A&T to Host 2026 Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame Induction in Spring

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Feb. 6, 2026) — Pioneers whose work shaped sports editing, NBA beat reporting, golf journalism and column writing will be honored in the second class of the Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame (BSHOF) this spring at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Four nationally respected journalists will be recognized during a public induction ceremony, supported by North Carolina A&T’s student chapters of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and the Associated Press Sports Editors. In addition, BSHOF will induct six trailblazing innovators from The Black Press, whose work helped mold the foundation of American sports journalism.

The public induction ceremony will take place Saturday, April 11, at the A&T Student Center, 1403 John W. Mitchell Drive, Greensboro. A media meet-and-greet and interview session will be from 5 to 6 p.m., followed by the formal induction ceremony from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Nonpaying working media will be seated as space permits.

BSHOF will be permanently housed in Crosby Hall, home of A&T’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communication (JOMC).

“The Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame is a meaningful initiative for JOMC, as it aligns with our department’s mission to prepare students to tell stories that matter,” said Masudul Biswas, Ph.D., JOMC chair. “Having these legacies showcased in Crosby Hall will serve as a powerful reminder of what our students can achieve through hard work and dedication.”

Inductees are Clifton Brown, first Black golf writer at The New York Times, who also covered the NBA’s “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons for The Detroit Free Press and the NFL for The Sporting News and other publications; Garry D. Howard, first Black president of the Associated Press Sports Editors, former assistant managing editor for sports at The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and a member of the NABJ Hall of Fame; Rob Parker, Fox Sports national radio host and founder of the Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame who became the first Black sports columnist at The Detroit Free Press and Newsdayand is also a 2023 NABJ Hall of Fame inductee; and Ron Thomas, first NBA reporter for USA Today, first chair of the NABJ Sports Task Force and founding director of the journalism program at Morehouse College.

The 2026 Black Press Pioneer honorees are Howie Evans of The New York Amsterdam News; Bill Nunn of ThePittsburgh Courier; Brad Pye Jr. of The Los Angeles Sentinel; Claude Harrison Jr. of The Philadelphia Tribune; Fay Young of The Chicago Defender; and R.L. Stockard of The Louisiana Weekly.

BSHOF was created by Parker following a 2023 baseball writing masterclass at A&T, with support from JOMC lecturer and BSHOF program director David Squires.

“This year’s class reflects the extraordinary range of talent that Black journalists have brought to sports media for decades and the many roles they have filled,” said Squires. “We are honored to host these trailblazers on our campus, where they will be able to engage with our students as well as the public.”

Tickets may be purchased here.

For more information, email media@blacksportswritershof.com.