Howard Swim team becomes the first All-Black swim team featured in Sports Illustrated

Howard University’s swim and dive team has made history as the first all-Black swim team to be featured in the sports magazine, Sports Illustrated.

Howard Swim team covers Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated began coverage of the team this past October at the start of the fall season.

Howard University is the only Black team in college swimming and the only HBCU with a swim team. They have certainly made a name for themselves and their success is nothing short of amazing.

Photo Credit: Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated

The men’s team is currently 6-2, and the women’s team is 5-3 overall. Both teams are on track to become Northeast Conference champions.

The women’s team captain, senior Raychel Fauntroy, shared her ebullience about the team being highlighted.

“When Coach Nic asked me to be in the photo shoot for it, I was really shocked that they wanted to do an article and feature us. A lot of people don’t know Howard has a swim team let alone the only HBCU with one,” Fauntroy told The Hilltop.

Swimming history

The article delves into the team’s season-opening meet, “The Battle at the Burr,” which made collegiate swimming history with one of the largest attended events with 2,000 tickets sold and over 1,200 attendees. The article also highlights the Washington D.C. HBCU’s success, statistics, and the history of swimming among Black people.

“This is about our mission as a university and the message we want to send as an HBCU…This isn’t a bunch of Black people in a pool; it’s young Black men and women succeeding in a sport that, for years, has shut them out of this experience,” the swim program’s coach, Nicholas Askew told Sports Illustrated.