HBCU GO continues to expand its imprint on college sports
HBCU GO, a free-streaming digital platform, recently announced a 10-year media rights partnership with the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), a Division II conference of 13 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The agreement grants HBCU GO cable, linear, streaming, broadcast, VOD and pay-per-view rights coverage of all CIAA team sports through June 30, 2032. A portion of the funds will be invested in upgrading the sports and broadcast equipment at the CIAA’s member institutions.
The increased coverage provides opportunities for young media talent to live their dreams as sports broadcasters. Among them is Courtney Tate, a Howard University alumna, who has put time and effort into building her skills in front of and behind the camera since her graduation in 2018.
“It is cool working with HBCU GO,” said Tate, who began with the company during the 2022–23 college basketball season. “While I have a passion for sports, I also have a passion for Black colleges. It is great to be able to give these schools a platform. … Every game feels like a family reunion.”
Tate grew up in North Carolina playing basketball and had opportunities to play college basketball at a Division II or III institution, but was intent on moving to Washington, D.C.—so she gave up the hardwood to earn a broadcast journalism degree at Howard. During college, she gained broadcast experience reporting for ESPNU and hosting a radio sports show called “No B.S.-Nothing but Sports.”
“Being in Washington, D.C., which is a huge media market for sports and news, I started interning with the Washington Wizards,” said Tate. “One of the guys I interned for is now a vice president for HBCU GO. Those relationships I built in D.C. are still impacting me to this day.”
Since graduating college, she’s worked her way up from small media markets to more high profile positions, such as reporting for NBC Sports California for the San Francisco 49ers while also covering the LSU Tigers for USA Today Sports Network. She is undaunted by all the traveling.
“I was dedicated to the process,” said Tate. “I found enjoyment throughout, whether I’m covering high school sports or the 49ers or college sports, which I’m doing now. Everything fell in line for me because I knew that I wanted my office to be on a sideline or to be covering the world of sports, which is something I’m extremely passionate about.”
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