Bowling Green State University Athletics
BG Athletics Celebrates Black History Month: Michael Huger
February 25, 2016 | General, Men's Basketball
Throughout the month of February, BGSUFalcons.com will be highlighting some of those who have impacted the University, the community and the athletics department. From pioneers to more recent members of the department, Matt Markey will be providing the stories of our history. Today's feature story highlights Falcon men's basketball alumnus and current head coach Michael Huger. Fans can review all previous feature stories through our Black History Month landing page by CLICKING HERE.
His first day of classes at BGSU was more than 25 years ago, but Michael Huger vividly recalls that initial walk across campus. For a kid from Harlem, it was like being on a different planet.
"It was culture shock, for sure. I'm coming from Harlem, which at the time is all blacks, so I grew up in a black neighborhood, went to an all black school and everything around me was black," Huger said. "And here I am headed to class and it was all white people. Maybe there's one black guy way over there, and one black girl way over there, but I was in a completely different environment."
Huger said he did not encounter any confrontations or mistreatment – it was just the stunning lack of familiarity that made him uncomfortable, but only initially.
"The shock was being around white people. This was something I had never dealt with before. It was just so different."
In the first week, Huger got on the phone and called his mother, asking her to send him a ticket home. She said no, encouraging her son to stick it out and focus on getting an education, and assuring him that things would work out fine. Huger tried the same ploy with his aunt. When she also refused to let him bail out so quickly, Huger was forced to ease into his new surroundings.
"If they would have sent me a ticket, I would have left, and that would have been it, so I'm glad they didn't," Huger said. "It was just a comfort thing – I was used to a certain way and now I didn't have that. The first few days I was just scared to open up, but it only took about a week for me to make some friends."
When his mother called to check on him a short time later, Huger was able to laugh about his initial trepidation.
"The guys I hung out with here were white guys, and they took me under their wing, showed me around campus, and took me to play basketball," said Huger, who was BG's most valuable player in the 1992-93 season and a two-time all-conference selection. "That was my first introduction to having white friends."
Huger said he saw things change from the decades prior to his arrival at BGSU, and he has observed the same take place in the decades since.
"There was never a situation with race for me at Bowling Green," said Huger, who helped the Falcons to a pair of NIT appearances in his playing days. "The guys before me might have had that . . . but for me, I never encountered any racial situations or behaviors towards me."
The players Huger recruits today will see the Bowling Green campus as a very different place from the one the young player from Harlem found. Huger said the world has changed over time, and the colleges and universities are much more diverse.
"Really, everything has evolved. You have diversity now where blacks and whites are together a lot more, and that's what makes it different. I see it in the dining halls, and elsewhere," Huger said.
When the Bowling Green head coaching job became available, Huger was a member of the very successful staff at Miami (Fla.), but there was no hesitation about seeking a return to the BGSU campus.
"I met my wife here, and this was an opportunity to come back to a place my wife and I love dearly," Huger said. "And things had changed a lot. It's funny how it's all worked out."
His first day of classes at BGSU was more than 25 years ago, but Michael Huger vividly recalls that initial walk across campus. For a kid from Harlem, it was like being on a different planet.
"It was culture shock, for sure. I'm coming from Harlem, which at the time is all blacks, so I grew up in a black neighborhood, went to an all black school and everything around me was black," Huger said. "And here I am headed to class and it was all white people. Maybe there's one black guy way over there, and one black girl way over there, but I was in a completely different environment."
Huger said he did not encounter any confrontations or mistreatment – it was just the stunning lack of familiarity that made him uncomfortable, but only initially.
"The shock was being around white people. This was something I had never dealt with before. It was just so different."
In the first week, Huger got on the phone and called his mother, asking her to send him a ticket home. She said no, encouraging her son to stick it out and focus on getting an education, and assuring him that things would work out fine. Huger tried the same ploy with his aunt. When she also refused to let him bail out so quickly, Huger was forced to ease into his new surroundings.
"If they would have sent me a ticket, I would have left, and that would have been it, so I'm glad they didn't," Huger said. "It was just a comfort thing – I was used to a certain way and now I didn't have that. The first few days I was just scared to open up, but it only took about a week for me to make some friends."
When his mother called to check on him a short time later, Huger was able to laugh about his initial trepidation.
"The guys I hung out with here were white guys, and they took me under their wing, showed me around campus, and took me to play basketball," said Huger, who was BG's most valuable player in the 1992-93 season and a two-time all-conference selection. "That was my first introduction to having white friends."
Huger said he saw things change from the decades prior to his arrival at BGSU, and he has observed the same take place in the decades since.
"There was never a situation with race for me at Bowling Green," said Huger, who helped the Falcons to a pair of NIT appearances in his playing days. "The guys before me might have had that . . . but for me, I never encountered any racial situations or behaviors towards me."
The players Huger recruits today will see the Bowling Green campus as a very different place from the one the young player from Harlem found. Huger said the world has changed over time, and the colleges and universities are much more diverse.
"Really, everything has evolved. You have diversity now where blacks and whites are together a lot more, and that's what makes it different. I see it in the dining halls, and elsewhere," Huger said.
When the Bowling Green head coaching job became available, Huger was a member of the very successful staff at Miami (Fla.), but there was no hesitation about seeking a return to the BGSU campus.
"I met my wife here, and this was an opportunity to come back to a place my wife and I love dearly," Huger said. "And things had changed a lot. It's funny how it's all worked out."
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