In 2013, North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro announced that it was phasing out its intercollegiate swimming team. Despite efforts to keep a swimming program at the historically Black university, the team competed in its last dual meet this past Saturday. Now Howard University in Washington, D.C. is the only HBCU with an intercollegiate swim team.
The Howard University swim team lists 15 women and 11 men on its current roster. The team is coached by Nicholas Askew, a 2001 graduate of Howard University who was a member of both the university’s swim team and tennis team. He was hired as head swim coach in 2014 after serving as an assistant tennis coach at Howard. Askew earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Howard.
My son will be swimming for Howard University this fall, 2016. I’m excited that Noah will be swimming for Coach Askew. I find him to be a person that sets high standards in academics and athletics. He is encouraging and supportive. His swim team is making great strides in their performance each year as seen in their placing in the finals at the CCSA this pass week. Rebuilding a team is a slow and difficult process, but I am sure that Howard U has chosen the right person (Nicholas Askew) to lead their team and I am glad that my son will be apart of the swim team’s success.