Morehouse College has always been a groundbreaker, and that legacy of shaking up the establishment continues as the school will now have the only polo team among Historically Black Colleges and Universities, reports Atlanta Magazine. The U.S. Polo Association, the governing body of the sport, has officially invited the Maroon Tigers polo club into the organization, immediately allowing Morehouse to be involved in Intercollegiate/Interscholastic (I/I) division competitions.
The idea of an HBCU, or any college, having a polo team may seem unusual; the sport isn’t one of the several sponsored by the NCAA, and athletically, Morehouse has historically had a reputation for its strong basketball, football and track and field teams. But Amy Fraser, I/I Director of Polo for the U.S. Polo Association, says she’s confident the school’s alumni will embrace the new sport.
“What impresses me most about Morehouse is the strong alumni base and how the alumni, whether polo playing or not, have embraced the polo team and have stepped up in numerous ways to support the program,” she said.
The dream of having a polo team at Morehouse was even more feasible to local entrepreneur and team cofounder Miguel Wilson. Along with four Morehouse students, Rian Toussaint, Justin Wynn, Jayson Palmer, and experienced equestrian Caleb Cherry — whose polo coach suggested he try and bring a team to Morehouse — Wilson used his Ride in the Olympics (RTO) nonprofit foundation to begin gathering funding for the team. RTO, established in 2017, is on a mission to make equestrian sports (polo, show jumping, dressage) more accessible to youth who might not normally be exposed to the sport. So the Morehouse’s polo team was established last year.
