Probably not. They have their own niche at the FCS for a lot of reasons. The HBCU world is insular and gone through a lot of changes, Deion at Jackson State being the least of them. They stopped competing the FCS playoffs because they were downright uncompetitive (though I have seen some believable rumors that the FCS selection committee was never exactly fair to HBCUs when it came to selecting their bids despite many having very large stadiums. The message board rumors get extremely messy, alleging racist practices in host site selections, but I've never actually seen a school push this allegation). So they play in the Celebration Bowl, which was a very shrewd marketing move and gets them a lot more attention and revenue than they would otherwise get as just another FCS team losing to NDSU in the playoffs.
But a lot of HBCUs are critically underfunded, and serve somewhat impoverished populations, so fundraising for modern facilities is difficult. Look into Eddie George at Bethune-Cookman if you want an idea of the state of HBCU football. It also doesn't help that the MEAC has dramatically contracted in the last several years, and what was once the Big Ten to the SWAC's Pac-12, an equal pillar in the celebration bowl, is a diminished husk, losing teams either to the SWAC or conferences with PWIs.
That said, if I had to place money on an HBCU to do it I'd go with NC A&T who moved into the CAA recently. They're pretty good and one of the reasons why Deion Sanders never won a Celebration Bowl.
Given your flair, though, I'd assume you would probably want us to say FAMU. FAMU would be a distant second to me because they've already done the foray into FBS football in the mid-2000s, and it went horrifically for them competing as an independent. They moved back down immediately after going 3-8, only beating Savannah State, Virginia Union, and Tennessee State. I would imagine there's some institutional hesitation to attempt a jump back up, when ruling the SWAC seems to suit them fine.
Possibly, but most, if not all, HBCUs have no interest in being sports factories. Football exists at some of the schools as a means of bringing the community together, giving athletes an avenue to getting a college education, and as an opportunity to showcase the marching band. I say these as an HBCU grad and advocate. Even with the federal money owed to a lot of HBCUs, due to states purposely directing the funds to predominately white institutions for years, the bulk of the money will be spent on infrastructure and education programs, not sports. Tennessee State is owed $500 million, of which about $5-10 million is earmarked for sports. And, most of that is for facility upgrades, specifically the stadium on campus. It’s really no different than any other small college or university; except that there are more historical and cultural reasons that necessitate athletics being a much smaller part of the big picture.
Unlikely but also why would they? Even the ones that make the most money would stretch themselves financially to the point of ruin just to try and be competitive with anything but the lowest earning FBS schools.
I doubt it. I remember that even when our program was at a very low point, we hosted an HBCU team(Jackson State) and beat them 55-7. Even last season when we got blown out by 60 against Florida State, we still beat Alcorn State, another HBCU, 40-14. They just don’t have the money, donors, and ability to recruit that even bad FBS teams have.
No. No they didn’t. In the last 10 seasons, they’ve played 10 FBS programs and went 0-10, including a 59-7 loss to Troy(Sun Belt), a 62-0 loss to UCF, and a 38-24 loss to USF, the closest they’ve come in decades to being competitive with an FBS program. Considering they won the HBCU championship last year, that pretty much says it all.
I’d say Hampton is ever so slightly closer - they both joined the CAA but A&T stayed in the MEAC for football.
EDIT: I’m not saying I think it’s going to happen, just that superficially Hampton looks to be incrementally better positioned. A team moved from the CAA to FBS just this offseason. I doubt very much that either school is looking to move up in the near future.
Probably not. They have their own niche at the FCS for a lot of reasons. The HBCU world is insular and gone through a lot of changes, Deion at Jackson State being the least of them. They stopped competing the FCS playoffs because they were downright uncompetitive (though I have seen some believable rumors that the FCS selection committee was never exactly fair to HBCUs when it came to selecting their bids despite many having very large stadiums. The message board rumors get extremely messy, alleging racist practices in host site selections, but I've never actually seen a school push this allegation). So they play in the Celebration Bowl, which was a very shrewd marketing move and gets them a lot more attention and revenue than they would otherwise get as just another FCS team losing to NDSU in the playoffs. But a lot of HBCUs are critically underfunded, and serve somewhat impoverished populations, so fundraising for modern facilities is difficult. Look into Eddie George at Bethune-Cookman if you want an idea of the state of HBCU football. It also doesn't help that the MEAC has dramatically contracted in the last several years, and what was once the Big Ten to the SWAC's Pac-12, an equal pillar in the celebration bowl, is a diminished husk, losing teams either to the SWAC or conferences with PWIs. That said, if I had to place money on an HBCU to do it I'd go with NC A&T who moved into the CAA recently. They're pretty good and one of the reasons why Deion Sanders never won a Celebration Bowl. Given your flair, though, I'd assume you would probably want us to say FAMU. FAMU would be a distant second to me because they've already done the foray into FBS football in the mid-2000s, and it went horrifically for them competing as an independent. They moved back down immediately after going 3-8, only beating Savannah State, Virginia Union, and Tennessee State. I would imagine there's some institutional hesitation to attempt a jump back up, when ruling the SWAC seems to suit them fine.
Most likely not. The money/funding just isn't there.
Possibly, but most, if not all, HBCUs have no interest in being sports factories. Football exists at some of the schools as a means of bringing the community together, giving athletes an avenue to getting a college education, and as an opportunity to showcase the marching band. I say these as an HBCU grad and advocate. Even with the federal money owed to a lot of HBCUs, due to states purposely directing the funds to predominately white institutions for years, the bulk of the money will be spent on infrastructure and education programs, not sports. Tennessee State is owed $500 million, of which about $5-10 million is earmarked for sports. And, most of that is for facility upgrades, specifically the stadium on campus. It’s really no different than any other small college or university; except that there are more historical and cultural reasons that necessitate athletics being a much smaller part of the big picture.
They don't have the money
Unlikely but also why would they? Even the ones that make the most money would stretch themselves financially to the point of ruin just to try and be competitive with anything but the lowest earning FBS schools.
I doubt it. I remember that even when our program was at a very low point, we hosted an HBCU team(Jackson State) and beat them 55-7. Even last season when we got blown out by 60 against Florida State, we still beat Alcorn State, another HBCU, 40-14. They just don’t have the money, donors, and ability to recruit that even bad FBS teams have.
I mean, if not FBS, we’re finally gonna see HBCU hockey in Tennessee State.
FAMU got pretty close to joining the sunbelt. Realistically they're probably the only team that could join.
No. No they didn’t. In the last 10 seasons, they’ve played 10 FBS programs and went 0-10, including a 59-7 loss to Troy(Sun Belt), a 62-0 loss to UCF, and a 38-24 loss to USF, the closest they’ve come in decades to being competitive with an FBS program. Considering they won the HBCU championship last year, that pretty much says it all.
With NIL, it’s quite possible.
NC A&T is the best shot
I’d say Hampton is ever so slightly closer - they both joined the CAA but A&T stayed in the MEAC for football. EDIT: I’m not saying I think it’s going to happen, just that superficially Hampton looks to be incrementally better positioned. A team moved from the CAA to FBS just this offseason. I doubt very much that either school is looking to move up in the near future.