Tolly Carr Talks 2nd Season of HBCU GO's Callin' Plays, 2026 Black College Football

HOUSTON - (Interview conducted on Aug. 14) Tolly Carr came up in an era when telling an HBCU story meant hauling a shoulder-mounted VHS camcorder across campus and hoping somebody with a bigger budget eventually showed up.

He stopped waiting a long time ago.

Now, Carr wants the generation behind him to understand something: They do not have to wait at all.

Carr, a partner at HBCU GameDay and host of HBCU GO's "Calling Plays," joined the HBCU Legends Podcast to discuss the show's second season, the network's fifth year and a 2026 HBCU football season he refuses to predict.

Running through nearly every part of the conversation was one theme: access. Who has the tools to tell HBCU stories, who controls those stories and who should stop standing in the way.

"The price of admission is so much smaller than it once was," Carr said of digital storytelling.

Two decades ago, he said, producing a broadcast could require six figures in equipment before anyone shot a frame. Today, students carry powerful cameras in their pockets.

Carr is not sentimental about the equipment.

"A compelling story done with lesser equipment is still the more compelling story," he said.

His argument is that today's students already possess skills previous generations had to learn. They have documented their lives through smartphones and social media since childhood. Carr believes that fluency should be treated as an asset rather than a threat.

"If it's not your thing, like, don't stand in the way. Don't be the gatekeeper," Carr said. "Let these kids -- let them cook."

More importantly, the technology has removed an old dependency for HBCUs.

"You don't have to sit around and wait and hope that one of the big 3 stations is going to show up or the local newspaper is going to show up," Carr said. "These are the stories of our kids, our schools, our institution, our culture."

HBCU GO Dedicates Season to Charlie Neal

HBCU GO is dedicating its season to Charlie Neal, the legendary broadcaster whose calls of Black college football and basketball on BET made him the voice of HBCU sports for a generation.

Neal died during the offseason.

"Charlie is a voice that cannot be replaced," Carr said. "We hope to continue the path that he trailblazed for us."

Carr knew Neal's voice before he knew much about HBCUs. Eventually sharing the HBCU GO platform with him carried special meaning.

The current "Calling Plays" cast represents that generational handoff.

Carr described himself as the veteran presence alongside Nia Simone, a rising broadcaster and advocate for women's basketball, and James Hadnot, whose calls Carr believes will become part of the historical soundtrack of this era of HBCU sports.

"When you look back at this era of HBCU football and basketball, it's going to be narrated to your children," Carr said. "A lot of those clips are going to have James Hadnot's voice on it."

Covering the HBCU Experience, Not Just the Score

"Calling Plays" plans to extend its coverage beyond what happens between the lines.

For Carr, that is essential because HBCU football is bigger than the scoreboard.

"They are fully invested," Carr said of HBCU fans.

That investment means telling stories about the students, marching bands, Divine Nine organizations, tailgates and traditions surrounding the game.

"It's like a game within a game within a game, an event within the game, and there's so many different moving parts," Carr said. "I wish they could smell the ribs and the burgers through the TV."

Carr credited HBCU GO head Curtis Simons with setting the tone as the network enters its fifth year.

"The only thing I ever ask of people is that they be consistent," Carr said. "Curtis is consistently full of energy, full of ideas, and just really has an infectious spirit when it comes to HBCUs."

Carr considers the work a mission, but he does not romanticize the economics surrounding it.

"The money's not always there. The big budgets are not always there," he said. "But if you stick to it long enough, man, you will find your place."

A 2026 HBCU Football Season Carr Won't Predict

Ask Carr to pick the 2026 HBCU football champion and he will not take the bait.

He considers this one of the most unpredictable seasons in recent memory, beginning with the SWAC.

Prairie View A&M finally broke through last season after repeated near-misses in the SWAC championship game. Now comes another question.

"Is this a consistent winner? Can they repeat, or was that just like a quick blip on the radar?" Carr said.

He sees the Panthers' running back room as a stabilizing force while Prairie View A&M works through its quarterback competition.

The SWAC East offers another layer of intrigue.

Carr noted the difference between the coaches' preseason poll, which placed Alabama State first and Jackson State second, and the new Black College Football Poll, which reversed the order.

The quarterback matchup interests him more than the rankings.

"If they both stay healthy, I am so excited," Carr said of the Jackson State and Alabama State starters.

The Hornets' quarterback already has an established body of work at two programs, while Jackson State's starter arrived as a true freshman.

"Is his ceiling higher? Is it the same? Is it just a step under?" Carr said. "Those are some of the things that are going to play out this year."

DeSean Jackson, Michael Vick and the MEAC

Carr believes DeSean Jackson exceeded expectations at Delaware State after entering last season with much of the national attention focused on Michael Vick at Norfolk State.

"He could have very easily been Delaware State in the Celebration Bowl," Carr said.

Vick, however, faces a different standard entering his second season.

"You cannot go through the year with only beating a team from the CIAA," Carr said. "I know that was a disappointment for Michael Vick. It'll be interesting to see how he responds."

