While Select Brands LLC and Howard University’s Men’s Basketball team each boast their own secret sauce for success, they share a commitment to excellence. The Chicago-based company is proud to celebrate its milestone anniversary with a new partnership with the mighty HU Bison’s NIL Collective led by The Mecca Society.
A win-win, the collaboration will help fund an outstanding HBCU athletic program and student athletes while also promoting a legendary Black-owned business.
“This is such a meaningful way to honor 75 years of MUMBO and my dad’s memory,” says Allison Collins, Select Brands CEO. “He would be so proud.” Her father, Argia B. Collins, left his rural Mississippi home to pursue a brighter future. Entrepreneurship, he believed, was a powerful way to charter one’s own destiny.
Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood was the site of his first barbecue restaurant, and he went on to expand throughout the city’s South Side.
“Joining forces with The Mecca Society and Howard University’s men’s basketball team is such a beautiful alignment of values and priorities,” Collins says. “My dad loved basketball, and just like HU’s Bison, he worked hard and demanded the best. In fact,” adds Collins, smiling at the memory, “it was his disappointment with lackluster national barbecue sauces that prompted him to take matters into his own hands. And 75 years ago, in 1950, he first crafted MUMBO® SAUCE, inspired by flavors he remembered from his southern childhood.”
Eric Grant, board treasurer of The Mecca Society, the nonprofit alumni-run organization that supports Howard University athletics and student athletes, shares Collins’ excitement about the alliance. “Howard University’s athletics are a renowned worldwide brand, but because games are not televised as often as Power Five schools, we work harder to attract corporate partners in a meaningful way,” he explains. “We seek out Black-owned businesses that share our foundational values of truth and service and can help provide financial support for student athletes.”
He continues, “We found precisely what we were looking for with Argia B’s MUMBO SAUCE. The company’s inspiring history and ongoing commitment to the community was exactly what we hoped for. And, honestly,” Grant adds with a laugh, “HU men’s basketball coach Kenny Blakeney wouldn’t have it any other way. He puts MUMBO on everything, even eggs! I tend to be more traditional. My favorite is over chicken smoked on a grill or brisket.”
Structured as a mutually beneficial brand revenue share, Howard University Men’s Basketball will help promote MUMBO throughout the playing season, with a percentage of sales returning to support student athletes. Unlike most Division 1 men’s basketball teams, at Howard it is not unusual for law school students, PhDs and other serious scholars to also be star athletes.
Partnership revenue is meant to support athletes in their academic pursuit, not “make them millionaires,” says Grant. “Howard student athletes are students first. Most will go on to become doctors, engineers, and to pursue other professions.”
For Collins, shepherding the vision of her father’s company is a role she cherishes and takes seriously. “The world is so radically different from 75 years ago when my dad first created MUMBO SAUCE. But, in some ways, it hasn’t changed much at all. As a company, we’ve certainly grown, adapted, and worked to optimize new market opportunities, but we’ve always remained true to our roots–to the flavors and values that meant so much to my father. This new partnership would mean everything to him – he’d appreciate that we both are bold, purpose-driven, conscientious leaders who push ourselves to be the best.”
About The Mecca Society
The Mecca Society is a nonprofit alumni-led NIL collective that supports Howard University athletics and Howard scholar athletes in maximizing their name image and likeness (NIL) brand opportunities. More Info
About Mumbo
In 1950, Argia B. Collins crafted MUMBO SAUCE, inspired by the flavors of his southern childhood. Sweet, savory, and lovingly prepared with natural ingredients, his restaurant became the test kitchen for tantalizing recipes. Customers began demanding more of his mouthwatering sauce and Collins began selling it through his restaurants. A savvy entrepreneur, Collins trademarked MUMBO and launched the brand in retail stores and food service outlets in 1957. MUMBO came to mean authentic homestyle flavor, premium quality, and a timeless legacy. Available in original, hickory smoke, and tangy hot recipes, today, Argia B’s MUMBO SAUCE reaches every corner of the United States. More Info and Congressional Recognition
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