The XFL Championship Game is set, and HBCU legend and former coach Reggie Barlow has his D.C. Defenders in it.
The Washington Defenders beat the Seattle Sea Horses 37-21 at Audi Field to take the XFL North Division Championship. The defenders will take on the Arlington Renegades on May 13th at the Alamodome.
The Defenders are currently 9-1 in the first season of the revived league. The team features HBCU alumni like Alcorn State’s Chris Blair as well as former Grambling State/Tennessee State quarterback Geremy Hickbottom.The previous Defenders team was coached by Pep Hamilton, another former HBCU player.
Barlow coached five seasons at Virginia State, leading it to the 2017 CIAA title, before leaving for the XFL this spring. His record at VSU was 34-16 including a 5-5 season in 2021.
Reggie Barlow previously coached at his alma mater, Alabama State, from 2007 through 2014 going 49-42. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1996 and went on to play eight seasons in the NFL as a wide receiver while returning kicks. After five seasons in Jacksonville, he spent two years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and one with the Oakland Raiders.
“I am who I am because of HBCU, because of Alabama State giving me an opportunity to come there to play college football,” Reggie Barlow explained on ESPN’s First Take. “Also giving me the opportunity to come back and be the head coach. I learned so much from Alabama State, that experience, and then I was able to go on to Virginia State, which is a fine university that gave me an opportunity to continue to be a better coach, to continue to learn my craft.”