Howard Bison
University	Howard University
Conference	MEAC (primary) NEC (m & w golf, w lacrosse, m & w soccer, m & w swimming)
NCAA	Division I (FCS)
Athletic director	Kery Davis
Location	Washington, D.C.
Varsity teams	21
Football stadium	William H. Greene Stadium
Basketball arena	Burr Gymnasium
Softball stadium	Washington Nationals Youth Academy
Other venues	WTEF-East Capitol Campus
Mascot	Bison
Nickname	Bison
Colors	Navy blue and white[1]
Website	hubison.com

TheHoward Bison and Lady Bison are theintercollegiate athletic teams that representHoward University, located inWashington, D.C. The Bison compete in Division I of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s andDivision I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)^[2] and are members of theMid-Eastern Athletic Conference for most sports. On July 16, 2015, the Athletics Department unveiled new logos, replacing the previous logo that was nearly identical to that used by theNational Football League'sBuffalo Bills.^[3]

A member of theMid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), Howard University currently sponsors teams in nine men's and 12 women'sNCAA sanctioned sports. Men's and women's golf became the newest varsity sports in the 2020–21 school year, with six years of program funding guaranteed by NBA superstarStephen Curry.^[4]

Howard University announced in July 2020 that it would join theNortheast Conference (NEC) as an associate member in six sports. Men's and women's swimming joined in 2020–21, with men's and women's soccer, women's lacrosse and women's golf following in 2021–22.^[5] Howard added men's golf to its NEC membership in 2022–23 after the MEAC and NEC entered into a partnership in baseball and golf that provided NEC associate membership to all MEAC members with teams in those sports.^[6]

In 2022, Howard University signed a 20-year partnership with Nike'sMichael Jordan Brand. The partnership aims to elevate Howard's athletic department. Howard is the second HBCU to partner with the Jordan Brand.^[7]

As of 2023, Howard is the only HBCU that houses competitive swimming and dive teams.^[8]

As the only team in the MEAC playing men's soccer, theBison's men's soccer team competed as anindependent for many years, but the Bison became an affiliate member of theSun Belt Conference when the conference resumed men's soccer after a 20-year absence in 2014. Over the years, Howard has had an up and down history, with NCAA championship seasons and other years seeing little success; the 2013 team had only one win in eighteen games.^[9]

Bison teams qualified for the NCAA tournament in 1962, 1963, 1970†, 1971†, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1988, 1989, and 1997. In sixCollege Cup appearances, they were NCAA Champions in 1974, runners-up in 1988, third in 1972, and fourth in 1975; additional first (1971) and third (1970) place finishes werevacated by the NCAA; their vacation of the 1971 title was the first vacated Division I title in the history of the NCAA.^[10][11]

As of the 2021–2022 season, the men's and women's soccer teams are no longer affiliate members of the Sun Belt Conference, and are now affiliate members of theNortheast Conference.^[12]

William H. Greene Stadium is a 7,086-seatmulti-purpose stadium inWashington, D.C., in the United States, which opened in 1926. It is home to theHoward University Bisonfootball,soccer, track & field, and Women's lacrosse teams. Originally calledHoward Stadium, it was renamed William H. Greene Stadium in 1986 in honor of William H. Greene, M.D., a Washington, D.C., physician.^[13]

Howard's marching band is known as the"Showtime" Marching Band and it also features auxiliaries, the "Ooh La La!" dance team and the "Flashy Flags"color guard. The band has performed at several NFL games, theMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, theHonda Battle of the Bands, and the 56th Inaugural Parade for former U.S. PresidentBarack Obama. The marching band's mission is to serve as a Howard ambassador and Bison athletics supporter.^[14]

Men's Soccer –1971(Vacated) See Note

Men's Soccer –1974^[15]

• Note: Howard initially won the1971 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. The Championship was later vacated by the NCAA^[16] on the grounds that two Howard players had played amateur soccer in Trinidad, exhausting their eligibility, and that two others had not taken entrance exams, required by the NCAA, to predict a grade point average of at least 1.6. Howard University argued that the eligibility rules were vague and discriminated against foreigners, and that the players had all maintained grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher in college, but the NCAA did not reverse the ruling.^[17] Although the NCAA stripped Howard of their first title, the university still respects and honors the accomplishments of their 1971 National Championship title team.

Howard's top rival isHampton University. The two schools call their intense rivalry Battle of "The Real HU".^{[18][19][20][21][22]}

Howard also has a strong rivalry withMorgan State University.^[23][24][25]

Another of Howard's historic rivals isMorehouse College, more popularly known as theHoward/ "Spel-House" rivalry due to Morehouse's close association with the all-women's HBCUSpelman College. This rivalry is not often played because Morehouse is anNCAA Division II athletic program, while Howard isNCAA Division I.^[26][27][28]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toHoward University athletics.

• Official website

• Howard Bison

• Articles with short description
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• Use mdy dates from August 2018
• Commons category link from Wikidata