“The continued commitment of the NFL illustrates its shared belief in the product of our HBCU institutions.” – Gregory Gibson Jr., Founder & Executive Director, HBCU Battle of the Brains
The fifth annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Battle of the Brains (HBCU BOTB) is set to take place Wednesday, October 20 through Saturday, October 23, 2021 in Austin, TX, and the National Football League is once again serving as the title sponsor of the event.
With the theme #MoreToBattleFor, this year’s HBCU BOTB will once again pit teams of the best and brightest STEM and Business students from HBCUs across the country against each other as they compete for more than $50,000 in scholarships. Each team will have 24 hours to develop a solution to a proposed business challenge, and make their pitch live in front of an audience. They will be judged on analysis, a business/technology solution, a presentation and Q&A, with crowd participation constituting one of the final votes.
“Showcasing the immensely talented students that populate our nation’s HBCUs has been a central focus of the HBCU Battle of the Brains,” said Gregory Gibson, Founder and Executive Director, HBCU BOTB. “The commitment of the NFL illustrates its shared belief in the product of our HBCU institutions.”
“The NFL is excited to once again sponsor the HBCU Battle of the Brains event,” said David Jurenka, Senior Vice President, NFL Media & General Manager, Los Angeles. “We have seen countless examples of how this event continues to shine a light on the incredibly gifted young minds that will undoubtedly have an impact on the future of various industries. The creativity and enthusiasm surrounding this event is truly inspiring, and we always cherish the opportunity to engage and interact with these students.”
“The HBCU Battle of the Brains event is one we look forward to participating in each and every year,” said Michelle McKenna, NFL Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer. “Engaging and working with the dedicated HBCU community remains an important priority for the NFL, and we are excited to continue to grow our relationship through events such as the Battle of the Brains.”
More than 30 NFL executives and staff across its league and media offices will be on hand during the four-day event, providing guidance and support for participants in a variety of roles including featured speakers, team mentors and competition judges.
Hosted by HBCU Battle of the Brains, LLC, the competition is designed to support the mission of HBCUs by promoting talented business and STEM students within the African American community, as well as the technology industry, in an engaging and dynamic way.
For more information, visit hbcubattleofthebrains.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram at @hbcubotbrains. #HBCUBotBrains #MoreToBattleFor.
About HBCU Battle of the Brains
HBCU Battle of the Brains, LLC’s mission is to address inequities in industries in which Black and Brown representation is severely lacking. This is accomplished by creating and delivering compelling programming that not only brings top students and industry leaders together but allows each entity to showcase its best self through industry-specific skills challenges (HBCU Battle of the Brains Competition, hybrid-hackathon, business cases, etc…), mentoring (HBCU Office Hours), and professional development (#ReadyToWork, etc…). We excel at showcasing the top business and STEM students that our nation’s HBCUs have to offer while introducing this highly regarded talent to amazing companies and career paths.
