NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Atlantic 10 Conference, and the A-10 Commission on Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion will again celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday.
For the second straight year the league and CBS Sports Network will air an A-10 women's and men's basketball triple-header featuring three conference games on Monday, Jan. 16. CBS Sports and the Atlantic 10 will honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. throughout the weekend with features, stories and conversations. There will also be several campus activations across the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The basketball tripleheader begins at noon with a women's basketball matchup between George Washington and George Mason at noon in Fairfax, Va., That game is followed by a men's basketball matchup at 2:00 pm between Saint Joseph’s and La Salle at Tom Gola Arena. The day concludes back at George Mason with a men's game between the Colonials and Patriots at 4:00 pm. All three games will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.
On Sunday, CBS Sports analyst Leah Secondo sits down with Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade to discuss the conference’s celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the efforts she’s made to bring diversity and inclusion to the forefront of the A-10. The interview will air in two parts with one segment running during halftime of the Loyola-Rhode Island women’s game and the other during halftime of the Dayton-Saint Louis women’s game on CBS Sports Network.
On Monday during halftime of the George Mason-George Washington men’s game, CBS Sports will spotlight George Mason walk-on guard Chase Tucker, who shares the story of his grandfather, Sebron “Ed” Tucker, who broke the color barrier at Stanford University in 1950 as the school’s first Black athlete. The story also takes a closer look at Tucker’s family history and the principles he instills in his life.
Also, during halftime of the Saint Joseph’s-LaSalle men’s game on CBS Sports Network, CBS Sports will feature players and coaches from both teams who reflect on the impact and significance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in their own lives, and the progress they hope to see in 2023 and beyond.
There is also a panel titled "I’ve Got a Story: Storytelling and Branding in the Age of Social Media” scheduled for Thursday, January 19 at 4:00 pm ET with a selection of CBS Sports’ most successful storytellers. They will share their experience shaping and packaging stories, developing and growing both CBS Sports brands and their own personal brands. The audience will have the chance to learn how to effectively use storytelling through social media and how understanding your audience, cultural relevance, and emotional insights drive meaningful engagement.
Campus activations include:
- Several teams will have day-of service initiatives on and around Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, including Davidson, through Stephen Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, along with Curry Brand and Under Armour, recently renovated a basketball court at the Ada Jenkins Center, a local community center focused on adult and youth education, food pantry, case management and emergency financial support. Members of the Davidson basketball program participate in the unveiling of the court refurbishment and a youth clinic on January 21.
- There will be league-wide social media activations with videos, graphics and testament to Dr. King’s legacy.
- The Very Reverend Canon Kelly Brown Douglas, dean of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary, canon theologian at Washington National Cathedral, and author of two books on racial reconciliation and social justice, will be the speaker at the University's of Dayton’s annual Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast.
- La Salle will also feature department-wide video on social media and in-arena during their game about the importance of Dr. King and how La Salle has been impacted by his work.
- UMass on Tuesday will hold a National Day of Racial Healing Community Brunch with speaker Ndaba Mandela.
- Richmond produced a feature video highlighting a trip by Spider student-athletes to MLK sites and other sites on the Civil Rights Trail last October
- Select teams that are not playing on Monday are having activations and celebrations at other games during the week, which includes in-arena education and recognition.
The Atlantic 10 will capture the campus activations through social posts and web stories and provide an archive on the A-10 Commission on Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion website on Atlantic10.com.
Holding A-10 basketball games on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was a collaborative idea that began with La Salle and Saint Joseph's head men’s basketball coaches in 2020. The A-10 Commission worked to expand on this idea into a day-long celebration with a tripleheader and league-wide programming that launched in 2021.
The A-10 Commission on Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion was formed in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd and civil unrest that followed. Made up of representatives from all 15 conference members, the Commission has taken action on voting rights, provided several educational webinars, and amplified on-campus initiatives surrounding social justice, MLK Day and Black History Month.