Howard swim teams make NEC history
Although March Madness is routinely associated with basketball, this month can be maddening for other sports as well when competing for championships.
Last month in Geneva, Ohio, history was made when the Howard University men’s and women’s swimming teams achieved a double-double as both squads won the Northeast Conference championships Feb. 17-20. It was the first NEC title for the Bison women, and the second consecutive and third in four years for the Howard men.
Howard is the only HBCU school with a Division I swim and diving program.
“It is a sad story to be the only HBCU swimming and diving program, that wasn’t always the case,” head coach Nicholas Askew told MSR shortly after the two conference titles. “There were several HBCUs that had swimming and diving programs at the collegiate level that competed. It’s unfortunate that in this space we are still standing as the long-running (Black college).
“We’re hopeful that what we are doing inspires everyone to ask the question of other HBCUs, why don’t they have a swimming program, or what does it take to bring the program back,” he reiterated.
Askew’s path from pre-med to coaching
Askew is a Howard graduate where he was a dual-sport athlete in swimming and tennis – ironically, he also coaches Bison tennis.
“When I was actually going to school,” recalled Askew, “my ambition was to be a doctor. I wanted to go into medicine. But it was later after graduation, I was preparing for medical school, and I was working full-time as aquatic director at Howard and coaching full-time/part-time” at a local non-profit tennis organization, he pointed out.
“The Lord spoke to me … I wanted to promote healthy lifestyles and focus less on treating. From that moment on, I made the decision that I wanted to go into coaching full time,” said Askew, who has been the Bison head coach since 2014.
Winning in the pool and the classroom
Under his leadership, the mostly Black swimmers and divers have competed for titles and set more than 200 school records. More importantly, Howard has helped dispel the false narrative that Blacks can’t swim or don’t like being in the water.
“Not only do we swim, but we also swim really well,” boasted Askew.
His swimmers also do it in the classroom. Howard during the 2025 fall semester was honored on the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association Fall Scholar All-American Team. To qualify, teams must earn a minimum 3.0 GPA, the Howard men and women respectively posted 3.39 and 3.58 GPAs.
The teams’ recent accomplishments in the water were virtually cemented from the start of the NEC championships as Howard took the early lead and never looked back.
“I think on the men’s side,” continued their coach, “we have a really strong butterfly group, and on the women’s side our sprint group is really our strongest group. But we were really balanced across the board.”
According to USA Swimming, 1.5% of all U.S. swimmers are Black, “and it’s even less than that at the NCAA level,” noted Askew. “There are probably seven head coaches in all of NCAA Division I, II and III that are Black or African American.” He believes that his Howard team makes up almost a third of the Black collegiate swimmers and divers.
“This sport is not easy: early morning grueling practices in the cold pool, and we don’t get the type of recognition that other sports do,” surmised Askew. “It’s more important than touching the wall first, breaking records, winning conference championships – we love that, but it’s also about making a difference in our culture.
“We really value the support from everyone as we go forward,” he concluded.
March tournament updates across HBCU hoops
The SWAC this week is hosting its post-season basketball tournaments in Atlanta, which began March 9. Alabama A&M (women’s) and Bethune-Cookman (men) are the respective top seeds.
Both the Howard women’s and men’s basketball squads are the MEAC Tournament’s No. 1 seeds. The tournament runs March 11-14 in Norfolk, Va.
Eight HBCU teams made the NAIA tournament field: Rust, Langston and Talladega (women); Arkansas Baptist, SUNO, Tougaloo, Xavier-Louisiana and Langston (men).
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.