Xavier University of Louisiana has announced the addition of varsity men's and women's rowing to its roster of sports. The co-ed squad is the first of its kind at an HBCU, and the XULA program will become the first varsity rowing team at a predominantly Black college since Howard University sponsored a team in the 1960s.
The university, an NAIA school, is conducting a search for a full-time head coach to lead the co-ed team, with the expectation that XULA will field men's and women's crews starting this fall.
The announcement marks a significant milestone for XULA Rowing, which began as a club in the fall of 2023, and is the first collegiate-level program to grow out of the efforts of groups like BLJ Community Rowing and the A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund (AMBTIF) to support clubs and schools working with Black athletes.
Read the full press release, with comments from Brannon Johnson, Arshay Cooper and David Banks here.
Victoria Duffey, a junior on the team, called it an "honor" to be part of the first co-ed rowing squad in HBCU history.
"I hope that Xavier, when we do start racing more competitively, opens up a door for HBCUs because we don't see rowing that often [at them]," Duffey said. "Howard had a rowing team, but they don't anymore. I hope our team racing and showing that it can be done will really help a lot of other people of color come out and do the sport because we don't really see this sport much in our culture.
"I think seeing other Black individuals doing the sport, especially at a university with no prior experience, it could open up the doors for other universities and colleges to participate as well."
"Showing What Is Possible"
The team got its start when Dr. Elizabeth Manley, Chair of XULA's History Department and a masters rower at New Orlean's Rowing Club (NORC), started thinking about ways she could bring her HBCU students into the sport she loved.
"I've been a professor at Xavier for the past 17 years or so," Manley said, "and I wanted to put some energy towards moving rowing in a direction towards greater diversity." Manley wanted to see if there was a way to get the Xavier students involved in what she called "all these amazing things happening within the rowing diversity space."
With the help of co-coach Chloé Jobin, a Xavier colleague, and the support of NORC, Manley held interest meetings and Learn-to-Row sessions to get students from the university out on the water. She also contacted several of the black athletes and coaches around the country who have been working to promote diversity in rowing, to provide guidance as they got started.
US Olympian David Banks was one of the first to get back to her, and he introduced Manley to Brannon Johnson and BLJ Community Rowing. Then last January, Banks, Johnson, and Marqus Brown from the Waco Rowing Center joined the team in New Orleans for a Spring Kickoff to help introduce even more Xavier students to the sport.
Last October, Arshay Cooper visited, shortly before announcing that Xavier would be the first HBCU to receive an AMBTIF grant. In addition, Cooper and USRowing Foundation Trustee Kevin Harris have visited with the university's administrators to talk about the sport and the impact rowing could have on the school.
"We could not have done what we've done without this community support," said Manley. "David, Brannon, Marqus, Kevin, and Arshay have been so supportive at every single step. They've come down here multiple times and continue to demonstrate to the kids how supported they are and how important what they're doing is."
There has been material support from the community as well. Along with the AMBTIF grant, which includes ergs, oars, and Hudson shells, the XULA team has gotten uniforms from JL, two boats with the help of Vespoli's Jeff Border, ergs and bike ergs from two C2 Pulling Together grants, a grant from Nike, help from USRowing's United We Row program, and funding from the Payne Family Foundation through the Greater New Orleans Foundation.
The personal involvement of the black athletes and coaches who have visited New Orleans to help has made them very visible role models for the XULA athletes.
"If you think about David’s story at Stanford, and Brannon being at Texas, Marqus's story, Arshay’s story. There are all these examples of them creating, building, and pushing out space within the rowing community and showing what is possible," said Manley.
"The athletes talk about them. I know that they see that and that is inspirational in the boat and in the context of rowing, but it spreads much farther than that. It's a model of how we create community and support each other."
Junior rower Duffey talked about their impact on her and her teammates,
"They see potential in our team, especially Brannon, because she was one of the only black rowers at her university so she really had to make a name and a face for herself, so she's trying to instill that into us."
"With Arshay, we watched his documentary and it's nice that he came to come visit us because this is the same process [as in the film], starting off with nobody rowing," Duffey said. "We actually have a connection with the people in Arshay’s film because it's not like they had everything growing up."
The New Orleans Rowing Club played a huge role as well, said Manley. "We benefited from the club saying this is important, this matters and we will support it.
"The cost of access to water, access to boats, access to the volunteer coaches who have supported this project would not have been possible without the club. That is a model. It's a generous model and it's a hard one to ask of thinly stretched clubs, but it is truly a great way to start building that diverse programming. NORC has been a huge part of the ability to get this off the ground."
HBCU Rowing: A "Game Changer"
Manley says that having a program in the HBCU space is important, because it presents a different kind of opportunity than those that exist at established college programs at predominantly white institutions.
