Due to my military career I haven't been able to attend any HBCU games since '07.... Yes its been a long time of living vicariously through the videos and reading message boards and yet having the opportunity to attend D1 school games across the country... SMH
Anywho, Last night was first game back home and it was interesting to say the least... It wasn't a depressing situation but it was un-nerving to see the decline of the HBCU culture in Texas. We can't blame the energy on any of the bands or just one set of fans... TxSU fans were there in numbers just as PVU fans were. It's kind of un fair to the schools to call the people who show up for ONE GAME of the year "fans"... but whatever...
I can only speak on TxSU as far as the program is concerned, but we all know that the major contributor to the inconsistencies of the band is lack of properly used funds... The Ocean hasn't been The Ocean since "The Incident" and has been through the trenches trying to rebuild for the past 13-14 years or so... But the bigger problem that has caused is in the lack of attention with middle and high school music programs. There's no influence from colleges, whether it be site visits, instrument donation or financial contribution to the kids we're looking to attract. And because of that, scholarship opportunities are minimal.
Now, lets address the issues with "The Fans"... How is it that we have so much musical history all over Texas particularly in Houston, yet the communities where the culture thrives most isn't encouraging it? Where are the Alumni programs at the high schools helping the recruiting process for the colleges. When a big game like the Labor Day Classic comes to the city how is it that we aren't marketing the game throughout the state like old times? I'm not talking about radio but where is the true Word of Mouth marketing? We have a culture where we will attend events because we know others are going. That's what makes the events "LIVE", no different with a concert or a club... If we love to see bands get down then we as the supporters have to do our part so that the conference officials know that they have the support. There were 3 other College Games in the city last night (Texas A&M vs Arizona State, U of Houston vs Tenn Southern, Rice vs Wagner U.) ask me if those games had support.... That Texas A&M game damn near sold out a 72,000 seat NRG stadium!!!!
All i'm saying is, the HBCU culture dies if the history and significance of our impact to the world isn't passed down and made just as important as many of these "other" programs... It's not just the SWAC, its the same in other conferences. VUU and VSU aren't huge schools, yet the city of Richmond, VA is buried in American history, and there is little show of support for the schools and its functions... S/O to SU because you guys have a strong situation down there... I lived in New Orleans 2004-2007 and when I came to your games in BR the stadium always had a good turnout.
PLEASE WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?
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The 1st ever HBCU game I attended was Grambling vs TxSU and at that time both schools had strong programs. The misuse of funds started a downwards trend in the HBCU family. It also has a great deal to do with with Alumni support. When I was in high school, we got visits from SU, Grambling, Norfolk, Alabama st., and Txsu. I have a little cousin playing trumpet in his senior year of high school and in the three years he's already marched, there has been a grand total of 2 recruiting events in his area. He mentions how a lot of kids lose interest because they don't see a future in it. When I was in school, I worked harder at my craft because I wanted a chance to go to a SU, JSU or TxSU. Their visits to our community as well as local alumni made the thought of college band very attractive.
Well It starts from the lower grades. Elementary. HBCUs are no longer as esteemed in the Black community as they once were—now that they have a choice, the best Black students can and often do go to the Ivy League or other elite schools, although it’s not unheard of for Black students to turn down Ivy League acceptances to attend HBCUs. Music programs are constantly being cut in the inner cit. Band programs like HBCU do not come speak up and try to push the initiative for students to have a music program in schools. Yet the city of Allen Texas has music programs for all levels. Allen High School Marching band has 700 members. Saw them last week. Alumni and the schools have to do more.The first step is for black alumni and the community for that matter to find value in the HBCU and not just talk the talk, but talk the walk with their checkbooks.
Im gonna say this and people might be mad but hispanics are going to keep the HBCU programs afloat after a while. school districts tend not to mess with them when they go show showstyle as much as the black programs. they rarely lose their feeder programs. Most black houston high school programs have kids STARTING band in 9th grade...there are no feeder programs...
The State of TX had those silly tests and used them to destroy black districts. Poor white districts had the same testing issues but were NEVER closed. What happened last year? Those districts sued the State and now it's not mandatory to pass all parts of the standardized tests in TX. State changed the rules... Students only had to pass 5 parts instead of 15. But that was AFTER black schools were closed over their students not passing.
Of course negros are too afraid to "bring up racism" when it's in their face.
And HBCU's can't compete and it's because you've got silent mofos not going for their share.
It's no secret black land grants never received their fair share since the 1800's. The federal government stated that for every dollar spent at a white land grant, an equal amount must be given to the black land grants - that never happened. Now the government forces HBCU's to operate the same way as white colleges, that's not fair. The government owes HBCU's billions.
Folks are worried about $280k being "mismanaged" at TxSU while the State owes them a ton of money. These HBCU's need to come together and go after these States and federal government for what's owed.