WASHINGTON — A Howard University coach just won the Drake Hero Award. Nicholas Askew is the Director of Swimming and Diving, as well as the Director of Tennis for the Bison. He was given the award from The Drake Group Education Fund, Inc. in a ceremony on Tuesday.
The award "honors an extraordinary individual who has helped advance the collegiate sports reform movement through persistent actions over time. The individual, through hard work and persistent effort, has created a significant impact within the world of sports reform and, in doing so, has enhanced the integrity of intercollegiate athletics."
As one of only four Black head coaches in men's swimming and five in women's swimming among all three NCAA competitive divisions, and one of only 32 Black head coaches in men's tennis and 37 in women's tennis, among all three NCAA competitive divisions, he is an important role model for athletes of color and aspiring coaches of color following in his footsteps.
Askew coaches the nation's only HBCU swim team, and helped lead the team to its first championship in 34 years earlier this year. According to USA Swimming, less than 1.5% of competitive swimmers are Black.
Following the win, Askew told WUSA9 that representation matters in the sport of swimming.
"We firmly believe if you can see it, then you can achieve it. These young men and women work super hard day in and day out just because of that. Because they know that there is very little representation out there," Askew said.
The Drake Group acknowledged that Askew's presence as a coach helped raise questions about representation in college athletics.
"His efforts have helped to demonstrate that Black athletes do have interest in and can achieve in sports like swimming, diving, and tennis. The achievements of his teams have created public notoriety, thereby raising important questions about the failure of intercollegiate athletics to address the underrepresentation of Black athletes in 16 of 21 NCAA women’s championship sports and 15 of 19 NCAA men’s championship sports," The Drake Group said in a press release.
Sign up for the Get Up DC newsletter: Your forecast. Your commute. Your news.
Sign up for the Capitol Breach email newsletter, delivering the latest breaking news and a roundup of the investigation into the Capitol Riots on January 6, 2021.