Houston, TX – Long before Allan Houston had hardcourt battles against contemporaries like Kobe Bryant and former teammate Rip Hamilton, his family established a rich tradition in HBCU football and SEC basketball.
Nowadays, Houston envisions helping young HBCU students by taking a holistic approach to defining their interests, talent, and career aspirations via its FISLL social impact brand initiative and app.
Allan and Wade Houston
Houston’s maternal grandfather William Lee Kean attended Fisk University and later starred on the Howard Bison football team as a Negro All-American quarterback.
Wade Houston, Allan’s father, became the first black head basketball coach at the University of Tennessee. Later, the former Olympian would become the school’s all-time leading scorer and have his number retired and jersey hung in the rafters.
“I’ve been blessed,” Houston noted. “All the things that you learned during that time. My father was my coach. In college, he was the first black head basketball coach in Southeastern Conference history. And my mother’s father was one of the all-time winningest high school coaches before integration So for me, basketball, sports, life and business, and just social impact all run together.”
Today, Houston has pivoted from the days of thrilling Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks fans to having a front-office position with the legendary Knicks franchise.
Equally important has been the former NBA star’s venture into enriching the lives of HBCU students and student-athletes with his collaboration with CLC & Howard Beginning.
Credit: FISLL Brand – NBA Sports Gear
HOWARD/HBCU PROJECT KICKED-OFF ON COLLEGE COLORS DAY
During Friday’s College Colors Day celebration, HBCU Legends spoke to Houston about mentorship, leadership, life coaching, his new partnership with HBCUs, and the new FISLL app.
Houston shared, “I started a social impact brand initiative, and we do leadership and life coaching, but we also have afforded the opportunity to have a fashion sportswear/designer sportswear collection in team licensing. So we have licenses with the NBA, WNBA, and now we’ve been afforded through the CLC, which is college licensing, to partner with HBCUs and other institutions in the education space.”
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His passion for this groundbreaking project is evident. Sports branded apparel manufacturer Fanatics and Lids encouraged Houston’s FISLL app to use college students in the design process. The FISLL (Faith, Integrity, Sacrifice, Leadership, and Legacy) project team selected Howard University and a few New York area students to work on the new sports clothing designs.
“My design and the merchandising team already met with students. They’ll be designing and helping us design products that will go right into the bookstore they’ll be able to wear.”
Credit: FISLL Brand – NBA Sports Gear
HOUSTON HOLISTIC APPROACH FOR STUDENTS
For Houston, one of the most critical aspects of the entire task is to live better, perform better, and lead better.
“If you live a healthy – a well-intentioned life – you’ll be able to have the capacity to lead and make an impact. And paralleling those values with the process of design and development, not just on design, on the basketball court , football field, in life, and in the classroom, we really want to be intentional about digesting values to live an intentional life. But also, how does that live in what you’re actually passionate about? A lot of these students are trying to figure out what they’re going to be what they’re going to do. They need mentorship and they need coaching. So a lot of the alum will be able to align themselves with some of the young students and help during this process. “
Howard University’s history and heritage played an essential role in the success of his family members. From his maternal grandfather, father, and today with Allan, HBCUs will continue to have an impact.
“I’m so excited about the history and the heritage of Howard. We will go into other HBCUs and institutions. It’s about involving the students and letting them participate in the process from beginning to end. Then being able to help coach them along the way. Hopefully, they’ll take that information and these values, pass them on and give them back.”
Houston concluded, “these values are something that have driven me throughout my career…We want to help empower young people from their souls in a holistic self. We do have a live coaching app [FISLL] allowing people to come in and share their stories, a place where they can really be supported and heard. This is where a lot of our collaboration and communication with the students and other students will happen as well.”
THE FISLL PROJECT
Allan Houston’s FISLL app and designs from the students are located online at www.fisll.com.
The Allan Houston Legacy Foundation knows that the fundamental values of Faith, Integrity, Sacrifice, Leadership, and Legacy can provide a foundation that enables young people to reach their full potential.
Through a mentoring initiative, hands-on workshops, and our digital platform, the FISLL Project engages youth in guided dialogue and structured activities designed to build trust, teach valuable life skills, enhance spiritual growth, and defined success.
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