NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – The Tennessee State University Honda Campus All-Star Challenge Team will compete against 47 other Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the National Championship Tournament in Los Angeles, April 7-11.

The team recently participated in the National Qualifying Tournament at Spelman College in Atlanta where they defeated Bethune-Cookman and Savannah State Universities.

Devon Jefferson, a member of the TSU Honors College who serves as the team’s captain, said he hopes the team will bring the championship trophy back to TSU. He said being part of the TSU Honda Campus All-Star Team adds to the members’ academic experiences because of the knowledge they gain while studying and preparing for competition.

“I definitely believe that HCASC has made me better at certain things like taking certain classes and understanding them,” said Jefferson, a junior marketing major from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. “I might have heard something in passing at practice and then I hear the actual application in class, so it makes more sense to me when I do the work.”

Dr. John Miglietta, professor of political science, who has served as the team’s coach since 2004, said participating in this event on the national level is important because it showcases the academic talent at the nation’s HBCUs.

“This event is a great showcase of the academic talent at HBCUs. TSU is proud to be able to participate,” he said. “Our team will be interacting with players and coaches from other HBCUs around the country as well as the volunteers, college bowl representatives, and associates from American Honda.”

Miglietta said HCASC is a great program because it measures students’ knowledge on a variety of subjects such as history, literature, sports, pop culture, science, as well as black history, culture, and literature.”

Members of the HCASC team who will be participating in the competition along with Jefferson are Breanna Williams, senior, music major from Marietta, Georgia; Alekzander Garcia, senior, chemistry major from Nyssa, Oregon; and Terrence George Young, junior computer science major from Knoxville, Tennessee.

Alexandria Ross, a freshmen, economics and Finance major from Memphis, Tennessee, will also be attending as the university’s institutional representative.

Some other members of the TSU HCASC Club are Aliyah Muhammad, of Nashville, a sophomore biology major; Donovan Varnell, sophomore political science major, from Nashville; and Micah Williams, sophomore, combined mass communications and military science major from Seoul, South Korea.

TSU has participated in 21 national championship tournaments earning a total of $170,500 in grant money since the inception of the program in 1989. Miglietta would like members of the Tennessee State Univeristy Community to encourage the team by liking the Honda Campus All Star Challenge facebook page and leave comments to encourage the team at https://bit.ly/2J6XtQd.