GSU looks for steps forward

Trayvean Scott believes Grambling State’s mission to compete while carrying on the school’s historic brand of athletics won’t be at risk of diminishing amid rapid change in college sports.

Scott, now three years on the job as GSU’s athletic director as of July 1, knows Grambling will have to adapt in a time where power players make moves without a moment’s notice. FCS schools, including HBCUs, rarely get first dibs on crafting the future of college sports. It’s why Scott has tried to be proactive in his decision making.

He’s made impactful moves to try to set GSU up for success, with some hits and misses, hiring two football coaches and firing two football coaches since he took over in July 2021. He’s also fired and hired women’s basketball coaches, made Davin Pierre head baseball coach and extended men’s basketball coach Donte Jackson after his program turnaround.

Men’s basketball has won two SWAC Regular Season titles and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever in Scott’s tenure, along with baseball making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. Soccer made its first NCAA Tournament since 2006 in the 2023 season, while women’s basketball hit the 20-win mark for the first time since 1999 during the 2023- 24 season under first- year head coach Courtney Simmons.

Scott’s imprint on the current state of GSU can’t be denied. It’s why he’s grateful to enter year three at the historic institution on solid ground — his current contract goes through 2028 — and feels confident his experience will guide GSU into a brighter future.

“It’s a blessing to have three years of longevity at, in my view, the HBCU with the biggest brand and brand imagery in the country,” Scott told the Leader. “I think in year one there were a fair number of challenges. Year two we started to build progress. As we enter year three, I think you’re starting to see the fruits of our labor show themselves. That comes from having an administration that bought in and supports us.”

State of football

For as promising as it’s been having spring and winter sports win at a high level in recent years, Scott knows GSU’s identity is and will continue to be football. The wins and losses on the gridiron matter most to the school’s image and standing.

And Scott knows the current direction hasn’t been good enough. GSU has a 24-31 overall record since winning the SWAC Championship in 2017 and has not reached the title game since. Scott fired Broderick Fobbs as head coach in November 2021, only to replace him with Hue Jackson, who lasted two seasons before being fired on Nov. 28, 2023.

Now, the G-Men are led by Mickey Joseph — hired Dec. 18, 2023 — who’s tasked with bringing the Tigers back to the top of the SWAC food chain.

Whether Joseph has the formula to break the cycle of underperformance remains to be seen, but Scott said the wins must start coming.

“The elephant in the room is football has to win,” Scott said. “ It’s our expectation to not only win games, but we want to compete for championships year in and year out. I give coach Joseph credit for taking the bull by the horns and seeing how the program can improve. We’ve upgraded our talent and maintained highcharacter young men. I’m excited about all our sports but the emphasis is on football.”

Scott respects Joseph’s attention to detail and willingness to stay patient in his assessment of the program rather than start from scratch completely.

“I appreciate his respect for tradition and his authenticity,” Scott said. “His philosophy is no-nonsense and disciplinary but also playerfriendly. I’m looking forward to carrying that over to the field of play. We had a few games last year if the ball bounces one way or we get a yard here and there we are three or four games better. I think coach Joseph recognized that early on and moved forward addressing those little things. There’s an increased level of responsibility.”

House settlement

The proposed $2.8 billion settlement in the House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit has yet to be reviewed by a U.S. District Court, leaving DI schools in a waiting game for how much they’ll need to dish out as part of a collective pool of revenue sharing given to athletes.

Non-Power 4 schools and conferences have made complaints, but only one school, Houston Christian University, has taken a formal step in halting the deal after challenging the settlement on June 20, arguing the school’s financial interests weren’t fairly represented.

According to proposed settlement terms, over the course of 10 years, the NCAA would pay out roughly $ 1.2 billion of back-pay damages of the total $2.75 billion. Power conferences would be responsible for about 25% in withheld future revenues, the Group of 5 for about 9%, FCS schools for about 12%, and non-football DI schools about 12%, based on DI revenue distributions conferences received from 2016 to 2024.

Grambling, falling into the FCS category along with HCU, has not made any formal complaint against the settlement. However, Scott wants GSU to have a louder voice in the conversation.

“I do believe we need a more prominent seat at the table. But our mission is different when you talk about House and other schools,” Scott said. “Cost of attendance is how it all began with NIL and now you have larger institutions with their collectives. You now have the Power 4 schools pulling from the Group of 5 and the Group of 5 is pulling from HBCUs and JUCOs and DII. It’s become a farm system. When you have college athletes making the same amount of money as a second or third round draft pick, something has to change. We need to have regulation of some kind.”

Next steps

House v. NCAA won’t be resolved anytime soon, leaving GSU responsible for itself. So, what’s coming next for the Tigers?

It starts with facility upgrades, including a grand vision of Tiger Park featuring a new tennis facility with eight USTA certified courts, while softball and soccer will receive new locker rooms, player lobbies, restrooms, storage, and facility lighting.

“I’d like to take a huge step forward in facilities and we’ve already had quite a bit of discussion and planning on that end,” Scott said. “The football players’ lounge is coming together, and we still need to button up some things over there. I’m excited for Tiger Park and I think there’s a high level of interest when that begins. We have some plans for the baseball field with additional padding and beautification. We’re working on additional plans for locker rooms for our programs as well.”

When the conversation moved back to GSU’s national standing going forward, Scott expressed optimism in the Tigers’ place in it all, citing the school’s national brand and history of championships.

“We’re Grambling and we have significant history and brand imagery that stands the test of time,” Scott said. “ We have great leadership with president (Martin) Lemelle, great leadership in the athletic department and great head coaches. We have the opportunity to continue to grow. As the NCAA works out what is coming, we anticipate something different in NIL and we need to be ready to adapt. We’re looking forward to the legislation and what it says and how we continue our progress and keep our brand strong.

“We’ve got a lot of history and tradition, and we want to protect tradition. But we’ve got to move into a space where we’re not just thinking traditionally. We have to adapt and adjust to what is coming.”