Gulf Coast Athletic Conference lands in Jackson for 2023 Basketball Championship Tournament

NEW ORLEANS – The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference has selected Jackson, Miss. to host the 2023 Hope Credit Union Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship. The tournament, hosted by the Hank Aaron Sports Academy, will be held on the campus of GCAC member school Tougaloo College February 23 through February 26.

“This is an exciting time for the GCAC,” says GCAC Commissioner Dr. KiKi Baker Barnes. “Every championship we host will be an experience for our student-athletes, coaches, and fans, and we are thankful to have partners like Hope Credit Union and Hank Aaron Sports to bring to life our vision.”

“Hope Credit Union is proud to be the title sponsor of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference’s basketball tournament,” said HOPE CEO Bill Bynum. “With roots in Jackson and communities across the Deep South, we are committed to supporting the immense talent that exists in the region’s HBCUs, where the potential is so great, and the barriers to economic opportunity have historically been most prevalent.”

Jackson is prime real estate for the tournament with Tougaloo’s men’s team looking to defend their 2022 title while Rust College’s women make the short trip down I-55 from Holly Springs, Miss. 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 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 for 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!”

Tickets for this year’s tournament are available now via the Hank Aaron Sports Academy ticketing page.

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.

About the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference

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 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).

About Hope Credit Union

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.

About Hank Aaron Sports Academy

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. For so long the Jackson Public School District, located in the capital city of Jackson, has had the unfortunate designation of being one of the few if not the only school districts to have seven high schools and not one of them having its own (on-campus) baseball field. In 2017, a group of concerned coaches, parents and political leaders came together to determine how best to solve this issue. Through local and national financial support HASA will provide an opportunity for each of the seven high schools to host, practice and play games on a modern and up-to-date baseball facility. The Academy will also serve as the host for as many as 36 – 40 weekends of tournament baseball for youth ages 6-16 featuring both recreational leagues and travel leagues, many playing with and against each other for the first time, in a unique setting such as this one offers. It is our hope and goal that this level of competition, exposure and training will increase our youths and their parents’ interest and success in the sport of baseball and all that it has to offer to the careers of all youth both on and off the field.