On Wednesday afternoon, Tennessee State held a press conference to present a long-awaited and highly anticipated announcement.
Ice hockey was coming to HBCU athletics.
In the spring of 2020, the university first started having discussions with the Nashville Predators, who they had an existing relationship with, about the idea of launching an ice hockey program.
Launching a program is by no means easy, especially a program with no previous history at the school.
But both parties had an unrelenting interest in the opportunity, so they enlisted the help of College Hockey Inc., and the three, in conjunction with the NHL and the NHLPA, conducted a feasibility study in 2021 to see if launching an ice hockey program at the HBCU institution was viable.
The biggest challenge for the university would be the financial undertaking, which would include costs such as scholarships, coaching salaries, rink time and equipment. They also looked into the cost of joining a conference as neither the Ohio Valley Conference nor any of the HBCU conferences offered the sport. That meant the Tigers would have to skate down a different path.
Last February, the university took concrete steps toward making the program a reality when university athletic director Mikki Allen publically announced that he, the NHL and Sean Henry, President and CEO of the Nashville Predators, were officially pursuing bringing ice hockey to Tennessee State.
“We have tremendous partnerships with the NHL and Sean Henry and the Predators behind us 110%,” said Allen to the Tennessean at the time. “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. “
Over a year later, that day finally arrived.
“Bringing ice hockey to Tennessee State University is a part of our continued commitment to provide our students with new opportunities and to broaden new interests in areas where they have traditionally had limited or no access,” said TSU President Glenda Glover in a statement.
“We appreciate our ongoing partnership with the Nashville Predators which has played a pivotal role in our decision to pursue this historic undertaking, of starting an ice hockey program at TSU, and the first for an HBCU. TSU has a tremendous legacy in athletics. Adding ice hockey to our programs will start a new chapter and build upon that legacy.”
The legacy starts with a club ice hockey team that evolves into NCAA DI men’s and women’s programs, a process that has precedent.
Arizona State began its foray into ice hockey with a club team that eventually became a men’s program. After winning two national club titles, it officially became a DI program in 2015.
The Tigers will begin as a club-level program in 2024, and the university is committed to it long-term.
“Today is a historic day as Tennessee State University, a prestigious HBCU, collaborates with the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Nashville Predators in an unprecedented partnership,” stated Dr. Mikki Allen, TSU Director of Athletics.
Allen now turns his attention to hiring a Director of Club Hockey Operations, who will be responsible for “fundraising, seeking corporate partnerships, recruiting student-athletes, and managing day-to-day operations.”
The decision to start a sports program with little to no history at HBCUs follows a recent trend of HBCUs that have expanded their athletic offerings and made history in the process.
In 2015, Hampton announced it would launch a men’s lacrosse team. A short time later, the team started playing at the NCAA DI level. The last HBCU school to field a team was Morgan State, which fielded a men’s lacrosse team from 1970 to 1981. The Bears garnered success and became a nationally recognized and ranked team that beat teams like Notre Dame and Harvard.
Morgan St. will make history twice later this year. First, it will become the first and only HBCU DI program to offer acrobatics and tumbling. Second, when it relaunches its wrestling program after a 26-year hiatus, it will become the only HBCU to field a DI wrestling team, a team led by Olympic gold medalist, Kenny Monday, the first Black U.S. wrestler to win Olympic gold.
Other HBCUs expanding their athletics offerings include Fisk University, which, this past season, launched the first HBCU Intercollegiate Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Team; Virginia State, which in 2022 announced they were adding both men’s and women’s soccer and lacrosse; Bluefield State, which added women’s wrestling and Talladega College, which announced it would launch its own women’s gymnastics program.
And while Howard’s swim team already existed, this past season the Bison, the only HBCU to field a swim team, captured its first NEC title since 1989.
While HBCU football traditionally captures the most attention of any HBCU sport, especially over the last two years during Deion Sanders’ reign at Jackson St., other sports are winning and new programs are getting ready to launch.
It’s a great sign for HBCU institutions, which for so long struggled to gain the support, resources and attention they deserved and needed, especially financial support.
But now the outlooks for these institutions and their athletic programs are improving, and with the news that Tennessee State is launching an ice hockey program, another milestone has been set.
“Together, we celebrate the power of collaboration as we dismantle barriers, diversify the game, and propel hockey into a new era of inclusivity,” said Allen. “With Tennessee State University, the NHL, and the Nashville Predators working hand in hand, we have the potential to reshape the future of hockey and inspire generations to come. Together, we will forge a path towards a more inclusive and united hockey community.”
Even more significantly, another stereotype about Black people has been broken.
