As a way to continue to celebrate and honor the historical impact of HBCUs and their players, the National Football League will host the second annual Madden NFL 22 x HBCU Tournament along with EA Sports.
HBCU ESports students will have the chance to participate in an online qualifier starting Dec. 5 to participate in a job-shadowing “experienceship” with EA and NFL staff members in various departments during Super Bowl LVI week.
Prizes include:
- $10,000 Prize Pool
- Ticket to Super Bowl LVI (Top 16 Finalists)
- Microsoft Surface Pro X (Top 2 Finalists)
- Microsoft Xbox Series X (Top 2 Finalists)
- Custom Microsoft Xbox Controller (Top 16 Finalists)
- New Era Caps featuring your favorite NFL team (Top 16 Finalists)
- Xpression Gaming Chair (1st Place)
- Game Rocker 100 Gaming Chair (2nd Place)
- HeatBank 9s Gaming Rechargeable Hand Warmers (Top 16 Finalists)
- RGX LED Gaming Headphone featuring your favorite NFL team (Top 16 Finalists)
The tournament’s registration officially closes today, with limited space available for the online qualifier tournament.
“We are so thrilled to bring back this tournament for HBCU students and offer a once-in-a-lifetime experience to come to Los Angeles during Super Bowl LVI Week,” Natara Holloway, vice president, football strategy at the NFL, said in a statement. “We want to expand the League’s efforts to create inclusive opportunities for the next generation of talent with partners like EA providing not only a chance for students to compete but also the chance to learn the business of football through practical learning and shadowing experiences.”
The top 16 finalists from the qualifier will advance to compete in the NFL Madden x HBCU Showcase during Super Bowl Week in Los Angeles. The top two finalists will play for cash prizes at the NFL’s West Coast headquarters, located in next to SoFi Stadium in Hollywood Park, where Super Bowl LVI will be held.
If you’re eager to see who’s taking home the cash, you can watch the tournament matchup on both the NFL YouTube and Twitch channels on Feb. 12, 2022.
“We are so honored to be working with the NFL on this incredibly important initiative to capture the passion of gaming among HBCU students,” Chris Kindt, CMO of GCN, said in a statement. “We are confident our team with deep roots in esports and gaming will deliver an exciting tournament capped off by the exhilaration of competing during Super Bowl LVI.”
The NFL will partner with GCN, Inc.; the Gaming Community Network is the only independent media group wholly dedicated to gaming and esports across community sites. GCN is part of the GameSquare Esports group of companies, which will manage all tournament operations.
The NFL HBCU initiative launched Strength of HBCUs, Impacting Pro Football Since 1948 in May 2016. The partnership included two HBCU athletic conferences — the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The initiative focuses on and strengthens its relationships with HBCUs throughout the U.S.
Players can register to compete in the tournament at hbcutournament.nfl.com.
