoundland Growlers. There he learned about player scouting, analysis and development, preparing and executing practices and other coaching essentials.
These experiences are what made Abercrombie so attractive to Tennesse St.
“I knew after our first interaction that Duanté was the right person to lead the charge,” said Nick Guerriero, Director of Hockey and Assistant AD for Communications & Creative Content. “His understanding of HBCU culture, the collegiate hockey landscape, and the NHL will benefit our team tremendously. I’m thrilled to work with Coach Abercrombie as we develop TSU Hockey into a championship-caliber program.”
Now Abercrombie, a Washington D.C. native and inaugural member of the NHL Coaches’ Association’s BIPOC Coaches Program, will turn his attention to developing a program from scratch.
But he does have one player to build around.
In January, forward Xavier Abel made history by transferring from Drury University to Tennessee State, making him both the program’s and HBCU athletic’s first hockey player in history.
With the support of the department and the school, the Tigers’ history-making coach will have the backing he needs to make the once-dream of launching an HBCU ice hockey program a reality.
“With Duanté’s extensive experience in player development and coaching, I’m confident in his ability to build a reputable program, along with inspire our student-athletes to excel both on-and-off the ice,” said Allen. “We’re excited to embark on this groundbreaking journey together!”
