Five years ago, for Howard University’s (HU) basketball team, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday was basically a day for a home game that offered the customary tributes to the slain civil rights leader. As a bonus attraction, Howard invited such notable institutions as Notre Dame and Harvard to highlight the event.
Then the King Day game took a dramatic turn last year: it became an opportunity to honor the celebrated activist by incorporating such activities as community service projects and panels for student-athletes interested in pursuing careers in sports.
This year, the program took yet another step to make it a fixture for the future. The day of celebration kicked off with a standing-room-only swim and diving meet, hosted by the nationally acclaimed swim team.
After the meet followed a virtual panel, coordinated with Jordan Brand, the athletics program’s major sponsor. Many of the HU athletes gathered in Burr Gymnasium to hear via Zoom a presentation by Jordan Brand representatives, Howie “H” White and Larry Miller, vice president and board chairman of the company.
While Miller and White were supposed to speak to students in person, the snowy weather prevented their live appearance.
“As it turned out, we had to do it virtually because of the weather,” said Chevonne Mansfield, HU executive senior associate athletics director. “We have the partnership with them, and it was their idea to have this panel in concert with the spirit of MLK Day. They both stressed giving back to athletics and using their platforms to make a difference. They spoke for about 45 minutes and it was well received by our student-athletes.”
Miller spoke to the students about some of his challenges growing up in Philadelphia and how he turned his life around to become chairman of the Jordan Brand board.
“You’re going to lose, you’re going to miss the shots,” Miller said. “But if you can learn from that mistake, if you can benefit and grow from that mistake, then you still win.”
White, a former standout at the University of Maryland on the men’s basketball team, shared some of his pearls of wisdom in concert with the theme, “Life After Sports” that he preaches.
Another feature of the MLK celebration was the unveiling of the Jordan Brand Sneaker Wall display in the facility. According to Mansfield, It is the only one of its kind among the Jordan Brand clients.
With a meet and greet reception to boot, Howard also hosted the unveiling of the renovated lower gymnasium. The project is a collaboration by Luna, with major funding coming from Jordan Brand. .
“It has been a two-and-a-half year project in the making,” noted Mansfield. “We now have a renovated weight room, a place for the volleyball and women’s basketball team to practice. There were also significant improvements made to the locker rooms for women’s basketball and football. Everyone says that we have come a long way.”
Mansfield shared that there is a direct connection between the MLK Classic and what it represents, and the investment of Jordan Brand with the recent success of Howard University athletics on the playing fields and courts.
“The MLK Classic is without question one of our biggest events of the season,” noted Mansfield. “We have evolved to having events and added exposure around the game. It is all in concert with Dr. King and his legacy.”
As for the game, it was the highlight of the eventful day.
The two storied institutions met for the second straight year. Morehouse, a Division 2 HBCU program, was soundly beaten last year, 89-65 by the Howard program, which is Division 1 and coming off its best record in 30 years.
Apparently, none of that matters when two HBCUs meet in the athletics arena. It is all about pride.
The visitors gave a gallant effort in what turned out to be an entertaining game that had the full house on edge with the back-and-forth flow.
There were a number of ties and lead changes before the Bison (7-11) went on a (9-2) run down the stretch to pull out the 78-72 final. Howard’s outstanding graduate forward Seth Towns proved to be the difference, scoring eight of his team’s last nine points to lead all scorers with 27 points.
At the conclusion of the day and the game, the Howard University MLK Classic showed that it is continuing its legacy and becoming a fixture.