The Elite 8 Advance!

The second day of Round Robin competition came to an end on Monday. The Sweet 16 teams were: Spelman and Chicago State in the Black Division; North Carolina A&T and Morehouse in the Blue Division; Southern University-Baton Rouge and Xavier in the Brown Division; Oakwood and Howard in the Green Division; Prairie View A&M and Paine College in the Orange Division; Florida A&M and Fisk in the Purple Division; North Carolina Central and Hampton in the Red Division; and Tuskegee and Jackson State in the Yellow Division.

The Sweet 16 faced off in a set of single-elimination games. The winning teams are the 2018 Elite 8: Prairie View A&M, Spelman, Tuskegee, Oakwood, Florida A&M, Paine, Morehouse, and Jackson State. They’ll compete in the 2018 Stage Games at Honda HQ. You can watch live at HCASC.com.

The “Elite 8” are: Prairie View A&M, Spelman, Tuskegee, Oakwood, Florida A&M, Paine, Morehouse, and Jackson State.

 

Best of luck to all teams and to the future champs!

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Making Connections at the Round Robin Games

Round Robin days aren’t all competition. They’re also a chance for players, alumni, HBCU executives, community volunteers, and Honda associates to meet, connect, and become Friends for Life

 

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Friends and Family for Life 

Most of the time, we’re being metaphorical when we talk about the HCASC family–the closely knit community of players, alumni, and volunteers who’ve bonded over the program’s 29-year history. But some times, the “HCASC fam” is family–literally.

 

Southern University-New Orleans (SUNO) Coach Amelia Sellers’ son, Cori Dawsey, is one of her players. SUNO’s team also has a set of twins, Nathan and Nathaniel Albert. University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff has the brother and sister combination of Horace & Khadijah Jones.

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International Students

 

HCASC’s class of 2018 includes a large number of international students. Especially notable is Morgan State, whose entire team comprised of international students. Afua Adusei is a three-year player who was born and raised in Ghana; Oluwakayode Jasanya is a second-year player, born and raised in Nigeria. Twins Elizabeth and Rebecca Olusola are first-year players, born in South Africa of Nigerian parents who moved them to Maryland at a young age.

The team members all say that Morgan’s outstanding academic offerings attracted them to the university, but there were other reasons, too. For Adusei, attending Morgan State is also following the family legacy; as a graduate student, her mother took a class with a Morgan State professor. Her sister is also a student there. For Jasanya, Morgan’s scholarship offerings convinced him to attend.

All of Morgan State’s players have distinct reasons to being grateful for the HCASC experience. Jasanya appreciates the chance to have his academic skills be recognized beyond his own HBCU. Adusei loves the comradery the competition fosters among all students from all teams. Elizabeth Olusola appreciates the dedication of the people who make this competition special.

It is Rebecca Olusola who probably speaks for all students at the competition. “The one thing that sticks out most about the competition is people’s devotion. For me, it’s inspiring. I come from a background where academics is extremely important. Anything that you put your mind to, you have to be dedicated. You have to push yourself in order to be the best that you can. The fact that Honda provides this opportunity for HBCU students is really inspiring. Everyone is pushed to do great things. Yes, you’re learning for the competition, but that information can be applied to so many aspects of your life.”

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On the Agenda

Tuesday is the final day of the 2018 HCASC National Championship Tournament! Watch live, starting at 9am Pacific, at HCASC.com.