Harold Ellis isn’t interested in playing small ball anymore. The Morehouse College athletic director made that much clear this week when he sat down for an interview on Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab and essentially dared the rest of Division I to step up.
No formal announcement was made. No paperwork filed. But Ellis didn’t leave much room for interpretation about where he sees the Maroon Tigers going.
“I want Ashley Robinson. I want Kery Davis. I want those guys. I want our brand,” Ellis said, name-dropping athletic directors from power HBCU programs. “We’ve never been this high in athletics, and we’re not done. Morehouse is coming.”
This isn’t just talk either. Morehouse is coming off one of its best athletic years in school history. SIAC championships in multiple sports. A schedule that has stretched well beyond the traditional Division II footprint. The brand is growing, and Ellis knows it.
“Next year… move us out of this division,” he said. “Put us with the big dogs because I want them. I know if I get them… I can beat them now. Trust me, I’mma double up the work.”
The idea of Morehouse going Division I isn’t new. Before the 2024 HBCU NY Classic against Howard, former head football coach Terrence Mathis acknowledged the conversations were already happening behind closed doors.
“Yes, there has been talk about moving up, and we’re preparing ourselves for that,” Mathis said at the time. “If that is the future of this program, we’ll be ready when it happens.”
What a Division I move would actually mean
Morehouse is a charter member of the SIAC, joining the conference back in 1913. It’s one of the flagship HBCU programs alongside Tuskegee. Leaving that league for Division I would be the biggest shift in HBCU athletics since Savannah State left the MEAC in 2018. Georgia hasn’t had a Division I HBCU program since then.
A move would also shake up whatever conference the Maroon Tigers end up in. The SWAC and MEAC both make sense geographically and culturally. But there’s also the possibility of a spot in one of the smaller Division I conferences that could use a brand with Morehouse’s name recognition and Atlanta location.
Ellis didn’t get into specifics about timelines or which league he’s targeting. But he made it clear that the conversations happening internally are serious. And after the year Morehouse just had, it’s hard to argue against at least exploring the idea.
The Maroon Tigers have been scheduling bigger opponents and winning more games. The athletic department feels like it’s in a different place than it was five years ago. Ellis wants that momentum turned into something permanent.
Whether the NCAA and a conference are ready for Morehouse at the Division I level is another question. But Ellis sounds like a man who isn’t going to let logistics get in the way of ambition.
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