NBA referee Haywoode Workman is set to launch the inaugural HBCU Hoops Invitational college basketball tournament in Orlando, Florida, from December 4th to 6th. The event will be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Workman, a former basketball and football player who began his college career at Winston-Salem State before transferring to Oral Roberts University, recognized an opportunity to create a premiere early-season tournament specifically for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Per his comments to The Athletic, he saw a need to increase the spotlight and opportunities for HBCU athletes.
“I’m coming in contact with a lot of college referees, and they talked about college ball,” he said. “But when you look at the things that were being offered for the PWIs (predominantly White institutions), there just wasn’t (a premier tournament) for the HBCUs. Once I got off the court, I said that’s what I’m going to do. I didn’t know how; I knew I needed to put a team together.
“But that’s what my vision was: To do an exclusive HBCU basketball tournament at the same level as the Maui Invitational.”
The Invitational is set to feature a full tournament bracket for both men's and women's teams. The participating HBCUs are: Florida A&M, Florida Memorial, Edward Waters, Bethune-Cookman, Barber-Scotia College, Hampton University, Tuskegee University, and Livingstone College.
At the conclusion of the Invitational, legendary figures from HBCU basketball history will be honored with marquee coaching awards: The winning men's basketball coach will receive the Clarence “Big House” Gaines Award, named after the legendary Winston-Salem State basketball coach, and the winning women's basketball coach will receive the Vivian Stringer Award. Stringer is another HBCU basketball legend and pioneer who began her illustrious coaching journey at Cheyney before moving on to coach major programs such as Rutgers and Iowa.
The HBCU Hoops Invitational is the latest effort to increase national visibility and provide neutral-court opportunities for HBCU basketball, joining events like the CP3 Challenge, the QQQ Legacy Classic, and the NBA HBCU Classic, which takes place during NBA All-Star Weekend.
