Howard University celebrated the men’s soccer team’s historic accomplishment on November 3 in an invite-only banquet at the Blackburn Center.
The Howard University Athletics Department, with leadership from Chevonne Mansfield, Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director/SWA and event host April D. Taylor, CEO of The SVE Firm, held a special evening paying tribute to both the 1971 and 1974 Howard University men’s soccer teams. The 1974 soccer team will also be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame.
Former head soccer coach, the legendary Lincoln Phillips, and teammates of the 1974 NCAA Champion team attended and spoke at the event. Former Premier League goalkeeper and Howard University aum Shaka Hislop delivered keynote remarks. The proud Trinbagonian Hislop played on Howard’s soccer team from 1987 to 1991. Today, Hislop is a soccer analyst at ESPN which he began after a successful playing career.
“The man, the myth, the legend: Coach Lincoln Phillips,” Howard Athletics tweeted on X. “Without his leadership, the 1974 team wouldn’t be celebrating this monumental accomplishment. Thank you, Coach! #BleedBlue.”
Fifty years ago, the 1974 team had an undefeated season, winning back-to-back games and the NCAA championship. Under Phillips’ leadership, the team swept through the competition, outsourcing opponents 63-6 before handling George Washington, Clemson and Philadelphia universities in the NCAA Tournament.
The 1971 team was originally the first team from a Historically Black College and University to win the championship until the NCAA revoked that title due to player eligibility violations. Despite this and sanctions imposed on the team, Coach Phillips kept going. In 1974, the Howard University soccer team won all matches again with a perfect record of 19-0, an accomplishment no other college team has ever matched.
“To win a championship was one thing, but to do it without losing a game is something pretty amazing,” said Phillips. “It’s an accomplishment that has never been equaled and, for that, I am both humbled and immensely proud.”
On December 7, 1974, Howard claimed victory against St. Louis University, 2-1, earning back its’ championship title. It was a rematch of the 1971 championship where Howard defeated St. Louis, 3-2, before having it stripped away.
Phillips previously credited the 1970s Bisons for raising awareness in sports through the capital. For instance, he set up clinics for athletes to meet young people to get them more active in soccer. He also continued former coach Ted Chamber’s legacy in playing club matches against embassy teams in Washington. In 1967, he led the Trinidad & Tobago team to a Pan American Games bronze medal.
“It means a lot because we influenced the game of soccer,” Phillips said. “We did not get all the accolades… So, we won, but we developed the game in the DMV and all over the country. More and more Americans who have played the game will tell you that Howard University influenced them.”
Phillips called the 1974 team a “redemption tour” against adversity and legal battles against the NCAA. He talked about how the team gave him opportunities to make history and leave a legacy for themselves, Howard University and the D.C. community.
“Don’t only think of yourself as the best soccer team in the history of the United States,” Phillips said at the banquet. “but think of yourself as passing the baton and leaving the football environment a better place for the people you serve.”
The event was emceed by Howard alumnus Rock Newman, one of boxing’s biggest promoters. Other speakers included: producer Mark Wright; Ian Bain, one of the Trinidadians who led the team; Nicole Hercules, CEO at Rochester City Soccer League; Mike Curry, former Chair of the Philadelphia Union Foundation; Oguchi Onyewu, Vice President Of Sporting at U.S. Soccer Federation and Kery Davis, Howard University Director of Intercollegiate athletics.
ESPN released a documentary in 2016 titled “Redemption Song.” It follows the rise, fall and rise again of the Bison soccer team and Phillips in 1971 and 1974. Howard University’s storied soccer program gained renewed prominence since the film’s release, and it’s available to watch on YouTube. The film was directed by Kenan K. Holley and produced by Howard alum Mark W. Wright.
*Photos courtesy of Kelsey Nicole Nelson, who was an invited special guest at the event.
