TSU’s Duanté Abercrombie Aims to Bring the HBCU Experience to Hockey

Duanté Abercrombie, a former coach with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, is building a first-of-its-kind hockey program at the HBCU Tennessee State University (Photo Provided). By Evan F. Moore The first thing newly hired Tennessee State University hockey coach Duanté Abercrombie plans to do once he settles in his office is to establish a visual—and lofty—representation of what could be possible for the Tigers faithful: a photo of the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship trophy.& After the announcement that the Nashville-based university is creating a hockey program at an HBCU—the first of its kind—questions were asked. Why? Who’s going to coach? Who’s going to play on the team? How? Where’s the money for a hockey team at an HBCU? What? Where? Will the school marching band play at home games? Are the Nashville Predators involved?& Hockey at an HBCU? Why Not.& To let Abercrombie, hired last month as the first coach in program history, tell it, he’d say: Why not? After all, as a Black man, a hockey lifer, and an HBCU graduate (Hampton University) who has climbed up the coaching and scouting ranks, he’s uniquely suited for the task ahead of him. When the announcement was made about college...