Howard University swimming & diving and tennis head coach Nic Askew has been named the recipient of the 2023 Drake Hero Award. He was honored at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. earlier this month.
The award is given by the Drake Group Education Fund, Inc. and specifically honors individuals who have “helped advance the collegiate sports reform movement through persistent actions over time.”
The annual or bi-annual award was established in 2015, with the most recent honoree being Olympic swimmer Nancy Hogshead-Makar.
Howard @HUSwimming coach, Nic Askew, received the 2023 Drake Hero Award
His Bison won their first conference championship in 34 years.
The award recognizesd people for their body of work to advance collegiate sports reform. @wusa9 @HUSwimming
More:https://t.co/vkSR9V2VK9 pic.twitter.com/ilKGUxQex0
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) April 19, 2023
Askew serves as the Director of both the Tennis and Swimming & Diving programs at Howard. In his ninth season at the helm of the swimming program, Askew led the Bison men to their first Northeast Conference Championship (NEC) title since 1989. Senior Miles Simon was named the 2023 NEC Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet, while the coaching staff won Swimming Staff of the Year for the second year in a row.
Howard made waves early this past season with its 2022-2023 kick-off, where they hyped up their opening dual meet with Georgetown. The “Battle at The Burr” drew a record number of fans for an HBCU swim meet, and pushed other schools like the University of Texas to promote their dual meets in a similar way. The meet also led to a Sports Illustrated feature on the team, as well an NBC Nightly News feature.
Howard University is the only remaining swim team at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), and is the only collegiate team in the country where all of the athletes are black. Askew is one of only four black coaches in men’s swimming and five in women’s swimming.
“[Askew’s] consistent youth sport program service has been extraordinary and [his] exemplary emphasis on the use of sports to teach athletes the critical life skills of leadership, accountability, discipline, and patience has been nationally recognized,” said the Drake Group. “As important, these efforts have increased the number of Black and other athletes of color entering and participating from the entry to the elite levels of the participation pyramid in sports in which they are significantly underrepresented, thereby challenging stereotypes of the interests and abilities of Black and other athletes of color.”
Read the full statement from the Drake Group here.
