HBCUs playing big role in NCAA Final 4 this weekend
28th March 2022 · 0 Comments
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
New Orleans is abuzz about hosting the long-awaited NCAA Final Four weekend March 31-April 4. In addition to the Final Four and the championship game, there are a number of exciting events taking place that weekend in which HBCUs are playing an important role.
Xavier University of Louisiana will be hosting the 2022 State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships on March 31 at their Convocation Center. The 33rd annual event will begin at 8 p.m. local time and will be televised live on ESPN.
“Xavier University of Louisiana’s Convocation Center is the perfect setting for this year’s State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships,” said Drew Russell, executive vice president at Intersport, which operates the event. “We are looking forward to bringing this event to life in one of the premier HBCU venues in the nation. It will be a great opportunity to highlight the nearly 100-year history of the university to an ESPN national television audience through live performances from the nationally recognized cheer squad and other broadcast elements. It should be a very exciting event to help kickoff the most exciting weekend on the college basketball calendar.”
Twenty-four of the nation’s elite men and women’s college basketball players will take part in the event, which will feature a slam dunk contest, men’s and women’s 3-point contests, and a team shootout. NBA stars Steve Nash, Gary Payton and Allan Houston are just some of the past participants who went on to do great things at the professional level.
Xavier University officials are delighted to be hosting.
“We are so proud that the Xavier Convocation Center, one of the premier facilities in the NAIA, will host the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-point Championships,” said Curtis Wright, vice president of student affairs at Xavier University of Louisiana. “To be featured on one of the largest national platforms and involved in the exhilarating conclusion of the college basketball season is an exciting and unforgettable experience for our campus.”
The first-ever HBCU All-Star Game will take place on April 3 at 3 p.m. at the UNO Lakefront Arena. The game will be broadcast on CBS.
“I wanted to create a space and platform where our student-athletes felt they could receive the same recognition and opportunities as their peers at predominantly white institutions. The 24 players that have been selected represent the best in college basketball at our country’s prestigious Black colleges and universities. Our HBCU All-Stars national scouting staff did an amazing job for the past three months evaluating some of the most talented players from the 48 HBCUs,” said HBCU All-Stars Founder and CEO Travis L. Williams. “This is history in the making and has been a long journey to get to this point, but we are just getting started and expect to put on a great event.”
The official sponsor for the event will be Aflac.
“HBCUs represent and produce some of the best talent in the world,” said Aflac Chief Brand and Marketing Officer Shannon Watkins in a press release. “We are proud to highlight Aflac’s long-standing commitment and extend our support to historically Black colleges and universities, as well as their rich legacy of excellence on and off the court.”
HBCUs have provided a wealth of talent to the NBA in its history, including 10-time NBA champion Sam Jones; New York Knicks legend Willis Reed; NBA Hall of Fame member Earl “the Pearl” Monroe; two-time NBA champion Bob Dandridge; NBA champion and former Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson; and two of the finest defensive players of their generations in Charles Oakley and Ben Wallace.
Williams hoped to hold the inaugural HBCU All-Star Game in 2020 and again in 2021, but both of these events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information about the events and to purchase tickets, visit CollegeSlam.com and HBCUAllStarGame.com.
This article originally published in the March 28, 2022 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
