Starting in 2023, the HBCU Basketball Association — an upstart league — will host its inaugural season exclusively featuring six teams made up of Black college talent. They will be playing the sport in traditional HBCU territories that include Houston, Texas; Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Daytona Beach, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia and New Orleans, Louisiana.
The HBCUBA will begin in February 2023 and run through June. In between, there will be tryouts and even a draft.
Also read: All-HBCU basketball team: These players shaped Black college and NBA history
“We want to make sure we are taking care of the whole athlete to play on a professional level,” said HBCUBA President Kimberly Clark. “If a guy wanted to play professional basketball and he never got a chance, it will always be in the back of his mind and he will operate — he or she — in their full potential. It just won’t be about basketball. We will focus on the transitional development … to transition from a professional player back into society.”
Clark spoke with HBCU Sports senior editor Kendrick Marshall about the HBCUBA and what it means to put together a sports league for Black college athletes.
https://youtu.be/qsN8i8J21_0
