Black Athletes in the Spotlight: HBCU Sports & Local Highlights
- Howard University women’s program set program records: 26-8, MEAC regular-season and tournament champions, No. 14 NCAA seed, school-record 26 wins.
- Ty Grace earned MEAC Most Outstanding Coach honors and has led Howard University since 2015, guiding the program’s recent success.
- The Pivot hosts, including Channing Crowder, covered MEAC Football Media Day and interviewed Ted White, who begins his first season after December 2025 hire.
Channing Crowder, a former NFL linebacker and co-host of The Pivot, is celebrating an offer from Howard University for his daughter, Ava Crowder.
The incoming seventh grader has received her first Division I offer from Howard. Crowder announced the offer Saturday on Instagram, sharing a graphic that identified Ava as a member of the Class of 2032.
“Help me congratulate my baby girl on her first D 1 offer @howardWBB,” Crowder wrote. He also encouraged followers to follow Ava’s journey as she works toward becoming a Division I basketball player.
The offer represents a significant early accomplishment for Ava. She has not yet begun seventh grade, leaving several years between her first offer and the start of her college career.
Howard University is also coming off a historic season under head coach Ty Grace. The Bison finished the 2025-26 campaign with a 26-8 record and captured both the MEAC regular-season and tournament championships.
Howard defeated Norfolk State 53-46 in the MEAC title game before advancing to the NCAA Tournament. The Bison earned a No. 14 seed, the highest in program history. Their 26 victories also set a school record for either the men’s or women’s basketball program.
Grace earned MEAC Most Outstanding Coach honors after guiding Howard University to its first conference tournament championship since 2022. The veteran coach has led the program since 2015.
The offer comes shortly after Channing Crowder and The Pivot spent time around Howard University football coach Ted White.
Crowder joined fellow former NFL players Ryan Clark and Fred Taylor to host MEAC Football Media Day on July 21. The event took place at M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens.
The Pivot interviewed the conference’s head football coaches, including White, during a live ESPN+ broadcast. White is preparing for his first season leading his alma mater after Howard hired him in December 2025.
That appearance gave Channing Crowder a recent connection to Howard before its women’s basketball program extended the offer to his daughter.
Ava’s recruitment still has a long way to go. NCAA rules prohibit a prospect from signing a binding National Letter of Intent as a seventh grader, and an offer does not represent a commitment.
Still, the first offer gives the young basketball player an early Division I opportunity to build upon. It also connects the Crowder family with an HBCU program coming off one of the most successful seasons in Howard University basketball history.
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