Leaving a Black Mark: HBCU Grambling Revives Glory Days By Beating CU

An embarrassing setback at Grambling State wasn't exactly what Bill Walton's "Conference of Champions" (Pac-12) had in mind when scheduling a Legacy Series with SWAC members. Ditto a reversal for Arizona State at Texas Southern and setback for Washington State at Prairie View A&M. Grambling, subsequently blown out at Grand Canyon prior to prevailing at Vanderbilt, never has appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament after success wasn't so difficult to find for the Tigers at the small-college level. Beginning with third-rounder Charles Hardnett in 1962, they supplied one of the top 21 NBA draft selections four consecutive years through 1965. Attendance for the game against a power-league member was only 837, a mere pittance of the crowd in 1971-72 when Louisiana College freshman center Clarence Hall played there (against NBA-bound Aaron James) as the first black player for a predominantly white institution to compete at Eddie Robinson's football school. Two seasons earlier, LC defeated Fred Hilton-led Grambling, 71-52, in the first contest where a predominantly white school in Louisiana competed against a HBCU.

In redlining terms, there goes the neighborhood. But at least the Buffaloes' reversal, leaving a historically black mark, isn't the only one sustained by their power-conference colleagues. Grabbing your attention like a slap-happy pope (woman must have been climate-change denier or Trump supporter), no HBCU institution ever has reached Sweet 16 of an NCAA Tournament. However, following are HBCU road victories on a power-league member's homecourt or neutral court during regular-season competition since South Carolina State stunned Miami (Fla.) and Penn State in 2004-05:

*Neutral court (Milwaukee).