photo courtesy of Twitter
Howard University’s (HU) current swimming and diving coach Nicholas Askew was recently inducted into the HU Athletics Hall of Fame for his excellent work over the team. In an interview announcement with the university, he spoke about his intentions of drawing attention and praise to the students on his team and how proud he was to be able to work with them.
Askew said, “I am humbled to be recognized for this prestigious honor of being inducted into the Howard Athletics Hall of Fame. The timing is great since it will lead into the big event the next day.” He explained how happy he was to draw attention to the team just before an upcoming season opener. “Raising funds to cover expenses, expanding the program and getting the word out there is huge,” He finished.
His acclaimed accomplishments are both as an athlete of his own and in his team’s record. In college, he held records of his own in swimming and diving.
“Askew’s achievements mounted: he broke several swimming records, served as team captain and became a six-time conference champion. He also acquired the “Most Valuable Player” award four times – three times for swimming and once for tennis. He was the only student-athlete to have earned an MVP award in two sports in the same year,” His Coach’s page reads.
Askew has coached the team for nine seasons so far, and in one of his highlighted seasons, both the women’s and men’s teams were undefeated at home meets. The season after, the teams managed to make it to Mid-Season Championships, continuing to exceed expectations in later years. His teams have also been awarded by the
College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America as Scholar All-American Teams in multiple seasons.The Swimming and Diving squad at Howard University has historical significance and importance as the only HBCU with a team.