Saint Augustine University Launches Nation’s First HBCU Women’s Rowing Team

RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) — Saint Augustine University is launching the nation’s first HBCU women’s rowing team.

The team has been in the works since the summer of 2021 and has already been approved and registered by the American Collegiate Rowing Association.

“ACRA is proud to do all we can to support the growth of our sport and encourage the SAU and other HBCUs to join our organization,” said ACRA President Cam Brown.

They competed virtually. Whitewater competition is expected to begin as early as fall 2022.

The only HBCU to sponsor a rowing team was Howard, which started a program in Washington, D.C., in the 1960s. A 1964 Sports Illustrated article gave a historical account of the Howard team. This Howard Crew program came back to the attention of the rowing world in 2020 via social media thanks to Rowers for BLM posts.

“We started looking at Howard and what they had, and gave us a little assignment,” Mikahya Hill, a member of the UAS junior rowing team, said in a statement. “We found nothing: just Howard, and that was about all rowing at HBCUs was going for.”

The team has a roster of five student-athletes, which currently allows them to compete in the Quad category. The group plans to grow to 10 athletes to compete in all eight categories.

“We’re already looking forward to getting in the water,” Hill said in a statement. “We want to push things forward and have more dedicated people on the team who want to make a name for themselves.”

The SAU Women’s Rowing Team is accepting donations here.