Sam Puryear wanted to create an HBCU golf power at Howard University, though there had not been a team there in decades before he was hired. His vision was to build a team to dominate the MEAC and compete on the national stage with the country’s top golf programs. With golf no longer being sponsored by the MEAC, the team had to find a conference alliance to continue to build the dormant program.
Under Puryear’s guidance, the team came back with a buzz. Armed with the support of future NBA Hall of Famer Steph Curry, the program has been invested at levels unseen in the HBCU society. Some of the top black golfers in the country descended on Washington, D.C., to be a part of the historic rebuild.
“We achieved every goal I set out to achieve at this point,” Puryear said. “I wanted people to understand that we could be competitive in a world that, you know, we weren’t accustomed to. I had a goal of not only making the NCAAs, but being competitive in the NCAA.”
While the program has been building since returning to NCAA play in the 2020-2021 season, it has been making strides to become not only the best HBCU golf program in the country but also one of the best golf programs in the country as a whole.
Back to Back Champs
It all began to fruition last season as the Bison won their first-ever Northeast Conference title. They would repeat the feat last weekend as they became NEC champions for the second consecutive time. The Bison will head to the Amherst Regional to pursue the NCAA golf championship.
The Bison dramatically won this year’s title. Down seven strokes going into the final round, Howard University put together a round for the ages at the Kingsmill Resort (par-71, 6,831 yards) in Williamsburg, Va. Howard shot 8-over-par (860), finishing with a 289 (+3) on the final day.
The most significant part of coaching HU through their come-from-behind victory down the home stretch of the NEC championship came down to motivation. “ Honestly, I told the guys we just had to go out and be the best version of ourselves. I felt like the young guys played really well on the first day. But yet at the very end of the first day, we lost six shots on the last two holes. We had some self-inflicted wounds. I told the team to stay the course.”
The Bison made the All-Tournament team for their efforts in winning the NEC title. Bear Huff, Marcus Smith, Jr., Cassius Blake, and Mathis Perroni made the squad for their stellar performances in Williamsburg.
