Sports odds and ends
Howard University in Washington, DC, is a historic private HBCU institution founded in 1867. It has an excellent law school and will spend at least $785 million over the next four years to build a new STEM complex and new academic buildings for its fine arts and communications schools, as well as renovate other on-campus buildings.
Vice President Kamara Harris welcomed new students to Howard last week. The Democratic presidential candidate is a Howard alum.
Besides football, Howard sponsored 21 NCAA Division I men’s and women’s varsity sports representing three conferences: the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), Northeast Conference (NEC), and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
The MSR recently talked to Volleyball Coach Shaun Kupferberg, who, in 10 seasons, turned the Bison from an also-ran to among the MEAC elite. From winning only one game in 2012 to five consecutive conference crowns (2015-19), the three-time MEAC Coach of the Year has led Howard to five 20-win seasons and at least a share of the MEAC Northern Division title in five of the last seven years, as well as six NCAA trips, five straight.
“All the Howard sports [teams] are doing really well right now,” declared Kupferberg. As far as his spikers, “I think we’ve been pulling our weight and doing a good job,” added the coach. “We’re competing at a national level.”
Kupferberg admitted that there is a common misconception about Black college volleyball. “The biggest thing is people don’t understand what the skill level is here. You have people that don’t understand the size and speed and strength of our athletes,” he stressed. “We’ve got plenty of girls that can dunk a basketball fairly easily. And so they’re big, physical, hit the ball well, and we’re a very strong athletic team.”
The 2024 Bison volleyball team returns 12 players from last season’s 17-15, 11-3 MEAC squad. This includes Rya McKinnon, a 5’11” junior outside hitter from Hoover, Ala.
“She’s been the conference player of the year her last two years. She’s sort of an all-around player that does everything for us,” noted Kupferberg on McKinnon, a stellar student and an elite performer once recruited by ACC schools. But she chose Howard.
Senior middle blocker Cimone Woodard, 6’3”, from Missouri City, TX, “is a superstar middle no matter what match we’re playing in. She’s usually the best middle on the court, and she’s able to terminate the ball very well,” noted her coach.
Claire Simpson (5’6” junior libero, Plainfield, IL) “has taken a big step forward… She’s super fast and she’s really starting to lead the defensive portion of our game,” continued Kupferberg.
Of senior outside hitter Dami Awojobi (6’1”, Hempstead, NY), “We’re excited to see her play some live games here,” said the coach.
The Big Ten, now with 18 teams, is considered one of, if not the best, volleyball conferences in the nation. Kupferberg pointed out, however, that the eight-team MEAC is no slouch either.
“We’re competing at all levels,” he reiterated. “We can compete at that high level, and we have the athletes to definitely do that.
“I think that every team in our conference has gotten better since I’ve been a part of this conference,” said Kupferberg.
Howard’s 2024 women’s volleyball season begins at home against George Mason on August 30.
“I think we’re hitting another stretch where we’re going to see a quick improvement in our team,” concluded Kupferberg. “We’re going to see where we’re at right off the bat. And I think we’re gonna go compete and compete really well.”