1966
Recruitment
Fourteen, against the grain
Coach Lloyd Eaton recruits fourteen Black players to the University of Wyoming — when even Alabama would not. One of the most integrated rosters in the country takes shape.
Fifty Years
From a single morning to a movement.
Move through five decades — click a moment, drag the rail, or use your arrow keys.
1968
A nation on fire
The world changes around them
King and Kennedy are assassinated. John Carlos and Tommie Smith raise their fists in Mexico City. At BYU, the players endure slurs — and watch the sprinklers turn on as they leave the field.
1969
The armbands
A silent stand, planned
With BYU coming to Laramie, the players plan to wear black armbands protesting the LDS Church’s priesthood policy. Careful not to risk the season, they go together to ask their coach first.
Oct 17, 1969
Dismissed
Gone in a single morning
Eaton meets them with a tirade and dismisses all fourteen on the spot. Fourteen scholarships vanish. The men are removed from the University.
1969–70
The state divides
Protests, threats, the Klan
Wyoming splits in two. Protests for the players and for the coach. Death threats. Guns brought onto campus. Run-ins with the Klan.
1972
The courts
The lawsuit is dismissed
The players sue. After three years, the courts dismiss the case — the same systemic racism they had faced their whole lives, in legal form.
1970s–2000s
The wilderness
Fourteen diverging lives
Tony McGee and Joe Williams win Super Bowls. Others carry stigma, anger, and loss for decades. Jim Isaac is murdered. The cost is paid quietly, over lifetimes.
2010s
An unlikely turn
The healing begins
Mel Hamilton’s own son chooses to join the LDS Church — the unlikely catalyst that opens the door to reconciliation between the Black 14 and the Church.
2019
The philanthropy
Turning the wound into food
The Black 14 Philanthropy is founded. In partnership with the very Church at the center of 1969, it begins delivering food — more than a million pounds, and counting.
2023–24
Recognition
Fifty years late
In 2023 the NCAA presents the Black 14 with its Inspiration Award. In 2024 the College Football Hall of Fame honors the group.
