Nate Northington

Nathaniel "Nate" Northington (born 1947) was the first African-American to play college football in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).[1] He became the first black athlete to play in an athletic contest of any kind in the SEC when his University of Kentucky Wildcats played Ole Miss in Lexington, Kentucky on Sept. 30, 1967.[2]

Northington was a member of Kentucky's 1966 freshman team along with African-American teammate Greg Page. (At the time, freshmen were not allowed to play on NCAA varsity teams). Before the 1967 season, Page became paralyzed after suffering a spinal cord injury during an August practice. Northington was the only Wildcats player allowed by Kentucky athletic officials to visit Page in the hospital.[3] Page died from his complications 38 days later - on the night before Northington's and Kentucky's game against Ole Miss.

Northington only played three minutes after injuring his shoulder, and Kentucky would go on to lose 26-13. Immediately after returning from Page's funeral a few days later, Wildcats head coach Charlie Bradshaw put the team through a three-hour practice. Five games into the season, Northington left the Wildcats team and later transferred to Western Kentucky University.[4]

In 2016, the University of Kentucky unveiled a new statue of Northington, Page, Wilbur Hackett and Houston Hogg in recognition of the first four African-American football players in the SEC.[5]