Roderick Chappell

Associate Commissioner and General Manager, The Yard: HBCU Esports Alliance

Roderick “Rod” Chappell has been serving Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) for nearly 25 years. His programs have led to significant exposure for administrators and students at HBCUs/MSIs as they desire to build capacity at their universities and in the lives of their students. Chappell currently leads Partnerships and Sustainability, one of four pillars within NASA’s Minority Research and Education Project providing over $30 million in annual funding opportunities to HBCUs/MSIs. Chappell is also a 20-year entrepreneur veteran in the marketing, promotions and communications arena. In 2001, he formed Grassroots Promotions, a full-service marketing strategy firm specializing in targeted events and promotions. In 2010, he launched an affiliate agency, HBCU Direct to aggregate the buying power of all HBCUS. In 2020, Chappell launched HBCU Direct Gaming as an HBCU esports and gaming agency. He now serves as the general manager/associate commissioner of the HBCU Esports Alliance powered by Collegiate StarLeague.