2024 edition will include 15 teams competing for $30,000 in honorariums to their golf operating budget.
CARY, NC – Heading into its third year, the SAS Championship HBCU Invitational will return in 2024 with another unique element. As part of the annual PGA Tour Champions Tournament, 15 teams from 12 leading Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) will compete for a share of
$30,000 in awards, donated by SAS as honorariums to the winning teams’ golf operating budget. The tournament will take place on Oct. 12-13 at Prestonwood Country Club, with teams playing three rounds over the two days.
“SAS is deeply committed to advancing education equity and fostering a global community of innovators that reflects the diversity of our world. Through initiatives like the HBCU Invitational, we aim to build pathways that not only support academic and athletic excellence, but also prepare students for future success in their careers,” said SAS Chief Diversity Officer Danielle Pavliv. “This year, SAS is thrilled to further our commitment by offering $30,000 in honorariums to the winning teams’ golf operating budgets, ensuring that these talented student-athletes have the resources they need to continue thriving both on and off the course.”
The SAS Championship, a PGA Tour Champions event in its 24th year in 2024, in collaboration with the PGA Tour and the Black College Golf Coaches Association, created the HBCU Invitational in 2022. The tournament is the first event of its kind to have student-athletes from HBCU schools compete at the same time and location as the pros from the PGA TOUR Champions. 2024 will see the addition of honorariums being donated to the winning schools, with $10,000 donated to each of the winning teams in the Men’s Division I, Men’s Division II and Women’s Division flights.
The 2024 field will include five women’s teams and 10 men’s teams playing in the three-round event. The five women’s teams will compete in one division, with all five teams returning after competing in the 2023 editions. North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T represent the North Carolina teams in the field. Alabama State, Delaware State and Prairie View A&T round out the bracket, with all five teams looking for their first title at the event.
We’re excited to return to the SAS Championship HBCU Invitational and continue to watch it grow,” said Miles head coach and President of the Black College Golf Coaches Association Leonard Smoot. “This tournament provides an incredible platform for our student-athletes to compete in a professional setting, while also exposing them to opportunities beyond the golf course. The addition of the $30,000 in honorariums is a significant boost that will help our programs thrive and further support the development of our student-athletes.”
The men’s Division I group will be headlined by two-time defending champion Florida A&M. North Carolina Central, Alabama State and Prairie View A&M will be the three schools with both its men’s and women’s squads competing while Arkansas Pine Bluff rounds out the draw. The Division II group also returns its
2023 champion, with Livingstone battling against 2022 champion Miles, Johnson C. Smith, Virginia Union and Winston-Salem State.
Play will start on Saturday, Oct. 12 with competitors playing a pair of rounds on the Fairways Course at Prestonwood Country Club, which also hosts the SAS Championship. Competition will close on Sunday, Oct. 13 with a third round followed by the crowning of the men’s and women’s Division I and Division II team champions as well as individual champions.
In advance of the competition on the course, analytics leader SAS will host a Career Day on SAS Campus on Friday, Oct. 11. The student-athletes will participate in an insightful and interactive session about career readiness and social media tips, including 1:1 LinkedIn profile coaching and the opportunity to receive a professional headshot. The student will also learn about AI and using data for good, followed by lunch with SAS executives and employees. The student-athletes will also have a chance to meet both their fellow competitors and the pros from the PGA Tour Champions during the Champions Cookout, which will take place on Saturday following the first two rounds of play.
2024 SAS Championship HBCU Invitational Field
Division I Men:
- Alabama State (Montgomery, AL)
- University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (Pine Bluff, AR) Florida A&M (Tallahassee, FL)
- North Carolina Central (Durham, NC) Prairie View A&M (Prairie View, TX)
Division II Men:
- Johnson C. Smith (Charlotte, NC)
- Livingstone College (Salisbury, NC)
- Miles College (Fairfield, AL)
- Virginia Union (Richmond, VA)
Winston-Salem State (Winston-Salem, NC)
Women:
- Alabama State (Montgomery, AL)
- Delaware State (Dover, DE)
North Carolina A&T (Greensboro, NC) - North Carolina Central (Durham, NC)
- Prairie View A&M (Prairie View, TX)
About SAS
SAS is the leader in analytics. Through innovative software and services, SAS empowers and inspires customers around the world to transform data into intelligence. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW®.
SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright © 2023 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
About the SAS Championship
For 23 years, the SAS Championship has provided countless memories for fans and attendees young and old as golfing legends have walked the fairways of Prestonwood Country Club each year, battling for one of the largest purses on the PGA Tour Champions. The tournament partners with the YMCA of the Triangle as the host charity and in those 23 years, nearly $6 million has been donated to area youth educational initiatives. Championship week includes events to bring the community together, including the Championship 5K, Women’s Day, Food Truck Friday and the HBCU Invitational.
About the Black College Golf Coaches Association (BCGCA)
The BCGCA is a 501(c)3 that provides student-athletes from around the world with unique opportunities to compete in college golf while developing academic and interpersonal skills to compete in the “real world” on a global scale. The core of our efforts is to bring our team’s fresh ideas and passion to the range of activities we’re involved in. Through all of our endeavors, we hope to display the conviction behind our beliefs.
About PGA TOUR Champions
PGA TOUR Champions is a membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older, including 35 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Tour’s mission is to provide financial opportunities for its players, entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back and generate significant charitable and economic impact in tournament communities. Follow PGA TOUR Champions online at PGATOUR.com, on Facebook, on Twitter (@ChampionsTour),on Instagram (@pgatourchampions) and on TikTok (pgatourchampions).
