{"id":90564,"date":"2025-08-17T23:18:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T23:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/90564\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T23:18:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T23:18:09","slug":"hbcu-hoops-invitational-debuts-at-disney-world-resort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/90564\/","title":{"rendered":"HBCU Hoops Invitational debuts at Disney World Resort"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

By PRNewswire<\/p>\n

\"\"Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex General Manager LeRoy Arrington (fourth from left) celebrate with coaches and representatives from historically Black colleges and universities after the announcement of the new HBCU Hoops Invitational coming to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The new event, featuring men\u2019s and women\u2019s college basketball teams from HBCU programs, is Dec. 4-7 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Seen here from left: Joshua Mendoza, head coach, Florida Memorial University men\u2019s basketball; Eric Jackson Jr., head coach, Edward Waters University women\u2019s basketball; HBCU Hoops Global Vice President Haywoode Workman; ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex General Manager LeRoy Arrington; Janell Crayton, head coach, Bethune-Cookman University women\u2019s basketball; and former Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward, head coach, Florida A&M. (Photo Credit: Bennett Stoops)<\/p>\n

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Aug. 13, 2025 \/PRNewswire\/ \u2014 Several marquee Black college basketball programs are taking part in the first-ever HBCU Hoops Invitational at Walt Disney World Resort this winter. The men\u2019s field for the Dec. 4-7 tourney features Florida A&M University, Tuskegee University, Florida Memorial University and Barber-Scotia College, while the women\u2019s bracket includes Bethune-Cookman University, Hampton University, Edward Waters University and Cheyney University.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Historically Black College and University (HBCU) men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams will compete inside the State Farm Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in a single-elimination format with the chance to claim the inaugural HBCU Hoops Invitational titles. Florida A&M, which recently hired former Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward as head coach, headlines the men\u2019s field, having reached the NCAA Division I Tournament three times, while Cheyney University\u2019s women\u2019s team is the only HBCU school to ever reach the NCAA Division I Tournament Final Four (1982).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beyond the court, the HBCU Hoops Invitational, which is run by HBCU Hoops Global, Inc., plans to support HBCU players, schools and students by hosting a college admissions fair at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, creating scholarships, providing academic assistance and identifying career development opportunities throughout the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe HBCU Hoops Invitational is far more than a basketball tournament\u2014it\u2019s a powerful celebration of heritage, excellence and the limitless future of HBCU athletics,\u201d said HBCU Hoops Global Vice President Haywoode Workman, who spent nearly a decade playing in the NBA before becoming an NBA referee. \u201cWe are building a legacy that extends well beyond the court to open doors to academic achievement, career readiness and financial opportunity for our scholar-athletes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new hoops tourney adds to an already bustling college basketball calendar at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which hosts the WBCA Showcase (Nov. 20-23) and the ESPN Events Invitational (Nov. 24-28) during the Thanksgiving holiday week, as well as several AAU boys\u2019 and girls\u2019 national basketball championships.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited about the opportunities to bring thrilling, family-friendly events to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and this HBCU Hoops Invitational adds to our lineup of high-caliber youth and college events,\u201d said Jorge Senior, Disney\u2019s Director of Sports Planning and Development. \u201cIf you\u2019re a college basketball fan, there\u2019s no better place to be during the holidays than at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tickets for the HBCU Hoops Invitational are on sale now at www.hbcuhoops.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, located at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, is the home of Disney Soccer and Disney Spring Training and one of the premier sites for amateur sports in the nation. Designed to provide professional, amateur and youth athletes with championship-level experiences, the complex has accommodated 70 different sports featuring athletes from 70 different countries. The 220-acre facility features a 9,500-seat stadium; a state-of-the-art indoor arena in addition to two field houses for competitive cheerleading, gymnastics, dance, basketball, volleyball, eSports and other indoor sports; plus 12 baseball\/softball fields and 17multi-purpose outdoor fields for soccer, football and field hockey. An on-site professional production center also produces content for the Disney family of networks for global distribution. For more information, visit www.disneysportsnews.com<\/a> for news releases, photos and videos and www.espnwwos.com<\/a> for upcoming events.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

HBCU Hoops Global, Inc.
HBCU Hoops Global Inc. (HBCU HG) is a Tampa, Florida based 501(c)(3) that serves as an educational and philanthropic arm of the HBCU Hoops Invitational Tournament. The organization is committed to the elevation of HBCU sports, fostering educational aspirations through scholarships, student achievement, career development and success.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By PRNewswire Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex General Manager LeRoy Arrington (fourth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[402,61016,61775,61017,61019,61021,61023,398,400,401,99,61026],"class_list":{"0":"post-90564","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bethune-cookman-university","10":"tag-charlie-ward","11":"tag-cheyney-university","12":"tag-florida-am-university","13":"tag-hampton-university","14":"tag-hbcu-hoops-invitational","15":"tag-ncaa","16":"tag-ncaa-basketball","17":"tag-ncaabasketball","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-tuskegee-university"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}