COLLEGE SPORTS & RACIAL INTEGRATION
OVERVIEW FIELD DAYS & HOME RULE STANDARDS, 1880-1920 KING FOOTBALL ERA 1920-1945 TRACK & FIELD REVOLUTION, 1930-1950 BIG TEN & PAC TEN PROGRESSIVE APPROACH NCAA 1960s AFRICAN AMERICAN ATHLETES REVOLT
HOME RULE INTEGRATION LEGALLY PROHIBITED IN SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE, SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE AND ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE. INTEGRATION INFORMALLY PROHIBITED IN WEST, NORTH AND GREAT LAKES UNIVERSITIES. ISOLATED CASES WITH INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS IN FOOTBALL
HOME RULE LEGAL SEGREGATION IN THE SOUTH, STRONG INCENTIVE TO NOT FIELD ATHLETES OF COLOR NATIONWIDE. GENTLEMAN S AGREEMENT, HOME RULE PRINCIPLES TO RESPECT SEGREGATION RULES. AFRICAN AMERICAN ATHLETES, ONLY IN HISTORICALLY BLACK UNIVERSITIES
HOME RULE BIG TEN: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 1890 TEAM WITH GEORGE JEWETT, FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN IN THE CONFERENCE. FRED PATTERSON, OHIO STATE AND PRESTON EAGLESON AT INDIANA UNIVERSITY LATER. MICHIGAN AGRICULTURE COLLEGE, GIDEON SMITH, TACKLE, 1915 TEAM
KING FOOTBALL ERA 1920-1945 BIG TEN TEAMS WITH FEW BLACK PLAYERS, SOME OF THEM IN PROMINENT POSITIONS. WILLIAM BELL OHIO STATE, WILLIS WARD- MICHIGAN, JESSE BABB AND FITZHUGH LYONS AT INDIANA UNIVERSITY. MICHIGAN STATE: WILLIAM BAKER AND JAMES MC CRARY. CHARLES BACHMAN, MSU COACH 1935-1945 BENCHED BLACK PLAYERS AGAINST MISSISSIPPI STATE AND UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY.
BIG TEN & PAC TEN 1947 CLARENCE BIGGIE MUNN, MICHIGAN STATE COUCH, BENCHED HORACE SMITH AGAINST MISSISSIPPI STATE. MICHIGAN CHRONICLE, DETROIT NAACP CHAPTER CRITICIZED MSU S SEGREGATED INTEGRATION AND PETITIONED GOVERNOR KIM SIGLER TO INVESTIGATE RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN THE FOOTBALL PROGRAM. MUNN INCLUDED SMITH AGAINST KENTUCKY. PRESIDENT JOHN HANNAH STATED MSU WOULD NOT HONOR GENTLEMAN S AGREEMENT.
BIG TEN & PAC TEN MICHIGAN STATE, NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 1952-53. RECRUITING ATHLETES FROM THE SOUTH. MSU LED CONFERENCE IN RECRUITING AFRICAN AMERICAN PLAYERS IN 1953. MUNN ESTABLISHED A RECRUITMENT SYSTEM FEATURING BLACK PLAYERS IN KEY POSITIONS.
BIG TEN 1954 BROWN VS BOARD OF EDUCATION 1954 DUFFY DAUGHERTY, NEW MICHIGAN STATE FOOTBALL COACH. 1955 DAUGHERTY RECRUITED KARL PERRIMAN, FROM MOBILE, ALABAMA. PERRIMAN, FIRST SOUTHERN BLACK TO PLAY AT MICHIGAN STATE. RECRUITMENT SYSTEM RELIED ON NATIONAL NETWORK. BIG TEN, LEADING CONFERENCE IN RECRUITING AFRICAN AMERICAN PLAYERS.
BIG TEN 1955 DAUGHERTY COACH OF THE YEAR, TIME MAGAZINE COVER, OCT.1956. 1955 ROSE BOWL MSU 17- UCLA 14, FIRST ROSE BOWL WITH FULLY INTEGRATED TEAMS. 1955 ALL BIG TEN TEAMS WITH AT LEAST TWO BLACK PLAYERS, CONFERENCE LEADER NATIONWIDE. INDIANA, ILLINOIS AND MSU EACH WITH TEN OR MORE AFRICAN AMERICAN ATHLETES. MSU THE BROOKLYN DODGERS OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL.
PLAY THE BEST PLAYERS, WHETHER THEY HAPPEN TO BE ALL BLACK OR ALL WHITE DAUGHERTY, COACHING CLINICS IN THE SOUTH. CREATED NETWORK WITH HIGH SCHOOL AFRICAN AMERICAN COACHES IN THE SOUTH. 1964 TEAM: 21 BLACK ATHLETES. 1965: 23 BLACK PLAYERS. STARS IN DEFENSE & OFFENSE. CHARLES BUBBA SMITH, FROM BEAUMONT, TEXAS, LEADER.
