WASHINGTON – Like many teams at historically black colleges and universities across the nation, Howard University’s football team lost its first two games of the season by embarrassingly large margins; for Howard, a combined score of 118 to 0.
The second trouncing, a 76-0 loss to Boston College, made national news when referees shortened the game to avoid injuries and further embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Morgan State, a perennial MEAC powerhouse, lost 63 to 7 in its first game and 67 to 14 a week later. Other HBCU teams posted similar results. In all, they lost by combined scores of 492 to 92 in the first week.
These HBCUs, as well as predominately white small college teams take those beatings annually because they need the money. The teams are paid millions and millions of dollars to play games they are expected to lose against big name football programs like Air Force, Georgia, Boston College, Michigan, Alabama and others.
The football teams are being paid to play in “guaranteed games,” as experts called them. In these football and basketball games, schools with much larger athletic programs pay schools with small athletic programs large sums to play early-season games at the larger-budgeted school’s stadium for what they consider an easy win.
Just recently, Southern University collected a $650,000 check to play the University of Georgia in Athens. It lost 48 to 6.
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Briahnna M. Brown 