Update: The HBCU College World Series has been canceled.

The City With Soul will host the inaugural HBCU World Series, a matchup that will pit the MEAC against the SWAC in a three-game series to crown an HBCU baseball national champion.

The interconference event – May 28-30 between the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference – will be played at the Hank Aaron Sports Academy (Smith Wills Stadium) in Jackson.

A best two-of-three game series, the HBCU World Series will allow black college baseball a much-needed matchup of NCAA Division I schools to crown a national champion.

“The City of Jackson is honored to be chosen by the Hank Aaron Sports Academy to host its inaugural HBCU World Series,” said Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba. “We see this as a tremendous opportunity to share all that our city has to offer with the teams, students, fans and more.”

The event was organized by BCSG 360, a global advocate of the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) experience and supported by the Chicago public and private communities. Development and technical assistance for the tournament is provided by Black College Nines, an organization that supports the legacy of black college baseball.

BCSG 360, Black College Nines, and the City of Montgomery just concluded the inaugural Black College World Series crowning a national “NCAA-Div II and NIAA” champion in HBCU baseball. In late April, the event featured six HBCU teams from NCAA Division II and NAIA baseball programs and concluded with Bluefield State College, based in West Virginia, winning the title.

The HBCU World Series – presented by the Hank Aaron Sports Academy – will be live-streamed. Games will be available live on the Black College Sports Network at www.mybcsn.net/diamond and on Black College Nines at www.blackcollegenines.com. The games will also be available on the BCSN YouTube channel (myjbnonline) and via the MyJBN/My BCSN App, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Both teams will participate in the three-game series and educational and entertainment events and activities during the three days, estimated to welcome 5,000+ students and fans to Jackson.

The series will also showcase the rich heritage of historically black college and university students who played in the Negro Leagues and received a college education. More than 80 percent of Negro League players before 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, were college-educated at HBCUs.

Schedule:

May 28 – Game 1 – 7 pm – Teams TBD
May 29 – Game 2 – 3pm – Teams TBD
May 29 – Game 3 – 7 pm – Teams TBD (if necessary)