HBCU DIGEST: For HBCUs, yesterday's price is sadly today's price and probably tomorrow's, too.
High profiles voices in two strong HBCU communities had their say last week over the value of a long-standing football classic that was on the verge of being canceled. But, ultimately, who weighed in and the war of words didn't matter; contract law ruled the day for Jackson State University, Tenessee State University, and their confirmed participation in the Southern Heritage Football Classic in September.
The dispute was based on different ideas of HBCU's worth in the sports marketplace. For Jackson State, playing in Black college football classics with lower-than-expected financial benefit is no longer an option.
“These classics aren’t beneficial for us,” [JSU Head Coach Deion] Sanders told The Undefeated. “The fans can kick and scream all they want, but they have to understand we’re doing business in the SWAC [Southwestern Athletic Conference]."
Tennessee State President Glenda Baskin Glover took a different approach in a public letter.
"The Memphis business community, including small Black-owned businesses, many of which are mom and pop businesses, will suffer incalculable damage. These businesses rely on contracts that are generated as a result of activities associated with the game and purchase supplies and other items in preparation for this annual event."
The sector is at a crossroads. A question of how much the HBCU brand could leverage for individual schools and the community has evolved into how the HBCU brand can redefine and re-price itself against previous standards.
Every company that does business with HBCUs makes more money off of Black college social, athletic, and musical culture than the HBCUs themselves. Honda, Home Depot, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola are just a few of the brands that have profited handsomely from co-opting HBCU lifestyle as an element of multicultural engagement.
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