The defunct Prairie View Interscholastic League (PVIL) originally known as the Texas Interscholastic League of Colored Schools (TILCS) served as the governing body for "Colored" public schools inter school competitions.

The demise of the PVIL began in 1967-68 with the integration of athletics for most black schools.

Those who coached under the PVIL may be surprised to know that records of their achievements and those of outstanding young athletes have been misplaced and possibly lost. I consider this an historical atrocity. This may explain why many sports writers of today seem to ignore accomplishments of African American players and coaches under the PVIL.

At Prairie View in January of 1965, the sub-committee of the League's Legislative Council and PVIL officials met to discuss the pros and cons of all "Negro" schools becoming members of the University Interscholastic League (UIL) or all white schools becoming members of PVIL. PVIL accepted integration in UIL without securing the preservation of the existing 1940-1970 PVIL records. Those historical records should have been preserved and should have become a part of the UIL just as our schools did.

Due to the fact that the scheduling of contests was made two years in advance, Negro schools did not participate in the UIL football until the 1967-68 school year. In the first two years, most Negro schools opted to remain in the PVIL, which would remain in operation as long as membership warranted its existence. Athletics played a major roll in black communities and integration signaled a tremendous loss rather than substantial gain for many. History may prove this correct.

After the 1969-70 school year, the PVIL shut down operation and all former PVIL schools that did not previously consolidate with the UIL schools fell under UIL jurisdiction.

All of our games were played during the day on Saturday. The rationale was that this would reduce racial tension. We survived the scorching sun of September and October also.

Some highly competitive Negro teams that were recognized throughout Texas were Washington and Lincoln of Dallas, Herbert and Charlton Pollard of Beaumont, Dunbar and Terrell of Fort Worth, and Yates and Wheatley of Houston. Wheatly and Yates played each year on Thanksgiving Day. It was a classic that drew a crowd of 30,000 or more.

Traveling throughout the state of Texas researching this information has not been an easy task; nevertheless, it has been an enriching and rewarding experience.

Major newspapers' coverage of sports for black high schools was very limited and information, if any, was usually found at the bottom of the sports page.

Due to limited resources, detailed descriptions of outstanding plays, players, and coaches often were not available, but successes are clearly named.

This book was written to preserve the athletic achievements and contributions that African American players and coaches in Texas made toward the history of sports.