HBCU Alumni Weekend brings summer homecoming to Charlotte

Summertime in collegiate sports is usually the slowest time of the year. But an annual HBCU alumni basketball game has turned the Fourth of July weekend into the official HBCU summer homecoming in Charlotte, North Carolina. This year, on July 5 and 6, Highstar Entertainment and its founder Dr. Justin Beaufort are moving the HBCU Alumni Weekend from Columbia South Carolina to Charlotte, North Carolina, on the campus of Johnson C. Smith University for the third installment of the quickly growing event.

One of the things that separates the HBCU Alumni Weekend from the average summertime alumni basketball game is the rivalry games concept.

“This is our third year doing the event and talking to the players and stuff like that. I feel like they express that the opportunity to not only play with their former teammates, they might be playing with somebody who played before them or who played after them, or somebody who they just admired,” Dr. Beaufort told HBCU Gameday in an exclusive interview.

Players from across eras will link together in Charlotte, NC to go heads up against their school’s biggest rivals as the two-day basketball event will feature 10 of the hottest HBCU basketball rivalries. Including Benedict vs Allen, Howard vs Hampton, and North Carolina A&T vs North Carolina Central.

“The atmosphere… (to) see all fans and they’re like just experiencing the rivalry within itself between the two teams. It just brings back that reminiscent feeling that we all just love.” Said Dr. Beaufort, an alum of both Morris College and South Carolina State.

“I started this event inside Charleston, South Carolina on the high school level. We have all of the high schools play in it. And this is a situation where it’s a tournament style now, and that’s where we eventually want to get this event to be as well.”

Dr. Justin Beaufort – Highstar Entertainment – Host, HBCU Alumni Weekend

On top of the rivalry games, the HBCU Alumni Weekend features a celebrity game at 9 pm on July 5, headlined by Johnson C. Smith alum Ryan “Hezigod” Carter and NBA Champion Mario Chalmers. As well as a women’s game starring the top female hoopers from both North and South Carolina.

“Expect that atmosphere that you probably were used to when you were actually a student at that school.” Said Dr. Beaufort of the atmosphere at the HBCU Alumni Weekend. “The atmosphere is just crazy…you got the best players over several years all on one team. So the games are very competitive, they’re high scoring, so you’ll see a lot of threes (and) dunks… some games are close and yeah then the tailgate feel all of that is just a beautiful thing.”

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