Being a sports information director is often a thankless job, but Saturday evening Kyle Serba got some much-deserved flowers from a few of the thousands of student-athletes he’s supported at NC Central.
Former North Carolina Central football players Malcolm Bell, Clevonne “Bear” Davis and Carl Jones Jr. teamed up to establish the Kyle Serba Endowed Scholarship. Bell, Davis and Jones presented a $25,000 scholarship on the field during Saturday’s home opener against Winston-Salem State in front of nearly 11,000 spectators and a surprised Serba.
The fund will allow a NCCU student or students majoring in mass communications with a 2.5 GPA or higher and a demonstrated financial need to intern with Serba for a minimum of 10 hours a week to assist and learn from Serba in the strategic communications office. Funds can be used for room and board, tuition, books and related expenses.
“If you know Kyle then you know there aren’t many people more deserving of being honored in this way. For 27 years, Kyle has been able to provide top notch coverage of our athletic department – doing a job that (other schools) would have multiple assistants and interns helping to fulfill day-to-day tasks,” Bell, a three-time All-MEAC quarterback standout for NCCU from 2012-16 wrote in a Facebook post. “I was always taught to find creative ways to show appreciation and I’m so glad were able to put our heads together and make this happen. Congrats, Kyle – thanks so much for making my experience a great one.”
Serba has been at NCCU for more than 27 years now. His current title is Executive Senior Associate A.D. for Strategic Communications. He has won the CIAA’s Sports Information Director of the Year honor four times between 1994 and 2006. He’s been inducted into NCCU’s Alex M. Rivera Hall of Fame and is a member of the CoSIDA Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Serba was also the first sports information director to credential HBCU Gameday back in 2012.
“I’m deeply humbled, truly blessed, and sincerely grateful for the kindness, thoughtfulness, and generosity shown to me by three NC Central University football alumni — Malcolm Bell, Carl Jones and Clevonne “Bear” Davis,” Serba wrote on Facebook. “I was overwhelmed with appreciation and flooded with emotion. Such an incredible gesture made by three outstanding young men, whom I have admired and respected since our days together at NCCU, and who I now consider dear friends.”
“Saturday was a night I will never forget, and the endowed scholarship is a gift I will cherish forever.”