HBCUs are having a moment in Charlotte and nationally

What’s happening: The week began with the Charlie Sifford Centennial Cup golf invitational at Quail Hollow Club on Monday and wraps up with the Aggie-Eagle Classic at Bank of America Stadium on Monday.

Why it matters: Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have seen a rise in applications and enrollment amid the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, as NPR reported recently. They’re receiving more attention as a result nationwide, including this week in Charlotte.

Details: Six programs participated in the Charlie Sifford Centennial.

• Participating programs included: Howard, Florida A&M, Alabama State, Texas Southern, Livingstone College and host university Johnson C. Smith. 
• Team James Black beat Team Charlie Sifford in the inaugural invitational.

Looking ahead to Saturday, North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central will celebrate 100 years of playing each other in the Duke’s Mayo Classic at 7:30pm.

Context: Charlotte hosted the CIAA tournament (a Division II HBCU basketball tournament) for more than a decade. The tournament generated millions to Charlotte in economic impact before relocating to Baltimore in 2021.

The Aggie-Eagle Classic will return in 2027 per their deal with the Charlotte Sports Foundation (CSF), which oversees the Duke’s Mayo Classic.

• “I want the city to say, ‘boy, we can’t wait for them to come back,'” council member-elect James “Smuggie” Mitchell, an NCCU alumnus and current school trustee, told Axios.

• “[This game is] like a mini-bowl,” CSF Executive Director Danny Morrison told Axios. CSF organizes the Duke’s Mayo Bowl every December at Bank of America Stadium.

Zoom out: The Aggie-Eagle Classic will combine sport and art. Charlotte artists King Carla, Dammit Wesley, Makayla Binter and Ricky Singh have been commissioned by CSF to create a piece for Fan Fest on Saturday.

• The artists will be at fan fest from 1-6pm using paint brushes and spray paint on un-stretched canvas on wood panels.
• The game winner gets the piece.
• “There’s never been this level of turn up for the classic,” King Carla, an NCCU alumna, told Axios.