“The point of the game will not be the score, the Bear, the Trojans; the point of the game will be the Reason, Democracy, Hope. The real winner will be the South.” (A. Barra, 2006) Integration of black athletes in the 70’s completely transformed the world of sports and society as a whole. The impact changed the dynamic in which universities and head coaches built their storied programs. In 2022 more than 70% of starters during the 2021 FBS Bowl Season were black, and in the past three recruiting classes, 84% of signees in the SEC were black (C. Atwater & C. Corr, 2022). The Southeastern Conference public tax records reported a revenue of $853 million for 2023, with each of its 14 member schools receiving payouts of approximately $51.3 million dollars (Berkowitz, 2024). Profit, pure and simple, was a driving force for the SEC to integrate in the
“The point of the game will not be the score, the Bear, the Trojans; the point of the game will be the Reason, Democracy, Hope. The real winner will be the South.” (A. Barra, 2006) Integration of black athletes in the 70’s completely transformed the world of sports and society as a whole. The impact changed the dynamic in which universities and head coaches built their storied programs. In 2022 more than 70% of starters during the 2021 FBS Bowl Season were black, and in the past three recruiting classes, 84% of signees in the SEC were black (C. Atwater & C. Corr, 2022). The Southeastern Conference public tax records reported a revenue of $853 million for 2023, with each of its 14 member schools receiving payouts of approximately $51.3 million dollars (Berkowitz, 2024). Profit, pure and simple, was a driving force for the SEC to integrate in the