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Miami Herald
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
HBCU coach adapting as Power programs grab talent
In the evolving world of college football, success can come with a cost - even for a Division II HBCU program. Just weeks after leading Virginia Union to an Elite Eight finish in the NCAA Division II playoffs, head coach Dr. Alvin Parker watched 17 players enter the transfer portal. That list included star wide receiver Reginald Vick Jr., who landed at ACC member Wake Forest, and defensive standout William Davis, now at West Virginia. "When we walked off the field from that Elite Eight loss to Valdosta (State), I looked around and I said, you know what? We're a two-time champion team, made an Elite Eight run, and I got 13 starters coming back," Parker said on Verified Sources with SJG. "I felt great about it. Two weeks later, I had 17 guys in the portal." The mass departure highlights a growing challenge for HBCU programs, especially at the Division II level. Talented players are increasingly drawn to bigger schools with larger financial incentives. "The landscape changed. It can change just that quick. We're not talking about years. We're talking about days and weeks," Parker said. "At that point now, we go from a player development staff to a roster management type staff." Despite the upheaval, Parker remains committed to developing players - even when it means watching them leave. "I promised every guy when they came to Virginia Union, I promise all of them you'll leave here better than you were when you came," he said. "So when guys come in and they're getting huge contracts, money that they're not going to get from anywhere else, that I can't provide them - you know what? I kept my promise." Parker's approach has elevated Virginia Union's visibility in the HBCU football landscape. Players like Vick and Davis used the program to showcase their skills on a national stage. "We gave them the platform. They came here and they showed off. Other people saw them and they got swooped up," Parker said. Even after major departures, the Panthers' culture of development remains strong. Parker and his staff continue to prepare new talent while reinforcing the HBCU pipeline. "We've done a good enough job of making sure the roster always looked a certain way that, you know, it was kind of like, 'who's up next?'" he said. "Because the landscape of college football is totally different. People say it wasn't like it was when I was back then. No - it wasn't like what it was last year." As HBCU football adjusts to the realities of NIL and player mobility, coaches like Dr. Alvin Parker are evolving too - rooted in tradition, yet adapting to a fast-changing game. Parker recently wrote a new book called 'Play411: Leadership' which tackles the challenges of leadership. The post HBCU coach adapting as Power programs grab talent appeared first on HBCU Gameday. Copyright HBCU Gameday 2012-2025
Miami Herald
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
HBCU Football Player Turned Army General Enters HoF
Major General Mitchell Kilgo has spent more than three decades serving his country with distinction in the US Army. The HBCU alumnus is now being recognized for his accomplishments on and off the field as he prepares to be inducted into the Virginia Union "Tricky Tom" Harris Athletic Hall of Fame. A native of Newport News, Virginia, Kilgo played football for the VUU Panthers from 1985 to 1988. His time on the field reflected the same discipline and leadership that would define his military career. Kilgo's military journey, however, wasn't part of his original plan. As a freshman, he accepted an ROTC scholarship as a practical backup. "It was my Plan B," he recalled. "I played football and knew if I couldn't play for some reason, I needed an alternative plan to help me stay in school… it was not a lifelong ambition." But what started as a fallback quickly became a calling. "I felt great about serving and fell in love with the people and the Army's way of life," Kilgo said. "I guess Plan B was in line with God's plan for my life and not the alternative I was seeking." In 1988, Kilgo commissioned into the U.S. Army. Over the years, he rose through the ranks to become the Deputy Inspector General of the U.S. Army Inspector General Agency, retiring in 2022. The role placed him at the heart of military accountability and oversight. Kilgo's military résumé is as decorated as it is diverse. Over the span of his career, he has commanded at every level, held key operational roles, and earned multiple advanced degrees in pursuit of professional excellence. His leadership has impacted global operations, from cybersecurity initiatives to logistical command support across the Department of Defense. The induction into the Hall of Fame at his HBCU is more than a personal achievement. It is a recognition of the enduring impact of his time at an HBCU on his life and career. For Kilgo, the lessons learned on the football field in the shadow of Richmond's Lombardy Street were foundational. "Congratulations to all on your induction into the Virginia Union 'Tricky Tom' Harris Athletic Hall of Fame," said Joe Taylor, VUU Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics and Community Wellness. "You are joining an elite, distinguished group of extraordinary individuals. Your induction is a result of strong character, commitment, and dedication to personal growth and unselfish support of Virginia Union University. All of you embody the championship spirit of Tricky Tom Harris in strengthening the brand of our beloved university." Kilgo's story is emblematic of the pathways that HBCU institutions continue to provide for Black leaders. His journey from student-athlete to Major General underscores the role that VUU-and the broader HBCU community-play in producing leaders of consequence. As Major General Mitchell Kilgo takes his place in the Hall of Fame. His career stands as a testament to the powerful intersection of service, scholarship, and sport that defines the HBCU experience. The post HBCU Football Player Turned Army General Enters HoF appeared first on HBCU Gameday. Copyright HBCU Gameday 2012-2025
