DURHAM, N.C. – Women's basketball was the focus during a virtual meeting of HBCU alumni employees at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services recently.

Terrence Baxter, the North Carolina Central Head Women's Basketball Coach, was the guest speaker. The topic, of course, was hoops.

The HBCU‑MSI Employee Resource Group, consisting primarily of graduates from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions at NCDHHS, invited Baxter. Many of the alums in the group, which includes PWI graduates, are fans of women's sports, especially basketball.

For about 45 minutes, Baxter and the group touched on a variety of topics ranging from recruiting, academics and life after graduation to Dawn Staley, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.

Kimberly M. Johnson, the meeting's moderator, was impressed after listening to Coach Baxter.

"I learned that Coach Baxter is a firm advocate for the student-athletes," Johnson said. "He talked about the team's 3.3 GPA and its high graduation rate. He talked about the time and energy put into practice, the stages of recruitment and how the staff integrates into the community."

The meeting may spark future collaboration between the NCCU women's basketball program and the HBCU-MSI group, which sponsors a student internship program. For Coach Baxter, the meeting was another chance to highlight NCCU.

"I enjoyed speaking about NCCU women's basketball and where we want to go," Baxter said. "This is only the beginning of a successful journey of increasing our brand. We are going to produce professional ladies in the workforce and community for life."