By Sydni Demby with SGJC Student News Network
Morgan State and Howard university men’s basketball teams will square off 2 p.m. EST Saturday in the inaugural NBA HBCU Classic at the NBA All-Star Weekend. The game at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland will be simulcast on TNT and ESPN2.
The NBA is hosting the Historically Black Colleges and Universities classic in order to bring awareness and support to the institutions and their athletics.
The NBA will be donating $100,000 to each school. In addition, MTN DEW, the NBA’s official soft drink, will be awarding two students $50,000 scholarships to use at Howard or Morgan State. Furthermore, student-athletes from both teams are to get the opportunity to meet withNBA, team executives and former and current players to form connections within the field.
Media personalities who are graduates of HBCUs will be showcased at the NBA All-Star weekend.
Stephanie Ready, a Coppin State University graduate, will be a host for the coverage of the game with Stephen A. Smith, a Winston-Salem State alumnus and A-list ESPN analyst. Brian Custer will be the play-by-play announcer and Rich Mahorn will be the analyst for the SiriusXM NBA Radio. Both men are Hampton University alumnus. Mahorn is also a two-time NBA champion.
Morgan State and Howard are MEAC [Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference] rivals, separated by 40 miles and 1-95 between Baltimore and Washington. Both schools sent their marching bands and cheerleaders to support their basketball team. The Magnificent Marching Band and Cheer Bears of Morgan State prepared for this weekend throughout the past couple of weeks.
The band and cheerleaders left Morgan’s campus 6 a.m. Friday to make the six-hour drive to Cleveland.
Sixteen cheerleaders traveled to Cleveland to cheer on and support the basketball team. AyonnaYoung, a sophomore from Long Beach, California, said, “I'm really excited. We’ve been practicing new stunts and going over cheers that we do for home games.” Young is a second year Cheer Bear.
“This will be a chance for us [cheerleaders] to get potential sponsors,” said Davia Knox, afreshmen from Baltimore. Knox and Young said that they were more excited for the opportunity to perform in the stadium than they were nervous.
Morgan’s Magnificent Marching Band practiced for this weekend during their regular practice time, as well as during their free time. Travis Jones, a junior from Baltimore and bass drummer,said “This a good thing for us because this will bring awareness to HBCUs and is good promotion” for the school’s athletic and band departments.
Jones also praised band alumni for providing a lot support: “They’re really active. There’s always someone bringing water, sending money, or picking up food for us.”
The band and cheerleaders were invited to the celebrity game and will get the opportunity to rehearse in the stadium before the big game.
Students from both schools are invited to come and support their schools at the game. Tickets are available at NBAEvents.com and through the NBA Events App.
For students who are unable to attend the game, the NBA is partnering with Pro Standard and Support Black Colleges to create new merchandise for this week. All proceeds from this week will go back to benefit both universities and the HBCU community.
The writer is a student in the School of Global Journalism and Communication