How Stillman is gaining exposure among HBCUs by adding three sports and media exposure
Stillman College athletics is on the move, adding sports that are already active among HBCUs but also one that could become a leader in enticing more schools to add the program.
The school has also signed a new alliance with Urban Edge Network and HBCU League Pass Plus, a partnership geared toward expanding the school’s presence locally and nationally.
Volleyball and men’s and women’s bowling will begin competition this fall. There are about 16 HBCU volleyball teams in the NAIA in which Stillman competes and more than 50 HBCUs among NCAA Div. I, Div. II, and the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association. Many HBCUs added volleyball long ago to help boost the number of women’s programs after Title IX passed.
"The addition of low-maintenance sports like volleyball and bowling makes sense in the landscape of what we are currently doing," said Stillman Director of Athletics and baseball coach Terrance Whittle. "It helps us meet our enrollment goals but also aligns us with what our conference is doing."
The new sports join Stillman’s already existing programs: men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s cross country, and men’s and women’s track and field. Stillman competes in the Southern States Athletic Conference.
In February 2023, Stillman’s women’s bowling team will compete in a championship that combines the SSAC and the Sun Conference.
This fall, Stillman is playing a conference-only volleyball schedule with the SSAC's Talladega College the only HBCU opponent.
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In women’s bowling, there are 24 HBCU teams. Stillman is the lone NAIA team. The other 23 HBCUs are NCAA DI and DII teams. Five colleges in Alabama – Stillman, UAB, Alabama State, Alabama A&M and the University of Mobile – field women’s bowling. Stillman, ASU and AA&M are HBCUs.
As of spring 2022, there were no other nationally active HBCU men’s bowling programs.
"We did not add bowling with the intent of being the only NAIA HBCU program, but I think if we do well, it will give other HBCUs the incentive to add on. Someone will follow our lead eventually," Whittle said.
Bowling will be coached by Stillman graduate and former Tigers baseball player Dontrae’ Collins, who started and coached Central’s bowling team to the 2016 AHSAA regionals. Joel Penfield, Stillman’s softball coach who coached Bessemer Academy to the 2013 state volleyball title, will coach both softball and volleyball.
Several of Penfield’s softball players, who are former high school volleyball players, plan to play both sports. Among those is Paul W. Bryant graduate Rebecca Brogden, who will be a junior at Stillman this fall.
“We’ve had a lot of interest from a lot of students who are already at Stillman,” Penfield said.
The alliance with UEN has resulted in an upgrade to the court in Birthright Alumni Hall where volleyball and basketball compete. A 15-foot-wide Tiger has been stained on center court along with an interlocking “SC” for the school’s name. UEN and HBCU League Pass Plus donated funds for the upgrade, the first change on the court’s surface in a decade.
The affiliation will bring streaming of Stillman sports to a variety of popular platforms as well as marketing opportunities.
This year Stillman baseball was eligible to compete in the Black College World Series as well as sending invited players to the HBCU baseball all-star game. It will also be eligible for rankings by Black College Sports Network, which will award HBCU national champions in volleyball, basketball, softball and baseball. In 2022-23, a softball all-star game will debut. In the near future, an HBCU volleyball all-star match and a Black College Softball Championship are planned.
“Our partnership with UEN and League Pass Plus means that we’ll be able to expand our brand more, do more for our student athletes, do more for our recruiting and help our coaches extend our reach,” said Whittle.
The affiliation is part of a large-scale push for more growth and exposure for HBCU women’s sports on the broadcast platforms as well as help with funding for a variety of things like equipment, uniforms and facility improvement.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: How Stillman College is making an impact among HBCUs in athletics
