Concordia holds parade, ceremony for national championship teams

Published 10:26 pm Friday, March 17, 2017

Concordia College Alabama made school history two weeks ago during the United States College Athletic Association national championships. The Hornets’ men and women’s basketball teams each won USCAA titles, completing a rare sweep rarely seen at any level of college athletics.

On Friday, the city of Selma and the rest of the college got to show their congratulations. The school held a parade in honor of what the teams accomplished and then held a ceremony on the school’s west campus.

“It makes it feel a lot more real.  We get to have fun with the people that supported us, and we just won a national championship. We just want to celebrate,” said Concordia men’s basketball player DeAngelo Anthony.

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Selma mayor Darrio Melton, several members of the Selma City Council and acting Concordia president Dexter Jackson all spoke at the ceremony.

“I had a couple of students ask me earlier this week if we had support outside of the school and looking at the parade today, yes we have support outside of the school,” said Concordia senior Shuntavia Harris. “It was a good feeling. It was fun.”

A parade down Broad Street started the celebration. The Concordia men all rode in one vehicle, highlighted by coach Fredrick Summers holding up the team’s championship trophy.

“It was a long time coming and the whole city came out and got involved in what we were trying to do to celebrate these young men for the hard work that they put in all year,” Summers said.

The Concordia women held their USCAA championship banner as they walked down Broad Street. The teams were all smiles as they celebrated an incredible accomplishment.

“I’m so happy for the student athletes. As coaches, we are going to go on and maybe coach in different spots, but the kids will remember this for the rest of their lives,” said Concordia women’s basketball coach Howard White.

After the ceremony, hot dogs and other food were served for the community.

The Concordia men defeated Illinois Tech 61-51 to win the school’s first men’s basketball championship and the Concordia women won 70-59 over Berea College.

“When we went up to Pennsylvania, we didn’t just show up, we showed out,” Melton said. “We don’t just up to just compete. When we show up, we win… You are an example of what takes place in this city. We are not just a city that exists, but we are a city of champions. We’ve done this before and guess what, we are going to do it again.”