Last week, Tennessee State University, a historically Black university in Nashville, announced it would form a hockey team for the 2024-25 season. 

This got me excited. For the record, basketball is my favorite sport. It’s fast-paced and explosive, and entails the most individual creativity while still being a team sport. I confess, I have never played hockey. Yes, I root for my hometown team, the Philadelphia Flyers. But I can’t ice-skate, and I’m mystified by the body mechanics behind the slap shots that send a puck rocketing toward the net, a perfect 6 inches off the ice.

On television, hockey looks fun. But my excitement about the Tennessee State announcement comes from seeing the school glow up. Adding a hockey team will attract students who might not have otherwise considered the university. And as the first HBCU to offer hockey, Tennessee State could be a game-changer. Others might follow suit.

The program will start modestly – as a club team the first two years – in the hopes of building something lasting. “We’re just trying to change the world,” says Nick Guerriero, assistant athletic director for communications. “No one has done what we’re about to do.” 

This decision didn’t just pop into the administration’s mind. Tennessee State has a relationship with the National Hockey League’s Nashville Predators, and it did a feasibility study with College Hockey Inc., an organization that seeks to grow collegiate hockey. The move could generate new revenue, and there will eventually be new scholarships. 

A 2022 USA Today report found that the NHL is 93% white, with only 54 players from minority groups. But Black people like hockey, too. Tennessee State might just be about to show everyone how much.