HBCU tournament basketball returning to Charlotte. How the city landed new March event

Dr. Wes Bellamy had a dream about bringing an HBCU basketball event to Charlotte.

After seeing discourse about the lack of a postseason tournament for Historically Black Colleges and Universities on social media last year, the South Carolina State alumnus and former deputy mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia, realized they didn’t have to beg the NCAA to recognize deserving HBCU schools in March.

They could do it themselves.

The inaugural Black College Invitational Championship will bring top men’s and women’s basketball teams from the MEAC, SWAC, CIAA and SIAC to Bojangles Coliseum for a tournament on March 20-23, 2025. The BCIC, which aims to shine a spotlight on HBCU schools and local Black-owned businesses, will also include high school education days and new sponsorship opportunities.

“This may sound weird to some of you, but I had a dream in November,” Bellamy said. “And I could see it, as clear as day: Us having this basketball tournament here in Charlotte.

”I called my best friend, Russell Stewart. I said, ‘Russ. I know this is gonna sound wild, but I had a dream about this basketball tournament. We have to do this here.’ And he told me: ‘Nothing you do is ever wild, because what you always put your mind to, you do.’”

Tickets to the inaugural event are on sale now. A full slate of CIAA and SIAC men’s and women’s games tipping off between noon and 8 p.m. get the event underway on Thursday, March 20, 2025, followed by MEAC and SWAC matchups on Friday, March 21.

Championship games between the CIAA and SIAC will be held on Saturday, March 22, and the men’s and women’s teams from the MEAC and SWAC will meet in their finals on Sunday, March 23.

“First thing I want to say is: ‘Wes, next time you have a dream, make sure you have $1 million,” Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said with a laugh at a news conference Monday.

A priority to bring HBCU basketball to Charlotte

Lyles recently attended the CIAA tournament, which left Charlotte for Baltimore after the 2019-20 season.

She joked that while she’s a fan of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, she understands that there are even more possibilities with bringing HBCU basketball programs from across the country to Charlotte. Being the city’s first Black female mayor, Lyles has made it a priority to create education and business opportunities for young Black students in the area, and the addition of this event to the Queen City can provide that.

“After George Floyd died, the city of Charlotte began to think deeply about: ‘What does it mean to include people of color in what we do?’” Lyles said. “And we did a lot of great things, which made a big difference, but we also worked with the business community. One of the first things they said to me was, ‘If you want us to be a part of this, what do you want us to do?’

“And I told them: ‘I don’t want to be the mayor who Johnson C. Smith fails on.’ So we raised money and initiatives that would be possible for these young people to come to college.”

Which teams are in the Black College Invitational Championship?

Regular season conference champions from the SWAC, MEAC, CIAA and SIAC will be selected. If there is a tie for a conference’s regular season champion, the BCIC invitation will go to the team with the better NCAA NET ranking. Similarly, if there is a three-way tie in the regular season, the team with the best NCAA NET ranking will receive the BCIC invitation.

If the regular-season champion is not available, either the next highest-ranked NCAA NET team or the team that loses in the conference tournament championship game will be invited.

‘They just don’t get the exposure’

Now available through the new BCIC website, tickets can be purchased as passes for the entire tournament or individual sessions on one day. General admission is being offered around the bowl with reserved seating courtside and along the baseline.

The BCIC, which has already purchased 1,200 hotel rooms that are under $250 each night, has developed a partnership with the city of Charlotte. It’s currently working with officials to bring more auxiliary events and night life to the weekend next March.

“I look at this as an opportunity to expose Black colleges to the entire community,” said Lenny Springs, a longtime bank executive and former NAACP national board member. “Let’s not get it twisted: HBCUs play some of the best basketball in the country. I can give you a number of names of HBCU players who are now in the NBA.

“HBCU basketball is not inferior. They just don’t get the exposure of predominantly white institutions.”