Alumnus Kenneth Free is no stranger to accolades and awards. The former MEAC Commissioner has been inducted into the Dudley High Hall of Fame, the North Carolina A&T Hall of Fame, the CIAA Officials Hall of Fame and has received the Parks and Recreation Fellows Award and the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. In a few days he will be inducted into the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2013.

“It is a wonderful honor being named to the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame,” said Free.

For 18 years he served as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) commissioner. He was the first African American to serve on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball committee and in 1980, under his leadership, the MEAC conference achieved NCAA Division I status.

“I was there on selection Sunday. I served on the committee that created March Madness,” he said.

Before Free changed the course of MEAC sports history, he was a North Carolina A&T student. Free enrolled as a freshman in the fall of 1954 but then left after one year for professional baseball.

He played in the Negro League for the Raleigh Tigers in 1959. The next year, he signed a pro contract with Hickory of the Western Carolina League and in 1961 he was signed to the New York Mets farm team, The Raleigh Caps of the Carolina League.  

After his stint in the minors Free decided to return to North Carolina A&T and get his degree. A few years after graduating, Free started his journey as the MEAC commissioner in 1978.
Securing NCAA Division I status wasn’t an easy feat for Free.

“We went through a period where we had to dismiss some schools,” he said “One of my mandates was to expand the conference, market our product and bring in sponsorship dollars to finance what we were doing.”

During his time as commissioner he had the privilege of watching HBCU sports change and grow.

“One of the best things that I give black colleges credit for is that it was up to us to develop the underachiever and spot that diamond in the rough,” he said. “That’s why we had a lot of kids that came out of HBCU’s and made it.”

Free knows that things are different now and shared that the caliber of players has changed now that bigger schools secure top picks. 

“I think there is work for us to do and we have to take what we have and what we get and put our total effort into it,” he said.

Free was proud to see his alma mater’s performance in the MEAC this year and the history making run in the NCAA championship.

“It was meant for them to win this year. Everything fell into place for North Carolina A&T this year,” he said.  “The challenge for them is to maintain that status”

 Like many N.C. A&T graduates Free hopes that he has been able to serve his Alma Mater in some way. 

“Being an aggie, I want all of my aggies to be very proud of me,” he said. “I was not put here to be selfish but I was put here to help somebody.”

The induction ceremony will be held on Sept. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the Greensboro Coliseum.

By: Courtney J. Jackson