OU HCASC Team Gave It A Great Try!

Oakwood University’s Honda Campus All-Star Campus Challenge two-time defending national champion team traveled to Orlando, Florida last week to defend their two-time national championship title at the 21st annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC). They joined 47 other Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) students to face off in the nation’s largest academic competition held between HBCUs. 

Each institution’s team is comprised of four students and one institutional representative:

HCASC brings together the nation’s best academic competitors from America’s top HBCUs, showcasing their knowledge in world history, science, literature, religion, the arts, social science and popular culture. In addition to providing students a venue for friendly competition, the program encourages relationship building, intellectual excellence and the development of values that define good character.

As they have done in prior years, the team and Coach Rennae Elliott (chairman of Oakwood’s Communication Department) rested from Honda Challenge (and any other secular) activities during the Sabbath hours, and worshipped with members of the Forest Lake and Maranatha Seventh-day Adventist Churches in the Orlando area.     

The 48 teams are divided into eight (8) divisions to compete in a round robin preliminary competition. In each round robin division, each of the 6 teams play every other team (5 matches are played by each team). From there the top two teams in each division advance to the Playoffs. Each of the participating 48 teams have the opportunity to win grant money for their school. In all, a total of $328,000 in institutional grants will be awarded through this year’s program.

In their first game of “round robin” competition at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 11, Oakwood won against Jackson State University, with a score of OU 360/JSU 170, followed by Kentucky State University at 11: 30 a.m.  In the 3:30 p.m. match, Oakwood won against Tennessee State (OU 315/TSU 140).  President Delbert Baker reported that “all teams in our room have lost one (1) game, so OU still has a chance to be in the final 16 playoff [this evening], and hopefully in the big 8 on Monday.”  

Baker later reported that “OU did good, and we are very proud of them!  OU did well but Kentucky State won 145/225.  With no apologies, OU [has a place] in HCASC’s 21- year history as one of only four (4) institution’s to get repeat wins.  Congratulations!”

“We at Honda are proud to say that (…), HCASC continues to not only highlight the great minds present at our nation’s HBCUs, but it also provides, through grant giving, an opportunity for the company to invest one of the country’s largest pipelines for professional and academic talent,” said Marc Burt, senior manager, Office of Inclusion and Diversity, American Honda Motor Company.

The Honda Campus All-Star Challenge is one of Honda’s largest and longest running philanthropic initiatives in the United States. Throughout its 21 year history HCASC has touched over 50,000 students, awarded more than $5 million in grants and continues to be the only annual academic competition of its kind. 

For more information on the Honda Campus All Star Challenge, visit www.hcasc.com .