FAMU Wins National Championship at the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge

Florida A&M University (FAMU) won the 22nd Annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC) Monday, April 11 becoming the 2011 champions.

Averaging more than 455 points per game, the most of any team, FAMU won the top prize of $50,000 in university grants for their national championship win.

FAMU won the national championships in 2005, 2003, 1999, 1998, 1996 and 1991.

“We were very excited to be able to bring the seventh championship home to FAMU,” said Atty. Chuck Hobbs, who served as head coach of the FAMU team. “Out of 22 years of having the tournament, we have won a third of the awards under my mother’s leadership and this year under my own. One of the highlights was the fact that this turned into a FAMU weekend. At the opening banquet, Honda honored my mother’s six national championship wins.”

Vivian Hobbs, a retired FAMU professor who coached the team for 21 years, received the “Coach of the Year” award. As the first recipient, she received the award for her commitment to coaching young men and women for the competition.

“This championship is another example that Florida A&M University has some of the best and brightest students in the nation,” said FAMU President James H. Ammons. “I applaud Atty. Hobbs and our students for doing such an outstanding job. This win is a testament to their hard work, character and commitment as well as the academic preparation they are receiving at FAMU.”

The Annual HCASC is the largest academic competition of its kind, bringing students from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) from around the country together to participate in the two-day tournament that tests their knowledge, skills and ability to quickly and accurately answer questions on world history, science, literature, and popular culture.

FAMU’s All-Star team included Trenton J. Johnson, the team’s captain, who is a senior majoring in computer engineering; Dwight Williams II, a junior mathematics major; Stefan Jenkins, a junior biomedical engineering major and Paul Kayemba, a junior English major.

During the annual two-day tournament in Orlando, Fla., 48 HBCU teams competed in a modified round robin format. Each school showcased their skills and intellect by quickly and accurately answering questions on world history, science, literature, religion, the arts, social sciences, popular culture and African-American history and culture. The top teams from the events eight divisions advanced to the "Elite Eight Playoffs” and went head to head in a round single elimination. The final two teams then competed for the National Champion title in a best 2- out of 3- final series.

“The Honda Campus All-Star Challenge is one of Honda’s largest and longest running philanthropic initiatives here in the United States, and we are proud to be able to give more than $300,000 each year to deserving Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” said Steve Morikawa, assistant vice president, Corporate Community Relations, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Maintaining this program allows us to invest in one of the country’s largest pipelines for professional and academic talent, and even in these tough economic times, it is important that we continue to support our nation’s future leaders.”

Since 1989, HCASC has brought together the nation’s best and brightest academic competitors from America’s top HBCUs. Throughout its history, HCASC has been the only annual academic competition between the nation’s HBCUs, touching more than 50,000 students and awarding more than $6 million in grants.