With the rise of interest and success in HBCU athletics, HBCU Sports founder and publisher Kenn Rashad feels honoring the athletes and administrators at the forefront of this movement is a necessary and important endeavor.
“I thought this was the right time to take a moment to recognize the individuals who make what we do possible,” Rashad said upon announcing the inaugural HBCU Sports Awards that will take place via livestream on Saturday, July 27, 2024.
“I don’t think, overall, that the general public understands how these people are asked to do so much more with less. There are a plethora of areas where people simply don’t get the just due for the things that we consider the little things that are actually pretty massive in the totality of what they have to deal with.”
Rashad credits Jarrett Carter Sr., formerly of the HBCU Digest, for the inspiration behind these awards. Before moving on to a successful career in academia, Carter created, operated, and hosted the annual HBCU Digest Awards, which focused more on academic success. Rashad, who was present for one of the Digest Awards ceremonies, said he’s been thinking about this idea for close to 10 years and decided to act on it now.
“I’m one of those people who doesn’t want to move forward with something if it isn’t perfect,” he admits. But seeing everything that’s happened the last four years, it feels like this is the right time to do it, even if it isn’t exactly how I’d like it to be.”
Rashad said that award categories will be finalized and announced by the end of May, and nominations will be announced mid to late June. Currently, between 35 and 40 tentative award categories, both individual and team/program/organization, are on the table.
He also stressed that this is a grassroots event, meaning there are no sponsors at the moment (Rashad is welcome to the idea of corporations, businesses, and organizations sponsoring the event), so support from various levels will be important.
“This is something that is literally ‘For Us, By Us’,” he says. “This is an opportunity for HBCU stakeholders to be a part of something that could potentially be bigger than all of us. If we don’t support ourselves or those in this particular space, who will?”
The inaugural 2024 HBCU Sports Awards will recognize the accomplishments of student-athletes, coaches, and administrators for their work during the 2023-24 academic year.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for interested parties and they can contact Kenn Rashad at advertise@hbcusports.com.