As evidenced by our legendary inability to find a time to sit down and talk for this article, Hamilton alumnus Kori Brown ’95 is an exceedingly busy man. And no wonder. Brown is the brains behind the Boston Colts, a new semipro football team that will be playing in the Eastern Football League (EFL) next season. But the Colts are about far more than just football. Ideally, the team will be a non-profit organization that is just as invested in giving back to the Eastern Boston community as it is in scoring touchdowns.
Although he is a lifelong athletic standout, playing three sports in high school and varsity basketball at Hamilton, Brown didn’t get interested in football until he graduated and moved to Boston. As about 50 percent of NESCAC alums do when they graduate and move to Boston, he found work as a bartender, and it was there that one of his managers convinced him to try out for the Charleston Townies, the oldest semipro football team in the EFL. Brown was hooked, and rose through the ranks of the team to become a player/general manager, a post he served for the past 12 years.
Though you might not have heard of it before, the EFL is no upstart trend. The EFL came together in 1961, and now includes seven teams in towns around Boston, such as Quincy and Worcester. Brown and his co-owner Mike Gentili will present their case for admission to the league at the owner’s meeting in January.
A major component of the legitimacy of the league is the talent of the players in it. Players come from a diverse array of backgrounds and have varied purposes, from locals looking to have fun and represent their communities to ex-college players looking to return to the limelight. This is where Brown’s NESCAC credentials will come in handy. He intends to reach out to both the Hamilton basketball program (which he is still involved with) and the football program to make sure that graduates are aware of the opportunities the Colts offer in terms of extending athletic careers, and making a real difference in the community. As Brown says, NESCAC graduates are “smart kids who want to give back and push an organization forward,” and the values that NESCAC schools espouse are right in line with those on which the Colts will be founded.
Although the team is designed to be a non-profit, there are obviously still expenses that need to be met, such as uniforms and stadium fees. This funding will come from the same community spirit that the entire organization is based around. Brown has several sponsors lined up, which have been found through his connections from the Townies, and some of the local Colts players’ relationships with local businesses.
He also intends to reach out to larger corporations in Massachusetts who already have deals with the charitable organizations the Colts will work with, in an effort to come together and help the East Boston area. The organizations include the local Boys and Girls Club and Veterans League, to whom Brown has already offered a sizable chunk of the team’s time. He also hopes to establish a mentorship program, where a local high school age student is paired with one of the team’s veterans. The Colts players would have the opportunity to assist the student with the college process, whether that’s through schoolwork or getting the word out about their athletic talent. Brown doesn’t want the team to be “just this team that plays in this town.” He wants the team to gain a reputation as a pillar of the community, as sports so often can do for a town.
NESCAC sports have the beautiful ability to foster a sense of inclusiveness. Sure, you have your great players, but those great players are students off the court, just like the fans in the stands are when they leave the bleachers. And furthermore, the community support of the teams reflects the (delicate at times, but still) bonds that the town has with the college. Growing up in a NESCAC town, I have seen first hand how Middlebury’s hockey and now basketball teams have become community gathering points, and the players heroes for local kids in the stands.
It is this powerful bond that makes the Boston Colts such a noble cause. All sports teams should give as much support to the community as the community does to them, and Kori Brown’s Boston Colts will strive to do that, just as the Middlebury Panthers, or the Williams Ephs, or the Tufts Jumbos should. NESCAC values should not exist solely in the NESCAC, they should extend to the wider athletic world, and the Boston Colts are a wonderful step in that direction.
If you want to find out more about the Boston Colts, check out their Facebook page: