The Hank Aaron Sports Academy won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) bid to host the 2023 Hope Credit Union Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship games.
Tournament games will be held February 23-26, 2023 on the campus of Tougaloo College. The Tougaloo men’s team will be looking to defend their 2022 title and Rust College women will be in search of back-to-back titles.
“Thanks to the hard work of Hank Aaron Sports, the City of Jackson is extremely proud to be the site of this year’s Gulf Coast Athletic Conference basketball tournament,” says Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba. “Hank Aaron Sports submitted and won the bid to host the seven schools (women and men) for the 2023 championship. Not only is this a great event for sports fans, but it will also provide an economic impact on our city. I want to extend my gratitude to Hank Aaron Sports for bringing the championship to the Capital City and wish all participants a wonderful experience!”
HOPE CEO Bill Bynum said, “Hope Credit Union is proud to be the title sponsor of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference basketball tournament. With roots in Jackson and communities across the Deep South, we are committed to supporting the immense talent that exist in the region’s HBCUs, where the potential is so great and the barriers to economic opportunity have historically been prevalent.”
HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation, Hope Credit Union, and Hope Policy Institute) provides financial services; aggregates resources; and engages in advocacy to mitigate the extent to which factors such as race, gender, birthplace, and wealth limit one’s ability to prosper. Through these efforts, HOPE has generated or leveraged more than $3.6 billion in financing that has improved the lives of more than 2 million people in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Learn more at www.hopecu.org.
The GCAC is celebrating its 40th year as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The GCAC is one of only five conferences and is comprised of members representing Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States. The GCAC membership includes Dillard University (LA), Fisk University (TN), Oakwood University (AL), Philander Smith College (AR), Rust College (MS), Southern University at New Orleans (LA), Tougaloo College (MS), and Wiley College (TX).
Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Commissioner KiKi Baker Barnes says, “This is an exciting time for GCAC. Every championship we host will be an experience for our student-athletes, coaches, and fans. We are thankful to have partners like Hope Credit Union and Hank Aaron Sports to bring life to our vision.”
Additional details about the 2023 Hope Credit Union Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship will be made available in the coming weeks at gcaconf.com (Tournament Central).
Tickets for this year’s tournament are available now via the Hank Aaron Sports Academy ticketing page at etix.com.
The Hank Aaron Sports Academy (HASA) is designed to host youths from economically disadvantaged areas of Mississippi and the southeastern region of the United States.
