Back in February, Northwestern and Michigan announced the creation of the George Jewett Trophy, to be awarded to the winner when the schools meet in football.
Jewett was the first Black football player in the history of the Big Ten and played for both schools during his career. The trophy is a fantastic idea — yet well overdue — to honor a football pioneer and icon who provides a much-needed history lesson about the legacy of the two programs.
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But this was the first rivalry-game trophy in FBS history named for an African American player. In 2021.
College football as a whole must do better. For a sport with a proud and distinguished history, teams and conferences across the country must continue to acknowledge the incredible efforts of their Black players, coaches and alumni who helped shape their storied programs.
The National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) has 25 yearly individual awards, and only two — the Eddie Robinson and John Mackey awards — are named after Black men.
Only one college stadium — Iowa State’s Jack Trice Stadium — is named after a Black person. Trice was the first Black athlete to play for the Cyclones and dealt with racism — even from his teammates — before dying in October 1923 from injuries suffered in his second college game.
Jewett’s story is one that few college football fans know. He was well-accomplished at Ann Arbor (Mich.) High School — he was the valedictorian of his class, captain of the baseball, football and debate teams and could speak four languages.
He went to Michigan in 1890 to study medicine and he played football. During his 1890 and 1892 seasons, he was the team’s leading scorer and rusher. But Jewett got into a dispute with Michigan’s medical dean, who said he couldn’t play football and go to medical school. So Jewett pursued his medical degree at Northwestern while also playing football for two seasons.
This story of dedication and perseverance during Jim Crow is one of many stories of African American football players who have been neglected or forgotten.
For example, Iowa’s iconic Kinnick Stadium is one of the more well-recognized stadiums in the country, but it was supposed to be named Kinnick-Slater Stadium. Nile Kinnick was the 1939 Heisman Trophy winner, and Duke Slater was an All-American and inaugural member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.
Iowa was trying to decide on a name in 1972. Iowa President William Boyd was in favor of the dual name, but the Iowa Gazette’s sports editor was against having both names on the stadium because Slater was Black.
As a “compromise,” an Iowa House Republican decided Kinnick would be the name of the stadium and Slater would be the name of a residence hall on campus. The university in 2019 added a bronze sculpture outside the stadium to commemorate Slater and the 1921 team, and in July it announced the field at Kinnick would be named after Slater.
After leaving Iowa, Slater became the NFL’s first Black lineman and a pioneering Chicago judge, and he recently was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the 2020 class. Slater died in 1966 at age 67.
We can’t allow legends such as Slater to be forgotten. By renaming and re-creating awards, trophies and stadiums, programs could celebrate the Black athletes and coaches who left an indelible impact on the legacy of the game while acknowledging the harm the schools caused by not recognizing their Black football history.
Alabama and Mississippi State have played in “The Battle for Highway 82” every year since 1948 — and they have a mutual link to college football history.
Sylvester Croom in 2004 became the first African American coach in SEC history. He coached at Mississippi State from 2004-08 and won the SEC Coach of the Year award in 2007 after starting his stint in the midst of an NCAA probation and sanctions.
Croom also played at Alabama as a running back from 1972-1974. In his three seasons, the Crimson Tide won three SEC titles and a national championship, while Croom earned Kodak All-America honors and was a team captain as a senior. His first coaching job was as a graduate assistant at Alabama in 1976, and he worked there for 11 seasons.
The two schools should establish the Sylvester Croom Trophy, which would allow the SEC to highlight his history, provide both schools with the opportunity to commemorate Croom and recognize the path he paved.
The SEC should do the same for Nate Northington — the conference’s first Black football player — by playing an annual game between the two schools he played for, Kentucky and Western Kentucky. Maryland and Navy should rename their rivalry-game trophy from the Crab Bowl to the Darryl Hill Trophy in honor of the first Black player to play for both schools.
These are a few examples, but so many untold stories remain left in the dark.
While some would argue these games aren’t true rivalries, Northwestern-Michigan isn’t either. But if schools commit to magnifying the influence of their former players and coaches like the two programs are with Jewett, these games can become established battles for years to come.
Even historic rivalries that don’t have trophies could create them to honor Black athletes who set the standard at their respective schools.
Colorado-Nebraska was one of the more heated rivalries of the 1980s, and the schools met annually until 2010, when they switched conferences. They should create the Rashaan Salaam-Johnny Rodgers Trophy, paying respect to the first Heisman Trophy winners at the respective schools.
Ohio State-Michigan is arguably the best rivalry in college football but has no trophy. The Buckeyes and Wolverines have combined for nine Heisman Trophy winners, and they should pay homage to two figures who made history — Archie Griffin, the only player to win a Heisman twice, and Charles Woodson, the only primarily defensive player to win the award.
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We must demand that schools and programs do more to honor Black players and coaches. This is about more than just awards. It’s about the stories that need to be told and the figures who need to be recognized — because too many Black athletes have proved themselves worthy but haven’t gotten their proper respect.
Andrew Golden is a former baiduhai sports reporter.
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