Breaking Ground – A Story of HBCU Football and the NFL’ Premieres Friday, February 9 at 8 PM ET on NFL Network

In celebration of Black History Month, NFL Network takes an in-depth look at the legacy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) within the NFL in Breaking Ground: A Story of HBCU Football and the NFLFriday, February 9 at 8:00 PM ET.

In the one-hour documentary, NFL legends and groundbreakers including Jerry Rice, Doug Williams, Mel Blount and Marquette King pay homage to their place in this distinguished fraternity with first-person stories of the HBCU experience. Each player discusses the impact HBCUs had in not only shaping their football careers, but laying the crucial foundation for what the National Football League has become.

“HBCUs and their alumni have such a significant place within the history of the NFL,” said Brian Lockhart, NFL Media Vice President and Senior Coordinating Producer of Original Content. “This was not only an important story to share with viewers, but vital that it be told firsthand through the voices of the men responsible for paving the legacy of HBCUs in the NFL.”

Through first-person interviews and profiles of four of the NFL’s notable HBCU alums, Breaking Ground centers around Mel Blount’s trip back to Southern University where he reflects back on his time there alongside his son Akil, and former teammates. The special also interweaves the personal stories and reflections of Rice, Williams and King who each look back on how attending an HBCU shaped their NFL journey.

Breaking Ground is narrated by HBCU alum (Howard University, ’00) and actor Chadwick Boseman, who is starring in the upcoming Marvel Studios’ blockbuster Black Panther, and previously received critical acclaim for his portrayals of Jackie Robinson in 42 (2013), James Brown in Get on Up (2014) and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall (2017).