Howard University’s men’s swimming and diving team won the Northeast Conference Championship in 2023, the team’s first championship in over 30 years.
The Bison team scored 928 points over the course of five days of play in Geneva, Ohio, building a 169-point advantage over the remaining four teams. Howard, one of the country’s oldest historically black universities, defeated teams from Wagner College, Long Island University, and St. Francis College in Brooklyn.
Miles Simon and Jordan Walker were also recognized as exceptional swimmers and divers. “So, I guess seeing an all-black swim team win the conference championship shows that that number could be higher,” he told CNN.
Howard’s triumph was hailed as historic and significant in a sport dominated by white athletes. Although the team finished second in the tournament last year, Nicholas Askew, the director of swimming and diving at Howard, the only HBCU with a swim program, stated that they “weren’t satisfied” with their performance.
More programs like the one at the school, he says, are needed to increase representation. According to WTOP, Long Island University finished second with 759 points, followed by St. Francis Brooklyn with 634 points and Wagner with 539 points.
Months after their historic win, Howard finally received their rings recently. “We’re standing as a representation, especially to the Black and Brown community,” Askew told reporters. “Swimming can lead to so many different avenues, including a championship, which it has for us,” he said.
Askew has stated that Howard University’s accomplishment dispels stereotypes about black swimmers’ talent and indicates that HBCUs can compete in a sport where black athletes are missing.
“There is that myth out there that blacks don’t swim and it’s something that we’re working desperately hard to overcome every single day,” Askew told WTOP.