Anthony Holloman,Ph.D., is the commissioner of the SIAC Convention and he was in Atlanta for the SIAC’s convention event. Earlier than changing into the commissioner of the SIAC convention, Holloman got here from an extended background of not solely advancing HBCUs however sports activities as a complete. He was Vice President for Institutional Development at six HBCUs during the last 25 years, and held director of Athletics positions at Tuskegee College after which Fort Valley State College. Holloman stepped into the Star Studio to inform us extra about his convention’s Championship weekend.
What do you assume is the toughest factor about being a sports activities commissioner?
I believe the toughest factor is we’ve 15 establishments over seven state footprint, and you’ve got totally different guidelines and laws for state establishments, non-public establishments. So the fairness of sports activities and scholarship distribution, I believe, is probably the most troublesome factor, since you need everybody to have a good probability to compete for championships. And you recognize, it’s not at all times honest, as a result of we’ve some giant establishments and a few small establishments. Now we have Albany State, which has 8000 college students, after which you may have Lane Faculty or Allen College, which have 800 college students.
The SIAC championship was again in Atlanta, what did you get pleasure from probably the most about it?
So Atlanta is the house of the SIAC, and to have the chance to deliver the championship to Atlanta is thrilling. You already know, we’ve Clark and Morehouse, and the Championship was hosted at Forbes Enviornment. Our auxiliary actions have been hosted on Clark Atlanta’s campus. So simply the pageantry of getting all of our establishments come to Atlanta, we’ve nice fan bases right here. That is the biggest focus of HBCU alums within the nation, so we knew the assist could be right here.
Below your management, what are a few of the greatest accomplishments of the SIAC?
I’m extraordinarily proud to say that we’ve negotiated a secondary media rights settlement with the Allen Media Group. We signed a ten 12 months settlement that permits HBCU GO to broadcast soccer, basketball and our Olympic sports activities, which we’re pleased with as a result of, you recognize, the coed athletes who play the non income sports activities usually get the brief finish of stick, however now we’ll be capable to broadcast and stream all of their contests. It allowed us to create the SIAC community, so every establishment has their very own platform that feeds into the convention platform, and so we’ll be capable to market and model every establishment and the SIAC as a collective. We additionally added indoor monitor, and that was important, as a result of we’ve a historical past of Olympians in out of doors monitor. And so in an effort to put together our pupil athletes who’re out of doors, we run indoor. And so we held the primary indoor monitor championship in Louisville, Kentucky, two weeks in the past, and that was important, as a result of we ran on the Norton Sports activities Healthcare Heart, which is Black owned facility. The City League of Louisville constructed that facility as one of many quickest indoor tracks within the nation, and in order that was simply phenomenal for us to descend on that metropolis, the house of Muhammad Ali. It was an incredible expertise for the coed athletes. After which one of many issues that I’m most pleased with is that we’ve elevated the income to the SIAC exponentially, and that’s essential, as a result of now we’re capable of do income sharing, and so we’re capable of make investments again into our establishments, which is able to permit them to speculate again into their college students.
What are your ideas on Travis Hunter?
Superb younger man you recognize, to see him excel within the classroom then exit on the soccer area and play offense and protection and be cerebral sufficient to deal with it, as a result of that’s, I believe, the factor that’s not stated sufficient that his bodily capacity permits him to do it, however his psychological capability permits him to excel. And so these are the issues that you just search for in younger individuals like that. I believe he’ll have an extended and affluent NFL profession, and he’s an incredible ambassador for HBCUs.