Morgan State wrestling is ‘a lighthouse’ for Black wrestlers. They hope others will follow.

Inside Hill Field House at Morgan State University this week, Yannis Charles stood on a blue-and-orange mat as his head coach, Kenny Monday, wrapped his arms around Charles’ training partner and threw him to the ground.

Four years ago, as a high school junior, Charles didn’t think this was possible. He had two dreams: attend a historically Black college or university and wrestle at the Division I level. His research led him to a startling conclusion. There wasn’t a single HBCU that had a Division I wrestling program. All he could do was lie on his bed, close his eyes and dream.

A glimmer of hope came about two months later. A rumor spread that Monday — the first Black wrestler to win an Olympic gold medal — was leading a program at Morgan State. Those whispers became reality. Charles’ father, Kip, reached out to Monday. Two months later, Charles committed as part of Monday’s first recruiting class.

Now Morgan State is in its third season. And, on Thursday, Charles and his teammate Eugene Harney will make history as the first NCAA qualifiers in Morgan State’s Division I era since Morgan State re-launched the Division I program following a hiatus of over two decades.

After watching his coach, Charles, now a junior, walked toward his partner as Rod Wave blared through the speaker behind him. Monday stepped back. Charles wrapped his partner and slammed him to the mat. Monday nodded.

“You get there, you can win in that position,” Monday said.

Charles faces nearly impossible odds. He’s ranked 33rd in his 157-pound weight class and has to win a “pigtail” match, similar to a play-in game in basketball. His reward if he wins? A matchup against the No. 1 seed in his class. Harney, ranked 18th among 33 wrestlers in the 149-pound weight class, has a better shot to advance.

“If me and [Eugene] are able to get it together to perform the way that we want to perform, hopefully other HBCUs will start wrestling and then it’ll just grow from there,” Charles said.

Their performances alone won’t result in a renaissance of wrestling programs at HBCUs. But their presence at these championships and their visibility in the Baltimore community could have ripple effects for Black wrestling. Pressure? Sure. Monday welcomes it.

“There’s always pressure to perform,” he said with a straight face as it formed into a grin. “But, once you break through and open that door, that’s when the floodgates open up.”

There are over 100 recognized HBCUs. There are nearly 80 schools that are home to a Division I wrestling program. And at the center of the Venn diagram is Morgan State, the only school that can claim to be both.

This wasn’t always the case. Morgan State athletes primarily compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, which sponsored wrestling from 1972-95. There were over 10 HBCU programs across the Division I and II levels, according to HBCU Wrestling.

Morgan State, under 12-time MEAC Coach of the Year James Phillips, won 13 league titles during his 20-year tenure. William “Bucky” Smith became the first wrestler from an HBCU to win a Division II championship in 1980 and finished as a runner-up at the Division I championships that year as an automatic qualifier for winning the Division II title.

But Morgan State discontinued its program following the 1996-97 season, as did many other HBCUs in the late 1980s through early 2000s. The reasons varied, from Title IX compliance to budgetary constraints to keep programs afloat. Delaware State was the final HBCU to cut its program in 2009.

In 2020, Jahi Jones — a former walk-on wrestler at Maryland — recognized the dearth of HBCU wrestling programs. He recalled conversations in the Black community that year about creating concrete change.

Jones himself wanted to wrestle at the Division I level for an HBCU so he could have athletic and academic rigor. When it wasn’t possible, he pivoted. These factors led him and his two co-founders to create the HBCU Wrestling Initiative to revive wrestling programs at those schools.

Morgan State became the first, announcing in 2021 it was restarting its program, thanks to a $2.7 million donation from billionaire investor Mike Novogratz (a college wrestler at Princeton) and the initiative, the largest in the school’s history. Delaware State added a women’s program this year.

“[Morgan State] really serves as a blueprint to other schools, almost like a lighthouse that other schools can look at and see what they can do and what’s possible to replicate on their campuses,” said Jones, who hopes to start six HBCU programs.

Monday helped Jones and his group organize their initiative at the start. Coaching wasn’t on his agenda. So, when they asked him to lead the program, he said no. Multiple times. The challenge of starting a program from scratch seemed daunting. The allure of coaching at the Olympic level was appealing.

But Monday changed his mind. He knew his legacy would bring credibility to a brand-new program. Harney, who transferred this season from Campbell, said part of his decision to come was Monday. “With his background, he knows how to win, and I just need to see how to win.”

The initial donation got the Bears started with mats, equipment and weights for the team’s room and uniforms, among other necessities. The donation is still paying dividends, helping them take a trip to California this year to compete against two schools.

Monday hopes to be a top-five program in the future. That won’t happen overnight. Morgan State, which joined the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, finished 1-16 in team events despite strong individual performances.

In the future, they’ll have to answer questions about how sustainable this program can be. Can it generate enough revenue to stay afloat? Can it thrive without other HBCUs joining the push? In short: Can a lighthouse operate if boats don’t move toward it?

Jones said Morgan State’s program is short-term validation of the group’s initial vision. He believes the next step is finding those willing to devote resources to build this program and others.

“How do we bring in more partners to be able to support us as we continue to grow across the HBCU ecosystem? How do we continue to grow our fan base and get supports in to be able to make sure we push these programs forward?” Jones said. “You definitely got to take a pat on the back because things are going the right way, but it’s also the time to double down because there’s much more work to do.”

Closing the gap between the top teams and Morgan State won’t be easy, especially with established programs having ample name, image and likeness resources through large alumni bases to attract big-name recruits. Monday said he tried to recruit three wrestlers who went to Big Ten schools.

“They wanted to come, but NIL talks, man,” Monday said. “It’s hard to compete with them.”

Yet Monday is confident the Bears can build in spite of that. Success would certainly help. Creating a program that attracts young Black athletes in the area would, too.

Monday said retaining talent in Maryland is crucial. He’s also hoping his program will be a bridge for kids in Baltimore to attend matches, have a vision of attending Morgan and commit. Harney believes his story will show kids they can have success anywhere.

“I am happy to be someone so that maybe a high schooler or a middle schooler is like, ‘Oh, I can do it and still go to a school like Morgan State,’” Harney said. “Maybe it isn’t a Penn State. But I don’t think you need to be at a Penn State to win a national title.”

Jeryl Cole, who founded Baltimore Wrestling Club two years ago, said it gives the 40 kids in his program something to aspire to. This year, the group collaborated with Morgan State to host a youth night. Around 20 youth wrestlers watched matches in the stands before meeting Morgan’s athletes at the end of the night.

“Seeing these guys as normal people and not as people you see on TV or not as people you see in passing but actually knowing them gives them the confidence they can be there as well,” Cole said.

Wrestling changed Charles’ life. As a middle schooler, Charles was headed down, in his words, “a dark path.” Police warned his father that his son’s behavior could lead him toward a life he didn’t want to live. His dad pulled him out of school. Not long after, Charles started wrestling while being homeschooled.

Charles calls attending Morgan “one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” It gave him what his younger self always wanted: an opportunity to compete with a team of majority-Black wrestlers and make history. When he checks his DMs, he hears from kids who want to do the same. Only they don’t have to dream as Charles had to. They can just follow suit.

“It makes me feel really good to know that they want to be part of something that I’m a part of,” Charles said. “I know how it feels to feel just out of place. … I know how it feels to want to escape to something you want to do or be somewhere that you want to be. And I know how it feels to want to be around your own people. So it’s definitely an exciting feeling.”