"There is this incredible work that it's happening across the country at the middle school and the high school level of thinking about who is on our junior teams and who are we recruiting," said Manley. "That's amazing, but we also need to show those students, this more diverse community of rowers, that there are different kinds of spaces for them, and specifically that there are predominantly African-American spaces in which rowing is happening.
"It is a very different choice to decide to go to a rowing program where you will be one of one, or two, or three people of color versus going to school where that will be everyone."
Manley says that creating spaces for rowing at HBCUs would be a "game changer."
"That’s why Arshay Cooper has been such a supporter," she said. "He talks about how he has kids who stop rowing because they are going to go to an HBCU and now there is an option to do both.
"You have to be able to see yourself at higher levels in order to want to continue. Saying that there's rowing at HBCUs truly does that in a more profound way than saying that these predominantly white schools have spaces and opportunities. That's great and we want more of that, but we also want this."
"It fundamentally changes the pipeline," Manley said, about beginning to see rowing at HBCUs.
"It opens up an entirely new line in that pipeline when we're talking about what are the steps after high school. It widens our feeder at the national and elite levels. It sends a signal that this is serious, that we as a rowing community will keep opening up that pipeline through all stages from middle school through octogenarians."
"Not Done Yet, But We Made It"
The final piece of the project was adding the support of the university to the enthusiasm of the more than forty student-athletes who, like Duffey, have attended the club's sessions over the past year, and to the resources and role models from the wider rowing community.
Duffey talked about what it felt like to hear the news that the team would be elevated to varsity.
"Coach was saying we need it to be a team, this has got to be a varsity team. They will be good enough to be recognized for this, so when we got the news we felt like wow, we made it.
"We are not done yet, but we made it," Duffey added. "It also opened our eyes. We’re going to have to put in the work ten times harder if it's going to be a varsity team because they will be recruiting people to come.
"That was something that we talked about. Although we started this, at the end of the day, we still have to get our spot on the team, so we're trying to work hard and do stuff now that will help us have a better chance of earning a spot."
Curtis Wright, XULA's Vice President of Student Affairs, helped marshal the university's support and led the effort to present rowing as a varsity sport to the University's Board. Along with Xavier's President, Dr. Reynold Verret, and Athletic Director Pat Kendrick, Wright recognized the club's efforts and the potential impact of rowing for Xavier's students.
"As the nation's only Catholic HBCU," said Wright, "we are deeply committed to fostering excellence, in both academics and athletics, that is guided by faith and anchored in culture. Our recognition of the XULA rowing club's efforts over the past year stems from their remarkable dedication, teamwork, and their spirit of breaking barriers. At Xavier, we have a long history of being trail blazers and are excited to host the first varsity rowing program at an HBCU.
"We believe that by sponsoring rowing at the varsity level, we not only elevate the sport within our institution but also expand athletic opportunities for African American youth in our community. This initiative aligns perfectly with our mission to provide a well-rounded co-curricular experience that challenges our students to create opportunities in spaces where they see gaps in representation.
"Rowing is a sport that promotes discipline, resilience, and camaraderie, all of which are essential qualities we wish to instill in our students. By investing in the rowing program, we are not just supporting a sport; we are paving the way for greater participation and representation in athletics, encouraging our students to explore new avenues for personal growth and achievement.
Now, the university is looking ahead, according to Wright, to what rowing can bring to the XULA community.
"Rowing will enhance our geographic diversity," he said, "attracting students from various backgrounds and regions. This diversity enriches the campus culture, fostering a more inclusive environment where different perspectives and experiences are shared.
"Secondly, by focusing on increasing male enrollment in our rowing program, we not only promote gender equity in sports but also expand opportunities for young men of color in athletics. This aligns with our commitment to providing a well-rounded HBCU experience, enabling students to thrive both academically and athletically.
"Most importantly, introducing rowing to Black boys and girls in areas where such opportunities have been historically limited addresses systemic inequities in sports access. By creating pathways for young people to engage in rowing, we empower them to pursue their athletic and academic aspirations at the collegiate level.
"Overall, integrating rowing into XULA's athletics program will not only benefit our students by providing new opportunities but will also elevate the university's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in sports. This initiative will ultimately contribute to building a stronger, more vibrant community that reflects the values of our institution.
The athletes are looking ahead as well.
"We’ll see where the team goes," said Duffey. "I have high hopes for what we have in the future, what this team is going to do, and how we can be inspiring for others.
"We're very fortunate with all the coaches and all the support from the grants we've gotten," she added. "We’re really honored that people see potential where we see it too, and that these great coaches also see the vision of what we have going on. We're really grateful for everyone that comes to visit us."
You can follow updates about the XULA Rowing Team on Instagram at @xularowingclub
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