Black Athletes in the Spotlight: HBCU Sports & Local Highlights
- Nina Schiks transitions from women’s soccer and tennis to compete as a kicker for Mississippi Valley State.
- She joins a crowded specialist room, competing with three returning kickers for playing time in 2025.
- Her move follows Leilani Armenta’s recent HBCU milestone, reflecting a growing trend of women in college football.
- Schiks’ presence symbolizes opportunity and the breaking of barriers within HBCU sports and the SWAC.
Mississippi Valley State’s football roster just got a little more historic. For the first time in the HBCU program’s history, a woman will suit up for the Delta Devils. Her name is Nina Schiks, and she’s not here for a symbolic gesture — she’s here to compete. From early-morning workouts to full-contact drills, Schiks has earned her place in the locker room, becoming a trailblazer for MVSU and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
The team teased her arrival back in April on the team’s official Instagram account, which posted a video of the 5-foot-7 sophomore kicker from Boxmeer, Netherlands, speaking with head coach Terrell Buckley and defensive pass game coordinator Mario Edwards Sr. before attempting — and making — a field goal in front of her new teammates. The caption read: “When we said New Era we meant it! Join us in welcoming our newest kicker to the team.”
From the Netherlands to the Delta
Schiks arrived at MVSU in 2024 as a women’s soccer team defender, playing in 10 matches with three starts. She also competed on the women’s tennis team last spring. Though she won’t return to the Devilettes’ soccer roster in 2025, she’ll now take her shot — literally — in football.
The Delta Devils already have three other kickers on the 2025 roster. Returners Nicholas Stephens, Marko Jovisic, and Indiana State transfer Marko Dubak make up a crowded specialist room. Last season, Jovisic converted 20 extra points, went 4-for-9 on field goals (including two blocked kicks), and drilled a long of 51 yards while handling kickoff duties. Stephens was listed as a punter but didn’t see live attempts, and Dubak, who previously played at College of DuPage and Florida A&M, redshirted the 2024 season.
That depth means Schiks will have to fight for her spot on the field — and by all accounts, she’s ready for it.
Following a SWAC Rival’s Lead
Schiks’s arrival comes just one year after Jackson State University’s Leilani Armenta made history as the school’s first female football player. In 2023, Armenta became the first woman to score points in an HBCU football game, converting three extra points in a 40–14 win over Arkansas–Pine Bluff. She added another point in 2024 before signing with the Mississippi Panthers of the Women’s National Football Conference in 2025.
Their stories follow a long, though rare, history of women appearing in college football — from Liz Heaston at Willamette in 1997 to Sarah Fuller’s Power Five debut for Vanderbilt in 2020.
A Season of Opportunity
The Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils open their season at home against Southern on August 30, giving Schiks a shot to become the next woman to make history on the gridiron. For her, it’s simple: perform, compete, and help the team win.
Whether lining up for a clutch kick or grinding through practice, Nina Schiks represents more than a roster addition — she’s part of a growing movement in HBCU sports proving that barriers are made to be broken.
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