3 HBCUs Playing In NCAA Basketball Tournament For First Time In 32 Years

This hasn't happened since 1994.

For the first time in more than 30 years, three HBCU basketball teams—Howard University, Tennessee State University, and Prairie View A&M University—will compete in the Division I Men’s NCAA Tournament.

According to HBCU Gameday, Howard and Prairie View A&M, are seeded at No. 16, and participate in the play-in First Four tournament, which starts today. Tennessee State is a No. 15 seed in the 68-team tournament. TheGrio reported that the last time three Black colleges qualified and played in the NCAA Tournament was in 1994, when Texas Southern, Tennessee State, and North Carolina A&T made the cut.

In the Midwest bracket, Tennessee State, which will play No. 2 Iowa State in the opening round, is making its first appearance in 32 years. They won this year’s Ohio Valley Conference title (its first since 1994-1995), compiling a 15-5 conference record and 23-9 overall.

Howard University, as the No. 16 seed in its region, will face the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (No. 16 seed) on March 17 to see which team advances to the first round of the tournament to play No. 1 University of Michigan in the Midwest Bracket. Howard won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament Final and finished the season with a 23-10 record and an 11-3 conference record.

No. 16 Prairie View A&M will play No. 16 Lehigh University for the chance to go up against Florida, No. 1 in the South, in the opening round. The school posted an 18-17 overall record, went 9-9 in conference play, and took home this season’s Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Men’s Basketball Tournament championship.

The first round of the NCAA Tournament starts Friday, March 21, with 64 teams. The following week will be the second round, with the Sweet 16 the week after. The championship game will take April 6.