For many, the collection and reverence for bobbleheads falls under that distinct category of “if you know, you know.” And for graduates, attendees and fans of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the release of a new series of school mascot bobbleheads paired with the prestige and cultural cache of attending an HBCU is the ultimate fan flex.
Fans of Virginia State’s Trojans, Howard University’s Bisons and FAMU’s Venom the Rattler, amongst others, will be happy to add Bobblehead versions of their mascots to their dorm decor or football den. The $35-per-item release is the second HBCU series created by The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. The first series was released in February 2023, but this second release is just in time for HBCU Homecoming and also includes female mascots for two schools.
“We were shocked when we found out that no HBCU mascots had bobbleheads when we were doing some research last year,” explains Phil Sklar, the co-founder and CEO of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, located in Milwaukee. “We are licensed to produce collegiate bobbleheads, and just have to request to add new schools, so we made a list of HBCU schools that we thought would be popular and started the process. We received great feedback when we released the initial series in February, and requests to add many more schools, which led to this [second] series.”
“The first series was extremely popular and led to requests for several more schools and mascots,” Sklar added. “We know these bobbleheads, which celebrate the rich history of these amazing institutions, will be very popular with the alumni, students, faculty, staff, fans, and communities.”
What schools are represented?
Series two includes the following: Albany State University Rams, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Wolves, Clark Atlanta University Panthers, Coppin State University Eagles, Elizabeth City State University Vikings, Fayetteville State University Broncos, Florida A&M University Rattlers, Morehouse College Maroon Tigers, North Carolina A&T University Aggies, Prairie View A&M University Panthers, South Carolina State University Bulldogs, Southern University Jaguars, VSU Trojans, and Winston-Salem State University Rams. The bobbleheads for Florida A&M University and North Carolina A&T University in Series 2 feature the school’s female mascots.
The schools included in the first series are as follows: Alabama A&M University Bulldogs, Alabama State University Hornets, Delaware State University Hornets, Florida A&M University Rattlers, Fayetteville State University Broncos, Grambling State University Tigers, Howard University Bison, Jackson State University Tigers, Morgan State University Bears, North Carolina A&T State University Aggies, North Carolina Central University Eagles, Norfolk State University Spartans, and Tuskegee University Golden Tigers.
Each school gets a portion of the proceeds of the sales.
Additionally, Hollywood is packed with HBCU grads but here is a (very) short list. Taraji P. Henson, Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen hail from Howard University, which also was the college home for Chadwick Boseman. Meanwhile, Spike Lee graduated from Morehouse and Wanda Sykes graduated from Hampton University. Director Will Packer studied electrical engineering at FAMU before his film debut. and Grammy winner and gospel music artist Yolanda Adams is a Texan Southern University graduate.
“We have more schools in the works that aren’t quite done yet,” Sklar says. “Those will be included in a third series that we expect to release in the fall.”
Read the full article here