Howard University's men's golf team etched itself in school history after winning its first Northeastern Conference Golf Championship over the weekend. The Bison hardly left anything to chance with an impressive team performance, finishing five under par as a group. Long Island and Sacred Heart tied for second place with seven over par. North Carolina Central finished fourth, while Maryland Eastern-Shore placed 10th out of the 11 participating universities.

Four upperclassmen and a freshman powered the Bison to their first NEC Golf Championship. Graduate student Gregory Odom Jr. led Howard and finished third overall in the player leaderboard. He hit three birdies and an eagle on Day Three. Right behind him, freshman Bear Huff placed fifth on the leaderboard to kick off an impressive start to his career.

Senior Marcus Smith Jr. and graduate student Everett Whiten Jr. placed seventh and tenth on the leaderboard, respectively. Howard needed the team effort to combat Sacred Heart's Marcus Lim who won two straight NEC Player of the Year awards and had the best overall individual score.

Howard University made up for their shortcomings in last season's NEC Golf Championship tournament. They finished second in only their first year of competition in the NEC. The Bison joined the conference as an associate member for the 2022-23 season. In two years of participation, they placed second and first overall in the conference tournament. Howard University's athletic director Kery Davis gave prescient comments when the university first joined the NEC.

“This is a great opportunity for our men's golf program,” Davis said in July 2022. “Our student-athletes will have an opportunity to compete in a competitive conference while reducing their time away from the classroom. Thank you, Commissioner Noreen Morris and NEC Council of Presidents, we look forward to competing next year.”

While the Bison will enjoy their new title, they have an old one to defend next week. On May 6, they will begin the PGA Works Collegiate Championships tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The Bison won the tournament last season without much difficulty. While in Florida, they will learn the start location of the NCAA Regionals Round, which tees off on May 12.

Last year, Stephen Curry and his media company Unanimous Media partnered with Andscape's Why Not Us series to follow both Howard golf teams for the season. Curry has previously appeared at Howard University to support its golf programs. The sport remained dormant at Howard for almost 50 years until Curry helped resurrect it in 2021.

Over the past three years, Howard's men's golf team won the PGA Works Collegiate Championship, while the women's team had three players listed on the 2023 Women's Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar Team, according to Asia Alexander of The Hilltop. Curry's influence helped draw in players, including Kendall Jackson, a sports management major from Houston, Texas.

“I chose to play golf at Howard because I knew I had an opportunity to make history,” she said. “My first year was the inaugural season of the women's team. Also growing up in predominantly white spaces, the opportunity to attend the most prestigious HBCU and be surrounded by so many driven, passionate, and elite people of color, on top of having a chance to meet NBA superstar, Stephen Curry, the opportunity was too good to pass up.”

Why Not Us: Howard Golf is available to watch on ESPN+.