Howard University's swimming and diving team has again made history.
The Howard Bisons, the only all-Black, college swimming team, recently landed a feature in Sports Illustrated magazine, a first for HBCUs and all-Black swim teams, per The Hilltop.
Sports Illustrated began its historic coverage of the Howard swim team in October as the fall season kicked off. Both the men's and women's teams are on track to become Northeast Conference champions.
Raychel Fauntroy, the women's team captain, said she was "shocked" that Howard earned a feature in the acclaimed sports magazine.
“When Coach Nic asked me to be in the photo shoot for it, I was really shocked that they wanted to do an article and feature us. A lot of people don’t know Howard has a swim team let alone the only HBCU with one,” Fauntroy told The Hilltop.
Sports Illustrated's coverage highlights the team's season opener, “The Battle at the Burr,” which made collegiate swimming history as one of the sport's largest attended events. The feature also delves into Howard’s success and the history of swimming in the Black community.
“This is about our mission as a university and the message we want to send as an HBCU…This isn’t a bunch of Black people in a pool; it’s young Black men and women succeeding in a sport that, for years, has shut them out of this experience,” the swim program’s coach, Nicholas Askew, told Sports Illustrated.
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