BOXTOROW 20-Year Celebration, Raleigh.
BOXTOROW, the national entity most associated with HBCU sports, will celebrate 20 years with a birthday bash event on Wednesday, August 20 in Raleigh, NC at North Hills Main District from 5-8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. As part of the festivities, BOXTOROW will air a live radio show (5-6p), followed by presentations from dignitaries and guests and live performances from the Shaw University Platinum Sound Marching Band (6-7p), and an aftershow meet and greet with a live DJ and music (7-8p).
For close to 20 years BOXTOROW has carved out its niche in the rapidly growing sports media industry as well as the pop culture world, via its national radio show of the same name which airs on radio stations across the country, radio stations overseas, and on Satellite Radio on SiriusXM.
“We are so excited and proud of the growth and the accomplishments that we have ascertained over these almost 20 years,” says Donal Ware, founder of BOXTOROW and host of the radio show. “We simply started out wanting to bring more awareness to HBCU sports to the masses. We are still doing that but now also bringing unknown stories about people from all walks of life and various topics to the masses. We do this for all and in particular for The Culture.”
BOXTOROW the radio show began airing on August 20, 2005 from a radio station in Baltimore, and also initially aired in Raleigh, Atlanta, Greensboro, NC, Winston-Salem, NC, and Birmingham, AL. Over the years, the program has grown and now airs in 12 of the top 50 markets across the country including Washington, Puerto Rico, Tampa, Portland, Pittsburgh, Austin, Raleigh, Nashville, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Greensboro, and New Orleans. BOXTOROW has also aired in other top 50 markets including New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Charlotte, Kansas City, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City. Additionally, BOXTOROW airs overseas in The Bahamas and British Virgin Islands.
From day one, BOXTOROW’s sports talk radio show talked general sports and also placed an emphasis on HBCU sports, shedding light on an undervalued industry which almost 20 years later has become more recognized. Coaches, student-athletes, administrators, and former student-athletes now playing on the professional level have been guests on the program. Over time, guests have also included those from the professional sports world, as well as entertainers, musicians, and even politicians.
A sampling of the guests on the program over the years have included Serena Williams, Kevin Durant, Simone Biles, Jerry Rice, Snoop Dogg, Michael B. Jordan, Kevin Hart, and more.
Three of the highlights of BOXTOROW’s time on the air include an interview with rapper D.O.C. shortly after the film Straight Outta Compton was released. A 1989 car accident nearly destroyed his vocal cords and all but ended his career as an artist. During the conversation, he talked to Ware for the first time publicly using his “regular voice” opposed to a raspy, scratchy voice caused by the accident. This interview prompted a national story about D.O.C.’s voice and the interview went viral.
In August 2022 during an exclusive video conversation with former NBA All-Star John Wall, Ware asked Wall about his life over the last two and a half years. Wall mentioned that he had thought about committing suicide for a myriad of reasons which included the passing of his mother, grandmother, and injuries that he had been dealing with since 2018. The video went viral, was picked up by every major network news outlet including CNN, ESPN, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and aired on SportsCenter and First Take, and sparked a nationwide conversation about professional athletes and mental health.
BOXTOROW also received and graciously accepted an unsolicited invite to the White House in 2024 to be part of the celebration of the Texas Rangers World Series championship of 2023.
Topics and guests on BOXTOROW have spanned all genres – not just sports – to include politics, pop culture, money, and business. In the sports world, guests have appeared from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NWSL, professional boxing, and from NASCAR, where most of the top drivers from the last five to seven years have been guests.
Events covered or broadcast from by BOXTOROW over the years include Super Bowls, NBA All-Star Weekends, NBA Finals, NHL All-Star Game, MLB All-Star Games, US Open, and Daytona 500.
Other entities associated with BOXTOROW include the national show Radio BOSS, HBCU All-America teams (football and basketball), and The HBCU Coaches and Media Polls which help to determine the HBCU national champion in football.
What: BOXTOROW 20-Year Celebration/Birthday Bash
When: Wednesday, August 20, 2025, 5-8 p.m.
Where: North Hills Main District, 4321 Lassiter at North Hills, Raleigh, NC 27609
BOXTOROW 20-Year Celebration, Raleigh