There’s simply one thing so poetic about Charlie Ward returning to the sidelines—not because the dual-sport phenomenon who as soon as made Tallahassee roar, however as the brand new head coach of the Florida A&M males’s basketball group. A Heisman winner turned NBA veteran, Ward brings gravitas and imaginative and prescient to a program with historical past, pleasure and a thirst for resurgence.
“Lots of you might know me as a Seminole,” Ward stated in his introductory press convention again in April, “however I used to be born a Rattler.”
Certainly, his hiring isn’t only a win for the Rattlers. It’s the newest in a rising wave of former professionals moving into HBCU teaching roles, a pattern that’s gaining severe momentum, notably on the soccer facet, à la Deion Sanders, Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson. Now Ward, with a résumé that features main Florida State to its first-ever nationwide soccer championship earlier than spending 11 years within the NBA, joins that motion on the hardwood.
Ward is aware of what profitable seems to be like. He additionally is aware of how illustration can spark perception—particularly for Black student-athletes who hardly ever see legends like themselves on the helm. That type of title recognition issues. So does mentorship from somebody who’s been on each stage possible.
In Ward, FAMU is getting rather more than only a coach. (He served as head coach at neighboring Florida Excessive College in Tallahassee for the previous seven years.). They’re getting a tradition shift, a blueprint and a voice that also resonates broadly.
“Our group shall be outlined by our ‘PACE,’” Ward emphasised. “We shall be Ready. We shall be Accountable. We’ll Compete in all issues—and we shall be dedicated. And we’ll give nice Effort in all issues—and we should execute.”
Pictures by way of Getty Photos.
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