Sports journalism is about to take center stage at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Hall of Fame sportswriter Rob Parker is bringing the Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame to campus in a historic inaugural induction ceremony.
Scheduled for April 12, 2025, at 6 p.m. in the Deese Ballroom at the Student Center, the ceremony will honor three titans of the industry: William C. Rhoden, Claire Smith, and Mike Wilbon. This public event is made possible by the partnership with N.C. A&T’s student chapters of the National Association of Black Journalists and the Associated Press Sports Editors.
“We have had so many great Black sportswriters and editors who have contributed to this business big time and should be recognized,” Parker remarked. “The best thing is that the students at North Carolina A&T will get a chance to meet these living legends and be inspired by their journalism excellence.”
The Inaugural Inductees
Morgan State University alumnus William C. Rhoden, who has written for ESPN’s Andscape and previously served as a sports columnist for The New York Times, will join Claire Smith, the first woman inducted into the writers’ wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, and Mike Wilbon, co-host of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption and former columnist for The Washington Post, as inaugural inductees.
Parker’s vision for the Hall of Fame emerged last spring after he conducted a baseball writing masterclass at N.C. A&T. He connected with David Squires, a lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications, to help transform this idea into reality.
“This Hall of Fame will give long-deserved recognition to those who paved the way in the exploding sports media industry,” Squires noted. “This will be an enriching experience for the students who participate.”
In addition to celebrating Rhoden, Smith, and Wilbon, the ceremony will pay homage to “The Original Six” pioneering Black sportswriters and editors—Bryan Burwell, Thom Greer, Sam Lacy, Wendell Smith, Larry Whiteside, and Ralph Wiley—who profoundly shaped the landscape of sports journalism.
The Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame will find its home in JOMC’s Crosby Hall, establishing an annual tradition of honoring the outstanding contributions of Black sportswriters and editors at N.C. A&T.