The first coach in men’s or women’s basketball to take three different schools to the Final Four (Cheyney University in 1982, The University of Iowa in 1993 and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in 2000 and again in 2007), she has been a pioneer, visionary and innovator during her three and a half decades on the sideline.

Vivian Stringer joined exclusive company on February 27th 2008, earning her 800th career victory as No. 4/4 Rutgers beat DePaul 60-46 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.

Mike Carey

Mike Carey became the first black referee to referee in Super Bowl history on Feb. 3 2008. The game itself happen to be one of the biggest upsets in NFL history. The undefeated New England Patriots were looking to become the second team in NFL history go undefeated , but the mighty New York Giants ended that chance (score 17 to 14).

Bill Russell

A retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the NBA. A five-time winner of the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and a twelve-time All-Star, the 6 ft 9 in Russell was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won eleven NBA Championships during Russell's thirteen-year career. Along with Henri Richard of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, Russell holds the record for the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. Before his professional career, Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive National Collegiate Athletic Association championships (1955, 1956). He also won a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics as captain of the U.S. national basketball team.
Russell is widely considered one of the best defensive players in NBA history. His shot-blocking and man-to-man defense were major reasons for the Celtics' success, and he inspired other players to elevate their own defensive play. Russell was equally notable for his rebounding abilities. He led the NBA in rebounds four times and tallied 21,620 total rebounds in his career. He is one of just two NBA players (the other being prominent rival Wilt Chamberlain) to have grabbed over fifty rebounds in a single game. Though never the focal point of the Celtics' offense, Russell also scored 14,522 career points and provided effective passing.
Playing in the wake of pioneers like Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper, and Ray Felix, Russell was the first African American player to achieve superstar status in the NBA. He also served a three-year (1966–69) stint as player-coach for the Celtics, thus becoming the first African American coach in any major American professional sports league. However, Russell frequently battled with racism. Many sports fans in Boston shunned the Celtics during Russell's tenure with the team, and Russell received little support from the local press. When he retired, Russell left Boston with a bitter attitude, although in recent years his relationship with the city has improved.
Russell is now a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996. In 2007, he was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame.

Bill Russell was made the first black head coach while still playing the starting center for the Boston Celtics.

Bob Johnson

Robert L. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, became the first African-American to become the principal owner of a major professional sports team. He owns the Charlotte Bobcats in Charlotte,NC.

He said ''As an African-American, I believe people should, first of all, be judged on the content of their character, as Dr. Martin Luther King said, not the color of their skin.'' Mr. Johnson, 56, said during a news conference at the NBA Store in Manhattan. ''I feel what I brought to the table was my ability and my skill as an individual, my track record in business, my ability to identify talented people to help me build organizations like I've done with BET

Greg Gumbel

An American television sportscaster. He is best known for his various assignments on the CBS network (most notably, the National Football League and NCAA basketball). The brother of news personality Bryant Gumbel, he became the first African American announcer to call play-by-play of a major sports championship in the United States when he announced Super Bowl XXXV for the CBS network in 2001.

Jesse Owens

He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the long jump, and as part of the 4x100 meter relay team. To this day he is the only american to achieve this.

Lenny Wilkens

He is not only the first black , he also one of three players to be inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame twice , as a player & coach. He is also the NBA's winningest coach, even though he is retired from coaching.

Oscar Robertson

The Big O” was the first African-American to play college basketball for the Cincinnati Bearcats, setting 14 NCAA records as an All-American for his three seasons.

He went on to play for the Cincinnati Royals and was an All-NBA first-team choice for ten consecutive seasons,

He won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award in 1964.

****He is still the only player black or white to ever average a triple double in the NBA*****

He was selected unanimously to the Hall of Fame in 1979 and as one of the 50 greatest players of all time in honor of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary.

Wayne Embry

A retired American basketball player; a center/forward whose 11 year career spanned from 1959 to 1969. He played for the Cincinnati Royals, Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks all of the NBA.
He attended Miami University and Tecumseh High School (New Carlisle, Ohio) before that.
He played in the NBA All-Star game for five consecutive seasons (1961-1965) and won the NBA Championship with the Celtics in 1968.
After retiring as a player he became the first African American NBA general manager, managing Milwaukee Bucks (1971-1979), Cleveland Cavaliers (1986-1999), and Toronto Raptors (2006). He was selected NBA Executive of the Year in 1992 and 1998. His most remembered moves as a general manager was his controversial 1975 trade of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Los Angeles Lakers, and his disastrous 1989 Cavaliers trade of Ron Harper and two first-round draft picks to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for the rights to Danny Ferry. The latter trade effectively crippled the Cavaliers franchise during the '90s. Abdul-Jabbar went on to win five titles with the Lakers, comparing to his one with the Bucks. The Cavaliers had a winning regular season record during Embry's tenure, but were never able to succeed in the playoffs.

Willie Davenport

He participated in hurdling events in four Olympic Games, winning the title in 1968. In 1980, he also took part in the Olympic Winter Games as a runner for the American bobsleigh team, in doing so he became the first black member of the bobsleigh team.