Dec. 2, 1967 — history was made as Perry Wallace stepped on the court to play against Southern Methodist University for Vanderbilt, winning 88-84, becoming the first-ever Black basketball student athlete in the Southeastern Conference.

Wallace was a star athlete out of Nashville’s Pearl High School. He was scouted by over 80 schools and had his pick of colleges, and chose to attend Vanderbilt. 

Wallace faced rampant racism. He experienced violence, taunting and protests from segregationists, and was met with particular hostility when his team traveled to away games. Audiences shouted slurs and threats, and Wallace was not supported by his own team, either. He competed in the SEC for all four years of his eligibility and the aggressive environment remained consistent.

This first step of integration in the conference represents an important part of the Commodores’ legacy in the SEC. 

Sports special projects coordinator at Vanderbilt Andrew Maraniss described the influence the Commodores held and still hold in the conference in terms of inclusion.

“I think that’s an important part of what Vanderbilt has meant to this league, also, its leadership in an area where the league really needed leadership,” Maraniss said. 

Following Wallace’s graduation from Vanderbilt, schools including Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia and Florida, all had Black student athletes on their basketball team the next year.

In addition to Wallace and the integration of SEC basketball, Vanderbilt was also home to the SEC’s first Black golfer Nakia Davis, as well as David Williams II, the first Black athletic director in the conference, and Candice Storey Lee, the first Black female athletic director in the conference.

Maraniss, a Vanderbilt Alum, has worked for the university since 2017 and has helped launch Vanderbilt’s Sports and Society Initiative, which started in 2018 and raises awareness of the intersection sports and race, gender and politics. The initiative hopes to destroy the barrier between the athletic department and the rest of campus and the community.

“The university motto is a Latin phrase that means ‘Dare to grow,’” Maraniss said. “And so that’s a big part of the ethos here is being willing to push yourself, you know, to grow in all ways.”

Dec. 1, 2017, one day less than 50 years since he made SEC history, Wallace died at the age of 69. His legacy remains across Vanderbilt University and the rest of the conference.