After months of rigorous preparation and multiple competitions among 89 schools, students from 48 Historically Black College and University (HBCU) teams are ready to compete for the National Championship of the 28th Annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC), April 8-10, 2017.

The “Great 48” will vie for top honors and bragging rights, as well as a share of more than $350,000 in institutional grants from Honda. The HCASC National Championship Finals will be held on the Honda campus in Torrance, Calif.

Honda established the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge as a way to highlight and recognize the academic talents of HBCU students. More than $8 million in grants from Honda have provided support for books and tuition, scholarships, enhancement of student programs and other investments to improve campus facilities. The winning HBCU team will receive a $75,000 institutional grant; the runner up will receive $30,000, while the third and fourth place finishers will each take home $20,000.

This year’s journey to the championship began in the fall, with 89 HBCUs competing for a spot in the finals. Team members spent countless hours preparing for the competition, which includes knowledge acquisition, learning game skills and mastering game strategies. The Honda Campus All-Star Challenge tests students’ knowledge and ability to quickly and accurately answer questions about world history, science, literature, religion, the arts and popular culture.

“The Honda Campus All-Star Challenge is more than a competition of academic excellence; it has fostered a close-knit community that supports the students even after they enter professional life,” said Steve Morikawa, Vice President, Corporate Relations and Social Responsibility, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “The ‘Great 48’ teams represent some of the best and brightest HBCU talent, and Honda looks forward to an exciting HCASC National Championship Tournament.”

With more than 125,000 HCASC alumni, the annual academic competition creates professional networking opportunities for HBCU students. HCASC’s impressive roster of past participants includes engineers, lawyers, doctors and professors. Each year, outstanding former HCASC competitors, who have succeeded in their chosen career and life paths, are inducted into the HCASC Alumni Hall of Fame. To continue their legacy, many Hall of Fame alumni become mentors for the current generation of HCASC competitors.