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Local educator reflects on Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy with signed Bible
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lives on 56 years after his untimely death. Dr. King, a powerful speaker and civil rights activist, showed perseverance in the face of racism and extreme violence. From the Southside to the Peninsula, Dr. King's influence on our area is visible. In Norfolk, an 83-foot granite Martin Luther King Monument towers over the intersection of Church Street and Brambleton Avenue. Just off of Interstate 664 in Newport News, the Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Plaza displays 'the unfinished march' with a life-like statue at the corner of 25th Street and Jefferson Avenue. The memorial is near the former location of the First Church of Newport News, the oldest and largest Black church, where Dr. King visited in January 1958 and June 1962. Cecelia Tucker, 85, a beloved Norfolk educator and community activist, reflects on witnessing the 'I Have a Dream' speech during the March on Washington for jobs in August 1963. 'We drove up to Washington [D.C.], on that day, got there very early so that we could get a good seat, I can't remember exactly where we were stationed. But it was wonderful,' said Tucker, who was a student at Virginia Union University at the time. 'When I went to the March on Washington, and he spoke, I can tell you everybody just thought, 'Oh, that's a great sermon!' That was the 'I have a Dream speech. That's the way we looked at it. It was a great sermon. But who knew the I have a dream speech… how important it is in our lives today? And all of the things that he had to say are still things that we are looking forward to one day, one day our children and their children, they will all be together.' 'I have never in my life seen that many people,' Tucker continued. 'Reading back over the years, 250,000 people were assembled there and they were from everywhere… I saw movie stars! I remember Lena Horne, a beautiful African American actress and singer. She was standing out there screaming 'freedom, freedom.' I will never forget that. I saw Sammy Davis Jr… these are people that you knew about, but you never thought you'd ever see. But they were all right there, during that time! It was an all-day event.' 'Coretta King did speak also. She was a fabulous lady. I remember when she came to Richmond and to the Virginia Union with her husband. She was so ladylike and with her gloves. We just stood there and admired her. She had lots of wonderful things to say,' said Tucker. During undergrad at VUU, Tucker recalls the King couples visit while working to get more Black people registered to vote and staying for a 'week of prayer.' 'We all went up and got our Bibles signed because we wanted him to sign his name,' Tucker said. 'I have a Bible signed by Martin Luther King, his wife, Coretta Scott King, and President of Virginia Union, who was Doctor Samuel DeWitt Proctor at the time. We were extremely proud to have this because he was such a famous person, especially Black, because in that in those days, you didn't see a lot of Blacks on TV.' Ahead of her graduating from the historically Black University, Tucker was one of the many students part of a 1960 protest at a popular department store. 'When I was marching in Richmond in front of Thalhimers, Miller & Rhoads, there were people who spat on us, to get us through that… we not only had our Bibles… but we were told how to behave when someone did something to you. So, when you're spat on, you don't retaliate. You just take it,' Tucker said. 'We sat in little booths in Thalhimers where they had a little luncheonette, I guess you would call it, and people would walk behind these little stools and say ugly things, and you just kept right on,' Tucker continued. 'You had your book or your Bible in front of you and never did anything to them. We were taught that you cannot retaliate. But you know what I say to people? I don't know if I could have been that strong today. I don't know, if someone spat on me, I would have to have said something or react in some way. But we didn't. I had evenings when people would come by my room and ask if I had any change, because some of my friends had been locked up for walking or protesting or whatever. The teachers, even at Virginia Union, helped us get students out of jail.' Tucker's parents warned her to stay away from sit-ins and protests. 'My parents told me 'don't you get involved in that!' My daddy told me 'you're going to get yourself killed.' Yeah, and of course, I didn't pay any attention to him,' Tucker said. 