As Tuskegee College continues to modernize its athletic infrastructure and rejoice record-setting achievements, the dialog round a possible transfer to NCAA Division I competitors continues to linger across the HBCU. Whereas the college has not made any formal declaration, Director of Athletics Reginald Ruffin acknowledged that the choice in the end lies within the arms of President Dr. Mark Brown and the college’s board of trustees.
“That won’t be a choice alone by me,” Ruffin instructed HBCU Gameday’s Steven J. Gaither. “It’s going to be President Mark Brown… what he desires to see within the subsequent… three-year plan, his five-year plan—what he sees in athletics.”
The excitement surrounding Tuskegee’s future comes at a time when the college is seeing measurable success throughout a number of sports activities. Ruffin famous that through the 2024–25 educational 12 months alone, Tuskegee performed for seven convention championships and got here away with three titles whereas ending as runner-up in 4 others.
“That’s a number of championships,” he emphasised.
There are at the moment 23 Division I HBCUs. Twelve of them are within the SWAC, with eight residing within the MEAC and three others in non-HBCU leagues. For Tuskegee, a transfer up would imply not solely assembly NCAA necessities in sports activities sponsorship and scholarships but additionally sustaining success and funding at a better degree.
Ruffin emphasised that the college’s prime precedence is sustaining full assist for its present packages.
“You need to additionally be sure to’re sustaining your sports activities, and never solely sustaining sports activities—you gotta be supporting your sports activities,” he mentioned.
In keeping with Ruffin, each President Brown and former president Dr. Charlotte Morris made full athletic funding a precedence—setting the muse for what might be a long-term trajectory towards Division I. That administrative assist has paid dividends in response to Ruffin.
Nonetheless, Ruffin made clear that for now, Tuskegee stays targeted on constructing the place it’s—with one eye on the long run.
“For now we’re simply going to proceed to promote out the gang, and we now have to go play FCS colleges and be your largest attendance after we play these colleges — till the president and the administration, resolve, hey, it’s time to to make that subsequent step,” Ruffin mentioned. “However proper now, Steven, I believe we’re grounded the place we’re planted and we’re planted the place we grounded. And we’re simply going to do what we will to proceed constructing the legacy of Tuskegee College,
With a revitalized campus, main facility upgrades, and rising assist from alumni and the neighborhood, the muse is being laid for the college to make a critical analysis. However Ruffin reiterated that such a transfer should align with the college’s strategic imaginative and prescient—not simply athletic ambition.
For now, Tuskegee College stays one of the crucial profitable and tradition-rich packages in HBCU athletics. Whether or not that legacy will in the future prolong to the Division I degree stays to be seen, however the infrastructure, management, and success metrics are more and more pointing towards the chance.
