HBCU’s too Prideful or What?

When it comes to sports at HBCU’s. also known as historically black colleges and universities, the fanbase energy is unimaginable. Being an HBCU and a PWI attendee prior, I have borne witness to many games with different energies and populations.
It is not uncommon for Alumni of colleges and universities to come together to tailgate and enjoy the games with other past goers. This as well adds to the fanbase of colleges and universities.
Southern University Alumni, Fantasia Hughes, goes on to explain that she was able to become a really big fan of Southern’s football mainly because of the free entrance to the games. She also mentions that many of her friends attending LSU still had to pay to get into the games, resulting in them not even being able to go even if they wanted to. Ms. Hughes states, “From what I know, most HBCU’s students can use their student identification to enjoy football games for free, unlike most PWI’s. This plays a key role in students being able to support their school athletics. Very sure simply to allow their players to receive as much support as possible, and what sounds better than free entrance? Exactly.”
Not to mention, in the year of 2022, the most attended college football games were Historically Black Colleges and Universities. According to Symone Stanley, a journalist for hbcugameday, Alabama State vs. Alabama A&M (67,532), Grambling State vs. Southern University (62,337), Florida A&M College vs. Bethune Cookman (55,257), and Prairie View A&M vs. Grambling State (53,9781) were the highest in attendance. Although theses are large numbers, schools such as LSU compared to SU have larger numbers in students, automatically giving them a larger fanbase advantage.
Asya Caroll, a General Business major with a minor in Interests Design at LSU expresses, “At LSU I see a mix of die-hard fans and people strictly there for an education. Naturally, because LSU has a greater number of students and more well known through sports, it gives LSU a bigger fanbase by default. I mean personally, just going off biggest fanbases in terms of numbers, LSU wins. Even though HBCU’s seem to be more tight-knitted and prideful, considering the challenges and tribulations they’ve endured, making the pride valid.”
All in all, maybe PWI’s do have larger fanbases, but when it comes to pride, no other can do it just as HBCU’s do.