'I did what I wanted to, however, I had to run from TV cameras because in the little country town where I grew up, anything that happened in Richmond would be on the television in my little country town. So, if I saw a TV camera come in, I had run, and I'll get out of the way.' 'I just didn't want him to know what I was doing. But I was out there with picket signs and protesting, sitting in places where I shouldn't have or wasn't supposed to,' Tucker continued. 'I wanted to be a part of it and I'm so happy that I did! I'm very happy that I had the spunk to just go on and do what I felt I had to do.' Tucker taught at the all-Black schools Maggie Walker High in Richmond. 'I did student-teaching at Maggie Walker High School, which was right next door to Virginia Union. Who would believe that Arthur Ashe would be in my homeroom? I knew him,' said Tucker. Then, years later, Tucker joined the teaching staff at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk. 'I tried to teach them what I knew and how to be a good person, a Christian, is what I am. We were able to get through it. At that time, that [Booker T. Washington] building housed maybe 1,200 students, and it was not built for that. They were crowded. They didn't have things that they needed,' said Tucker. 'We encouraged them, go ahead and protest if you want. We couldn't come out and say that openly. But they did. They walked to the school board office and protested being in that crowded building and eventually Booker T, got the building that it has now. That building now is almost in the same shape it was when that occurred and that was many, many years ago.' WAVY-TV 10 photojournalist Kevin Romm asks Tucker: 'Do you remember where you were when you heard the news about Doctor King's passing?' Tucker said, 'Yes, I do remember. I was at Booker T. Washington High School. I just walked into the principal's office, and the secretary said to me, we just got a call that Martin Luther King has been killed. And I remember screaming. We have not gotten over the death of Martin Luther King. He was singled out, people actually hated him because he wanted to stand for what was right.' King had to cancel a Virginia tour to Norfolk and Suffolk, according to a Virginian Pilot article published on March 30th 1968. King was killed days later, on April 4. Veronica Alease Davis, Hampton Historian explains, 'Originally, he was scheduled to speak to the poor people, but the sanitation worker strike was gaining more precedence than what was happening here in the Hampton Roads area. So, he detoured to go to Memphis with the plan of coming back to us. But unfortunately, when he got there, he was met with an assassin's bullet.' Davis believes Kings vision is still attainable. 'I am the child of the dream. I am of that first generation that was walking into schools and sitting in classrooms, you know, with all of the races,' said Davis. 'What I would like to see moving forward is our young people appreciate we have so much to be appreciative for.' Tucker retired after 31 years at Old Dominion University working to improve community relations. At 85, Tucker's work continues in our community today, often working with the Urban League of Hampton Roads and Virginia Wesleyan University. 'My life has been one great experience. I've met so many wonderful people. I'm still working, trying to help people reach plateaus. I know it's God directed,' said Tucker. 'The only problem with the Bible now is I have three children, and each one wants this, [signed] Bible. I don't know what I'm going to do. It's a problem.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
22-02-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
HBCU football's top honor given to record-breaking back
Jada Byers has been named the recipient of the prestigious Deacon Jones Award, recognizing him as the top player in HBCU football for the 2024 season. The Virginia Union star put together a historic campaign, solidifying his place as one of the greatest running backs in HBCU history. Byers finished his career as Virginia Union's all-time leading rusher, while also ranking second all-time in CIAA and HBCU history, trailing only Winston-Salem State legend Richard Huntley. His 2024 season was nothing short of dominant, as he rushed for 2,061 yards and 27 touchdowns, leading Virginia Union to another strong campaign. His performance was highlighted by a record-setting game against Bowie State on October 26, where he exploded for 324 rushing yards and six touchdowns, including a 75-yard scoring run. The Deacon Jones Award is given annually to the top HBCU football player, and Byers' resume left no doubt he was deserving. In addition to his gaudy rushing totals, he contributed in the passing game with 154 receiving yards and was a factor in special teams with 180 punt return yards. His versatility and game-breaking ability made him a nightmare for opposing defenses throughout the season. Byers is set to compete in the HBCU Legacy Bowl as he looks to break into the pros. Jada Byers' impact on the field and in the record books ensures his name will be mentioned among the all-time greats. With the Deacon Jones Award now in his trophy case, his legacy as one of the most dominant players in HBCU football history is firmly established. The post HBCU football's top honor given to record-breaking back appeared first on HBCU Gameday. Copyright HBCU Gameday 2012-2025
