Northwestern State University of Louisiana’s N-Club Hall of Fame is a way of honoring the athletes who wore the Demons logo on their chests years before. For some alumni honorees, it is not only for what they did on the field or court but also for what they accomplished outside the competition.
Fort Worth, Texas native, Michael Byars-Dawson was a former point guard for NSU men’s basketball team from 1999 to 2001, and he returned to Natchitoches to be celebrated in the Hall of Fame with other former Demon athletes.
Being inducted into the N-Club is an honor that Byars-Dawson acknowledges. He explained that it is an honor for the work and effort he left on the court to be displayed in the induction.
“You feel good to know all the hard work and long hours you put into the game paid off,” Byars-Dawson said. “It is humbling to know that it is being appreciated and recognized in such a grand scale as it is, but also being inducted in the N-Club Hall of Fame is so rewarding.”
Before playing for the Demons, he competed for two years for the University of Miami men’s basketball team. Byars-Dawson played in 33 games as a Hurricane before transferring in 1999 to NSU.
He recalls his time after becoming a Demon and the atmosphere that surrounded the team.
“You know when I transferred, I didn’t have a transfer portal so when I got to NSU in 1999 I had to be redshirted and sat a year during my time here,” Byars-Dawson said. “I had a great time playing for NSU. Playing with such a great team and staff of coaches was so much fun and made the work and practice worth it during game day.”
The accountability factor during his time playing for NSU stood out to him the most.
“Accountability was something I saw when I played at NSU,” Byars-Dawson said. “The willingness to take account of mistakes and own up to faults with the expectation to get better from not only players but coaches was very important in what made our team good.”
As a Demon point guard for three years, he impacted the team immensely. Byars-Dawson tied the single-game steal record with eight steals in the 2000-2001 season against Southwest Texas State University.
He also made the critical assist to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament in the 2000-2001 season against Winthrop University. That same season, Byars-Dawson scored double digit points in 26 of the 32 games and made the All-Southland Conference third team.
Aside from his time on the court, he founded a film production firm called Major Minority Media in 2018. Byars-Dawson explained how he always had a passion for producing movies and even produced a short film in the NSU art department in 2001.
“I always had an itch to do it, I remember having a teacher named Mr. Davis and it was one of my favorite classes,” Byars-Dawson said. “So I always took it seriously and I also had the passion to do it.”
When he started his company, Byars-Dawson admits he didn’t have a specific focus in mind. He shared how he wanted to keep the net wide for potential growth for his brand.
“I’m sure when our operations grow it will change, but I never really called it filmmaking, it’s more storytelling,” Byars-Dawson said. “You know I like telling stories whether fiction or real stories.”
Major Minority Media released its first film in 2019 and sold 10,000 copies of the short film and gained notoriety in the black community and international attention. Byars-Dawson described the process starting from the ground up and how it made the climb to success so satisfying.
“Our first film did really well. We went national because of Black Enterprise, Source Magazine, Washington Informer and Urban Magazine, which was in Canada that made use internationally, which was good,” Byars-Dawson said. “I didn’t even have a camera when I started. I contacted my Uncle, who was also a film NSU alumni, and asked to borrow his camera and that’s where it began.”
In 2020, the film business was put on halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic and where Byars-Dawson and Major Minority Media moved to merchandising and clothing production to further expand the brand.
Returning home to be honored with other athletes made it even more special for Byars-Dawson. He shared a message to African American youth during the tailgate, where he sold t-shirts and a portion of the proceeds will go to an endowed scholarship for the Black Male Alliance student organization.
Byars-Dawson created an impact for minorities around the world both on the court during his time at NSU and in the film studio of Major Minority Media through dedication and passion.
