Howard's First NCAA Tournament Win Was A Long Time Coming | Defector

"Howard University's sports have been a punchline or worse my whole life, and since before I was even around, and that's a mighty long time. I learned too much about Howard's athletic awfulness when I covered D.C. sports for Washington City Paper beginning in the 1990s. My education started when I wrote about the school's 1996 basketball team, which was in the middle of the worst losing streak in the NCAA at the time."

"The Howard football team, for example, boycotted a 1936 game against Virginia Union after the school refused to serve them breakfast. The Washington Post reported the team and supporters marched on Georgia Avenue NW, a main D.C. thoroughfare that borders the campus, chanting 'Food! Food! Food!' and carrying placards saying 'We Want Ham and Cabbage for the Team!'"

"Howard football players went public with tales of going hungry again in 1980. Starting tailback Ivan Thompson told Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post that the school reneged on a promise to provide a meal plan, causing him to go foodless 'for days at a time' at various points midseason."

Howard University achieved a significant milestone by winning a first-four NCAA tournament play-in game against UMBC on a dramatic buzzer-beater, marking the school's first accepted March Madness victory. This win holds particular importance given Howard's long history of athletic struggles and institutional indifference toward sports programs. The university's athletic department has been characterized by chronic underfunding and poor conditions for athletes spanning decades. Historical examples include a 1936 football team boycott protesting lack of meal provisions and a 1980 incident where players went hungry due to broken promises about meal plans. Despite being located in Washington D.C., a premier basketball city, university leadership appeared content with mediocrity, prioritizing academic reputation over athletic investment.

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