Del. Jay Walker Introduces Legislation to Benefit Morgan State, FCS Football in Maryland

Bet you didn’t know that former Howard University quarterback Jay Walker was a Maryland state delegate. And if you did, I bet you didn’t know that Walker has introduced legislation that would require the University of Maryland football team to schedule Morgan State University or nearby Towson University every four years.

“The football commentator in me understands football,” Walker said. “The legislator in me sees a way to help fund the football programs at our FCS schools properly. We’ve got one flagship program, Maryland, and two FCS teams, Towson and Morgan State. When you see Maryland play James Madison, you say: ‘Wait – we have Towson and Morgan State. They could do so much for their programs with the proceeds from that game.’

“And Morgan and Towson should have the ability to play Maryland more than once in a lifetime. We want to see it happen on a more frequent basis.”

Morgan State University is scheduled to play the University of Mayland in football this Fall, but Walker’s legislation is timely and necessary to keep media coverage and resources in state for FCS programs to build their competitive profile. Walker, who also serves as a football color analyst for ESPNU, has created a governmental leaning to a problem that many HBCUs, and mid-major programs at large face; negligence from the flagship football institutions in-state.

Should this legislation move forward to the Maryland House and Senate, it’s a 50/50 proposition that it would pass. But the groundwork for a discussion on HBCUs and mid-major programs strengthening their regional appeal has been laid, and it has been a long time coming.

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