Kevin Granger can’t help but beam while reflecting on his Texas Southern University journey.
A highly successful run as point guard for the Tigers in the 1990s. Stints as an assistant basketball coach under legendary head coach Robert Moreland. TSU athletic administrator. TSU athletic director. And now vice president of intercollegiate athletics.
Along the way, Granger also achieved a bachelor’s degree in business, master’s degree in health education and a Doctorate of Education in Curriculum and Instruction – all from TSU.
Could the kid from the tiny town of Scooba, Miss. ever have imagined most of this?
“No, not when you are going through the moment because you don’t really know the level of success you are having,” Granger said. “You know, obviously, that you are putting in the work, the required work, you are putting in the extra time to obviously be great at your craft. But I was more concerned at the time with just helping Texas Southern be successful and win championships.
“I didn’t think beyond that point of being the best athlete I can be.”
The man, who arrived on campus three decades ago and has become the consummate Tiger, will add one more layer to his Tiger legacy this fall when he joins 23 of his contemporaries for enshrinement into the Texas Southern Sports Hall of Fame. Granger is going in for his accomplishments on the basketball floor, but it’s a fitting honor for a man who has made Texas Southern his life’s work.
“It means a lot,” Granger said recently of his impending induction. “Obviously, over the course of time, over the hard work, preparation, over everything that goes into preparing yourself to play the game at a high level, and obviously if you get an opportunity to go into the Hall of Fame, it means you did accomplish something special.
“To join those other Hall of Fame legends who are already in and those who are going in this upcoming class means a lot to me.”
Granger came to TSU as part of Moreland’s pipeline from Mississippi to Houston. Dr. Lacey Reynolds, who was an assistant coach under Moreland at the time, remembers being given the marching orders to go find a starting point guard who could make a difference.
Reynolds came back with Granger, who was fresh off leading Kemper County High School to a state championship and a 33-3 record.
At the time, Lacey saw “a diamond in the rough” in Granger. But he soon became elite, earning SWAC Freshmen of the Year honors, two-time NCAA scoring champion, two-time Black College All-American and leading the Tigers to back-to-back SWAC regular-season and tournament championships along with consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
Proud only scratches the surface of how Lacey feels about Granger’s accomplishments as a player at TSU, a leader and now Hall of Famer.
“I think it’s a great honor for a young man who played basketball and excelled to the point where he is now the athletics director,” said Reynolds, who is now the interim Health Kinesiology director at TSU. “He is a person who has been consistent through it all. He has had a great impact on the athletic program and now the consummate leader, he is touching a lot of lives. He’s doing it the right way. I can’t be more proud of Kevin … Dr. Granger now.”
As great as his achievements were as a player for Texas Southern, his success has been even greater and far-reaching as the head of the athletic department. TSU has experienced great success on the playing field and Granger has made some great coaching hires since assuming control from Dr. Charles McClelland.
Furthering that point, Grander seems most proud of the success of the student-athletes in the classroom.
The athletic department recently achieved the highest GSR (graduation success) rating in school history and won the SWAC’s Academic Success Award for the second time in three years.
“In this role now, I always tell the student-athletes that I’ve been where you are at, so I’m going to make sure that I can do everything in my power to make sure you all are successful,” said Granger, who is also apart of the Health Kinesiology Department faculty and teaches a sports management course. “We are instilling in our student-athletes that you have to get your degree. That’s not an option. You can’t go to college and not get your degree because that’s what is going to prepare you to be a solid citizen when you leave here.”
TSU Road to the Sports Hall of Fame
This past spring, TSU announced it has reinstated its Texas Southern University Sports Hall of Fame for the first time since 1996. The school selected 24 former student athletes, coaches and contributors for induction to the 2024 Class. The Defender will feature one of the inductees each month as we move toward the Homecoming induction week in October.
Here is the list of inductees:
| Dave Bethany Donovan Carl Campbell Sonja Dixon Clyde E. Duncan, Sr. Willie Ellison Dr. Dwalah Fisher Charlie Frazier Thomasina Garza Dr. Kevin Granger, Sr. John Harvey Karen Hawkins Ernie Holmes | Mike Holmes Dr. Jesse Hurst Chantel Jefferson Shonda Johnson Homer Jones Robert Moreland Dr. Roderick “Rod” Paige Donald Narcisse Darlene Hale-Stowers Michael Strahan Nerissa Redo James West |
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This is on top of his main job, which is to keep the Tigers winning in all sports, lead the department and raise funding. It’s like he is still playing for TSU all these years later.
“No question. I play for TSU every day,” he said. “My role is to always promote and uplift Texas Southern University in a positive way. I’m always trying to get new resources that we can bring back, updating our facilities and things of that nature.
“So everything I do, I’m still playing the game for Texas Southern University.”
