Travis Bledsoe is in his first season as men’s basketball assistant coach at Crown College. This is his third collegiate coaching position — North Dakota (assistant) and Anoka-Ramsey Community College (head coach) were his previously held roles.
“It’s been fun just being around this group of Christian young men. The coaching staff has welcomed me,” Bledsoe told MSR after a recent Crown vs. North Central contest at the near downtown Minneapolis campus. He was the only Black coach on both sidelines.
“I think I might be the only Black assistant coach in the UMAC [Upper Midwest Athletic Conference],” he declared.
Bledsoe’s coaching experience also includes winning the 2019 Minnesota State Championship as head coach at Minneapolis DeLaSalle High School, where he also played and graduated (he was a 2005 Metro Player of the Year, a Mr. Basketball finalist, and Nike Basketball Camps/Jr. NBA director).
Crown College is a Division III school located in St. Bonifacius, Minn., one of five Christian-founded schools in the seven-member UMAC. Bledsoe’s squad last week clinched one of the four playoff spots (3rd seed) in the four-team conference post-season tournament (Feb. 25-28).
“I think it’s big to have African American coaching representation at the D3 level, especially in Minnesota,” Bledsoe pointed out. “[I am] just trying to do my part and showing that we can coach at this level, and that we can be great mentors and leaders.”
Blacks scarce at Gopher games
Why aren’t there more Blacks at Gopher basketball games? Whether it’s the women or the men playing, seeing Blacks in the Williams Arena stands other than the players’ families and friends is noticeably rare. This is rarely discussed except by this reporter.
“Not a whole lot, you’re right,” said Terrell Battle, whose daughter Amaya Battle is a starter. She is one of six Blacks on this year’s squad. His son Jamerson also played at Minnesota during his college career. Terrell’s two children were on Gopher teams at the same time a few years ago.
“I think as a whole, we need to do a better job of reaching out to all the communities,” Battle stressed. “There are some real young girls that like to be here.”
Kim Bell (1998-2002) told us during Gopher players alumni weekend last month, “Getting people to want to come [to U of M games] I think is the most important thing. We ought to be out in the community, engaging different communities.”
Battle suggested, “Maybe there should be a ‘tickets for kids’ program, a number of tickets directed to [local] organizations so down the line they will become season ticket holders.”
Finally…
Black Coaches Association last week listed their Top 10 Black Head Coaches in Division I men’s and women’s basketball “who are leading their programs with a .500 record or better during the 2025-26 season so far.
WBB: Dawn Staley, Kara Lawson, Stacie T. Hutson, Destinee Rogers, Felisha Legette-Jack, Kenny Brooks, Glenn Box, Kim McNeill, Yolett M. McCuin, Ty Grace.
MBB: Kelvin Sampson, Tony Skinn, Ritchie McKay, Hubert Davis, Takayo Siddle, Corey Gipson, James Jones, Johnny Dawkins, Jai Lucas, Dennis Gates.
BCA also listed 40 women’s HCs and 27 men’s HCs also with winning records thus far.
“At BCA, we don’t just acknowledge success …We amplify it. We protect it. We celebrate it,” they concluded. “Excellence isn’t accidental. Leadership isn’t seasonal. Winning is a standard.”
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.