1965 MSU DEFENSE OVERPOWERED RIVALS. NEGATIVE YARDS AGAINST NOTRE DAME (- 12) OHIO STATE (- 12) AND MICHIGAN (- 51). SPORTING NEWS AND NEW YORK DAILY NEWS NAMED DAUGHERTY COACH OF THE YEAR. BIG TEN CHAMPIONS, ROSE BOWL AGAINST UCLA (LOST 12-14). UPI NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
1965 MSU EIGHT SPARTANS BIG TEN FIRST TEAMS. NATIONAL ATTENTION. BUBBA SMITH, GEORGE WEBSTER AND CHARLES TORNHILL, DEFENSE LEADERS. EUGENE WASHINGTON, FROM LA PORTE, TEXAS, OFFENSE, RECORDS IN PASS RECEPTIONS, RECEIVING YARDS. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED PRAISED SPARTANS AS THE MOST DOMINANT TEAM IN THE NATION.
GAME OF THE CENTURY 1966 MSU TEAM S CAPTAINS: GEORGE WEBSTER AND CLINTON JONES. JIMMY RAYE, FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN STARTING QB. DEFENSE: EIGHT BLACK PLAYERS STARTERS. UNDEFEATED UNTIL LAST GAME OF THE SEASON, AGAINST NOTRE DAME, ALSO UNDEFEATED.
GAME OF THE CENTURY POLL BOWL MEDIA NAME, WINNER AUTOMATICALLY NATIONAL CHAMPION. 1966 MICHIGAN STATE- NOTRE DAME, ORIGINALLY TO BE TELECAST ONLY REGIONALLY. FANS NATIONWIDE PETITIONED FOR A NATIONAL BROADCASTING (50,000 LETTERS) ABC HESITANT TO BROADCAST THE GAME IN THE SOUTH 10-10 TIE BOTH TEAMS NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. ALABAMA, UNDEFEATED, VOTED IN 3 RD PLACE.
GAME OF THE CENTURY NOVEMBER 19, 1966 SPARTAN STADIUM +80,000 FANS AND MILLIONS OF TV VIEWERS ARA PARSEGHIAN, NOTRE DAME COACH, RAN OUT THE CLOCK WITH 1:10 LEFT. UPI AND AP VOTED NOTRE DAME NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, MSU SECOND, ALABAMA THIRD. DAUGHERTY: A TIE IS LIKE KISSING
GAME OF THE CENTURY AFTERMATH, SOUTHERN UNIVERSITIES STARTED RECRUITING BLACK ATHLETES FOLLOWING DAUGHERTY S SYSTEM. 1961 TO 1972 ACC AND SEC INTEGRATED THEIR TEAMS (OLD MISS AND GEORGIA AT LAST IN 1972). FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PRESSURE TO END JIM CROW IN STANDS & FIELD IN ACC, SEC AND SOUTHWEST CONFERENCES.
GAME OF THE CENTURY GAME OF THE CENTURY IMPACT GAME OF THE WEEK ON NATIONAL TV BROADCAST POPULARIZATION OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL FOR NON- STUDENT AUDIENCES SIGNIFICANT RECOGNITION TO CONTRIBUTIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ATHLETES. MSU TREND, IMITATED BY OTHER POWERHOUSES, NATIONWIDE.
GAME OF THE CENTURY- AFTERMATH 1967 NAT NORTHINGTON, UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY, FIRST BLACK PLAYER DEBUT IN SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE. 1967 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WARNING TO SEC PROGRAMS TO COMPLY WITH INTEGRATION FEDERAL REGULATIONS. 1971 ALL ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE TEAMS HAD INTEGRATED BLACK PLAYERS. 1972 GEORGIA AND OLE MISS, LAST TEAMS TO INTEGRATE.
BLACK ATHLETES REVOLT- MSU 1967-68 OVER THIRTY UNIVERSITIES WITH PROTESTS BY BLACK ATHLETES. U.C.- BERKELEY, MICHIGAN STATE, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS, WESTERN MICHIGAN, ETC. APRIL 1968, ROBERT GREEN, MSU PROFESSOR, SPEECH HONORING MLK. GREEN: NO BLACK COACHES IN THE ENTIRE MSU ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT. BLACK STUDENT ASSOCIATION DEMANDS
BLACK ATHLETES REVOLT ALL- AMERICAN DON COLEMAN, FIRST BLACK ASSISTANT COACH HIRED, 1968. MSU FOOTBALL PLAYERS MEETING. DEMANDFING HIRING OF BLACK COACHES, ADVISORS, COUNCELORS, CHEERLEADERS, STAFF. MUNN, A.D., REFUSED TO TAKE THE PETITIONS TO MSU PRESIDENT. LAMARR THOMAS, PLAYERS LEADER, MEETING. APRIL 25 24 FOOTBALL PLAYERS WALKED OUT OF PRACTICE IN PROTEST
BLACK ATHLETES REVOLT TWO PRACTICES INTERRUPTED. MAY 1968 MSU HIRED JAMES BIBBS, AS AN ASSISTANT COACH FOR TRACK & FIELD. INSTITUTION PROMISED TO HIRE AFRICAN AMERICANS IN ATHLETICS AND RECRUIT MORE BLACK ATHLETES IN OTHER SPORTS. BOICOTT TO PROVIDE MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO AFRICAN AMERICANS AT ALL LEVELS IN THE ACADEMIC WORLD. OUTCOME: INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENT TO INCREASE DIVERSITY IN ATHLETICS/FACULTY/STAFF.