Carr also pushed back against the idea that former NFL players generally struggle when they move into HBCU head coaching positions.

"Former NFL players who've become coaches at the HBCU level, for the most part, they haven't done that bad," he said.

He also warned against overlooking North Carolina Central coach Trei Oliver.

"If there's any disrespect in the room, Trey is going to sniff it out," Carr said.

At Florida A&M, Carr said Quinn Gray's status as an alumnus matters less than what he does with it.

"He's not there for a nostalgia trip," Carr said.

FAMU's expectations, he added, can be unforgiving.

"If you are not from FAMU, if you don't have a connection there, or if you don't figure it out very quickly, they can chew you up and spit you out."

The Rattlers are ineligible for the postseason, but Carr does not expect that to make them any quieter.

"If FAMU wins and has a great year, they're going to let you know that everything still runs through Tallahassee," he said.

Don't Expect a Division II HBCU Exodus

Could a CIAA or SIAC program make the jump to Division I in the next few years?

Carr would not bet on it.

He pointed to the financial requirements across an entire athletic department, particularly non-revenue sports, and said he does not see much appetite among Division II HBCUs for making the move.

Winston-Salem State's aborted transition to the MEAC remains a cautionary example. New leadership reversed course after examining the financial realities.

"I would not put my money on that," Carr said.

One conference move did surprise him: Mississippi Valley State joining the MEAC for women's flag football.

"I had to read that very closely," Carr said.

Overall, Carr sees a relatively stable HBCU conference landscape. He pointed to contract extensions for commissioners and increased cooperation among leaders from the four HBCU conferences on Capitol Hill and in other policy matters.

HBCU Media and the 'Rising Tide'

The economics of digital publishing remain difficult.

Carr acknowledged declining reading habits and softer advertising revenue affecting publishers far larger than HBCU GameDay.

For Black college media, however, he sees struggle as familiar territory.

"It's always been an against-the-odds type of work," Carr said. "I think sometimes we have to remember that not all the rules apply. It is a unique space."

His answer is collaboration rather than territorialism.

Carr works with three outlets that, on paper, could compete for many of the same viewers.

He does not see it that way.

"I don't look at Kyle as competition," Carr said. "We're all uplifting and spreading information and news and entertainment about HBCUs. I can't keep that mental scoreboard."

Carr Weighs In on Texas Southern

The conversation eventually turned to Texas Southern and its searches for an athletic director and men's basketball coach.

The interview was recorded Aug. 14 as Texas Southern's Board of Regents and President James W. Crawford III were considering candidates for both positions.

Carr had seen a Texas Southern search change direction before.

During the Tigers' previous football coaching search, Fred McNair appeared positioned for the job before Texas Southern ultimately hired Cris Dishman.

Carr did not mince words.

"If Texas Southern offers you a job and you're the first man in line, watch out," Carr said. "They have had a very recent history of saying, hey, it is your job, and then the carpet gets pulled from directly underneath you."

Carr said he hated the outcome for McNair personally and expressed similar concerns about how the basketball search might unfold.

He also saw the potential fit between Texas Southern and Jackson State athletic director Ashley Robinson, whose tenure in Jackson included the hiring of Deion Sanders.

"Texas Southern basketball was fine. That didn't need fixing," Carr said. "If I was Texas Southern and I was like, hey, we want to shore things up, we want to lean into being in Houston -- I don't know that you could do much better than Ashley Robinson."

During the recording, HBCU Legends confirmed that the Board of Regents had scheduled a special meeting for Aug. 19. The posted agenda called for the board to consider candidates for vice president and athletic director and head men's basketball coach, with authorization to negotiate and execute five-year contracts.

Carr viewed the proposed contract lengths as significant.

"If you're upping the years, upping the ante on the contracts, then you're setting your sights on some prime targets," Carr said. "You're not just gonna say 5 years and then go and try to find somebody on the low-low."

What's Ahead on HBCU GO

HBCU GO opens its football schedule with North Carolina Central at Texas Southern, part of a slate featuring later kickoffs designed around the August and September heat.

Carr will call Edward Waters at Jackson State, a matchup he sees as another measuring stick between the SIAC and SWAC.

"Edward Waters kind of sees where that bar is for the SIAC to compete with some SWAC teams," Carr said.

The Tigers enter the season after being pushed by Tuskegee last year, while Edward Waters was picked to win the SIAC and features the conference's preseason offensive and defensive players of the year.

"I'm old enough to remember days where SIAC teams used to go in and beat SWAC teams," Carr said. "It's not that long ago."

Another date Carr wants HBCU fans to circle is Sept. 19, when Tennessee State meets Florida A&M on HBCU GO.

It brings together two prominent HBCU football brands, two renowned marching band traditions and two fan bases known for traveling.

For all the discussion about technology, distribution, football and the future of HBCU media, Carr closed with a decidedly old-school measurement of success.

An audience still has to show up.

"We need you guys to support and check out our coverage all year long," Carr said. "We're really looking forward to seeing you there."

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