**From Hoops to Crowns: Morgan State Alumna Ivy Harrington Named Miss New Jersey USA 2025**
**Basketball standout’s pageant victory underscores multidimensional excellence of HBCU student-athletes**
**Baltimore, MD**
The hardwood at Morgan State’s Talmadge L. Hill Field House has produced its share of champions, but none have quite bridged the worlds of sports and cultural pageantry like Ivy Harrington. The former Bears women’s basketball guard’s recent crowning as Miss New Jersey USA 2025 has become a rallying point for advocates of HBCU excellence, showcasing the institutions’ unique ability to cultivate Renaissance women who dominate both backboards and public platforms.
Harrington’s dual triumph—as a two-time All-MEAC Academic selection and now a state titleholder—offers a timely counter-narrative to reductive portrayals of HBCU athletics. “Morgan taught me that Black excellence isn’t a single lane—it’s an entire highway system,” Harrington told *HBCU Sports Today* through a spokesperson. “When I was diving for loose balls here, I was also learning to articulate my vision for educational equity. That’s the HBCU difference.” Her comment reflects the holistic development prioritized at institutions like Morgan State, where athletic departments often serve as laboratories for leadership beyond sports.
The historic parallel is striking: Harrington follows in the footsteps of 1970s-era HBCU legends like Tennessee State’s Wyomia Tyus, who dominated track while becoming a civil rights icon, and Grambling’s Doug Williams, who balanced NFL preparations with campus activism. Yet her achievement arrives amid unprecedented challenges for HBCU athletics, including widening resource gaps and the existential threat posed by recent court rulings on athlete compensation models. “What Ivy represents is the soul of our mission,” said Morgan State Women’s Basketball Coach Ed Davis Jr. “We’re not just developing players—we’re equipping young women to lead in whatever arena they choose, whether that’s a jump shot or a judges’ panel.”
Analysis of Harrington’s basketball career reveals the foundation for her pageant success. The 5’9″ guard started 43 games from 2020-2023, ranking among MEAC leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8:1 in her senior year) while majoring in strategic communications. Teammates describe her locker-room leadership as “part coach, part big sister”—a skillset transferable to the Miss USA stage. “She’d break down game film like a coordinator, then lead community service projects the next morning,” recalls fellow 2023 graduate Ja’Niah Henson. “That’s the Morgan State way.”
The cultural significance of Harrington’s victory resonates across the HBCU sports landscape. At a time when conferences like the SWAC and MEAC fight for media equity—recent Congressional Black Caucus appeals highlight how NIL and transfer portal policies disproportionately affect HBCUs—her spotlight reinforces the value of Black college athletics as identity-affirming spaces. “This isn’t just about a crown,” said CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams. “It’s proof that our institutions develop the complete person—the kind of leaders America needs more than ever.”
Up next, Harrington prepares for the Miss USA national competition while completing her master’s in sports management. Morgan State Athletics plans to honor her during their November 8 rivalry game against Coppin State, a matchup already circled on HBCU sports calendars for its “Battle of Baltimore” intensity. For recruits weighing HBCU against Power Five opportunities, Harrington’s journey offers compelling evidence: “You can shoot three-pointers and shift cultures simultaneously here. That’s our legacy,” said Morgan State AD Dena Freeman-Patton.
As debates rage about the future of college athletics, Harrington’s story stands as both celebration and challenge. It reminds us that HBCU sports programs remain unparalleled incubators for multidimensional Black excellence—even as they fight for survival in an increasingly corporatized collegiate landscape. When she takes the Miss USA stage, she carries not just a personal dream, but a century-old tradition of HBCU athletes redefining what’s possible.
*—Vernon Freeman, Senior HBCU Sports Analyst*