NAACP launches boycott of Southern public universities

NAACP launches – The NAACP has launched the “Out of Bounds” campaign, urging Black student-athletes, alumni and fans to withhold athletic and financial support from public universities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

On Tuesday. the NAACP launched “Out of Bounds. ” a nationwide call that lands far beyond college sports recruiting desks and ticket counters. The message is blunt: Black student-athletes. alumni and fans should withhold both athletic and financial support from Southern public universities in eight states.

The campaign focuses on flagship universities in Alabama. Florida. Georgia. Louisiana. Mississippi. South Carolina. Tennessee. and Texas—states the NAACP says have moved to limit. weaken. or erase Black voting representation after a Supreme Court decision that weakened the Voting Rights Act. The NAACP’s announcement does not spell out the specific mechanisms used by each state to roll back voting rights. but the push is built around a clear economic argument: schools on its list generate more than $1.5 billion annually while recruiting Black athletic talent in places where Black political power is being dismantled.

“Out of Bounds” was created after the Supreme Court ruling Louisiana v. Callais, which dismantled protections against racial discrimination in redistricting under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In that decision, the court struck down Louisiana’s majority Black congressional map, ruling it established an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement that the policy shift is not a difference of opinion. “What these states have done is not a policy disagreement,” he said. “It is a sprint to erase Black political power.”

Johnson added that the NAACP will not “watch institutions that depend on Black athletes remain silent while states deprive Black communities of their voice.” The emphasis is on timing and leverage: if athletes and the money they bring flow into institutions housed in states pursuing voting restrictions. the NAACP argues. the political rollback faces less pressure.

The NAACP’s primary ask for Black student-athletes is for those actively being recruited by the targeted athletic programs to withhold their commitments until the states restore fair congressional maps. For current college athletes, the group is also urging consideration of transferring to a historically Black college or university (HBCU). Fans. meanwhile. are being asked to stop purchasing game tickets and apparel connected to those universities and to redirect their spending to an HBCU program.

The campaign’s economics are intertwined with its politics. The NAACP’s list of 13 schools generates more than $1.5 billion annually, the group said, and it also frames that revenue as recruitment fuel—bringing Black athletic talent into states where it believes voting power is under attack.

That message has also found support in Washington. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) joined the NAACP’s call, saying Southern public universities that remain silent should face economic consequences.

The CBC’s endorsement arrived one day after it unanimously opposed the SCORE Act, a bill that sought to provide a legal framework for compensation of student-athletes for usage of their name, image, and likeness. The bill faces an uncertain future after a vote on it was postponed on Tuesday.

In a statement, the CBC said, “The Congressional Black Caucus cannot support legislation benefiting major athletic institutions that continue to remain silent while Black voting rights and Black political power are being systemically dismantled across the South.”

During a press briefing in Washington on Tuesday. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries took aim at the Southeastern Conference. the NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference that consists of 16 member universities. Standing in solidarity with the NAACP’s call. Jeffries argued that the SEC includes institutions tied to states he described as having unleashed Jim Crow-like. racially oppressive tactics.

“We are here standing in solidarity with the NAACP and its call for athletes to boycott institutions within the SEC that belong to states that have unleashed these Jim Crow-like. racially oppressive tactics. which is unacceptable. unconscionable. and un-American. ” Jeffries said during the press briefing. as reported by The Guardian.

Behind the political push is the scale of Black participation in college sports. A report from the NCAA says Black students account for 16% of all student-athletes. with a total of 89. 090 Black student-athletes competing across three NCAA divisions during the 2024-25 academic year. That figure is the highest on record, a 3.1% increase from the previous year.

Over the past decade, the number of Black student-athletes participating overall in college sports increased by 17%. The NCAA report also says Black athletes are strongly represented in basketball, with increasing participation in volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, and baseball.

The NAACP’s “Out of Bounds” campaign turns that prominence into a bargaining position. It asks athletes and fans to treat recruiting. media exposure. and consumer spending as political tools—specifically during a moment when the group argues Black political representation has been weakened by the Supreme Court’s interpretation of protections tied to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

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