On Saturday the Hampton University Pirates will make history as the first HBCU to compete in Division I lacrosse. They will face the Roberts Wesleyan College Redhawks at 12:30 p.m. EST.
As part of Black History Month, ESPNβsΒ SportsCenter on the RoadΒ will originate from Hamptonβs campusΒ from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday and provide pregame coverage, but the game itself will not be televised.
Suggested Reading
Coach Lloyd Carter, the menβs lacrosse coach at Hampton, played Division II lacrosse at Morgan State, which dropped the sport in 1981.
A Baltimore Sun profileΒ on Carter reportsΒ that the Morgan Bears team had beaten Notre Dame, Villanova, Michigan State and Georgetown during a five-day span.
βThese guys, they donβt see it yet,β said Carter, 57, a retired Baltimore fire chief. βThe reason I see it is because I was there. β¦ When I got older, I had a better appreciation of history. And thatβs what I am selling these guys now. This is special because we are part of history again.β
Most of the Hampton students have never picked up a lacrosse stick until college, and Carter admits that βonly four or five are any good.β
βSlowly but surely, weβre going to move this program along,β Marshall promises. βWe want to get to the point where we are competitive, become affiliated with a conference, win the conference championship and compete for a [national] championship. It takes time, but weβre glad to be one of the 70 elite lacrosse programs in the country.β
The Sun reports that as of last week, Carter was operating out of a dorm room in James Hall, in an office without windows. The Pirates have just one assistant coach but recently received confirmation of more funding from Athletic Director Eugene Marshall and university President William Harvey.
But Carter has big plans. He says he will be getting two of the sportβs greatest and best-known African-American players, Kyle Harrison and Chazz Woodson, involved in Hamptonβs recruiting.
He adds: βFrom the publicity weβre getting and that fact that we are a HBCU, weβre getting a lot of interest,β Carter said. βIβve already gotten a commitment from a player in Texas and Ohio. Iβm getting emails from kids in Virginia, Minnesota, Georgia, so itβs exciting.β
Read more at the Baltimore Sun.
Straight From
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.