Courtesy of NFL communications
NEW YORK, NY –The National Football League today unveiled its plans for the top HBCU student finalists who participated in the 2nd annual Madden NFL 22 x HBCU Tournament with a once-in-a-lifetime experience during Super Bowl LVI week. Students will journey to Los Angeles for a week filled with job shadowing opportunities and events with the NFL as well as the finals competition of the Madden NFL 22 x HBCU tournament. To conclude the week, each student finalist will receive a ticket to attend Super Bowl LVI, on February 13, 2022, at SoFi Stadium. The Madden NFL 22 x HBCU Tournament is driven by the NFL’s commitment to inclusivity and accessibility in both traditional sports and esports.
Throughout the week, the NFL Football Development team will host the student finalists inviting them to learn the business side of football at a variety of events and activations, including the Play Football Stakeholders Breakfast, the High School Girls NFL FLAG Exhibition, the Play Football Family Festival, and Super Bowl Experience. Students will receive valuable career advice from NFL executives and key stakeholders while also participating in immersive job training.
As a lead up to the finals competition, Eric “ThatGuyDJ” Minor from Claflin University and Rodney “RockoTuff” McKay from Virginia Union University will appear on NFL Total Access during the program’s February 8 broadcast at 7:00 PM ET on NFL Network to talk about their experience in the tournament.
Fans are encouraged to tune in on February 12 at 3:00 PM ET on the NFL YouTube or Twitch channels to find out if Eric “ThatGuyDJ” Minor or Rodney “RockoTuff” McKay will take home the Madden NFL 22 x HBCU title. Eric and Rodney will be competing for the Championship title from the NFL’s west coast headquarters located next to SoFi Stadium in Hollywood Park, home of Super Bowl LVI.
This year’s tournament features NFL partner prizing including Microsoft Surface Pro X tablets, in addition to other official League product.
Madden NFL 22 HBCU Top Student Finalists
| Name | Madden Gamer Tag | HBCU |
| Andre Kenyoda Patterson Jr | Slattlyfeee | Albany State University |
| Javion D Jackson | Javion142 | Albany State University |
| Eric Demetrius Minor Jr. | ThatGuyDJ | Claflin University |
| Christopher Webb | Sbc_gaming_1of1 | Delaware State University |
| Donavan Burrell | Tissue20 | Florida A&M University |
| Tykevious Dequante Ivory | Equipedbulldog2 | Fort Valley State University |
| Donald Ray White III | DonTnp4L | Grambling State University |
| Malik Seay | kreamyshots | Howard University |
| Malay Robinson Jr | JoseHndrx | Morgan State University |
| Nicholas Harris | BlackTrident4H | Norfolk State University |
| DaSean Wade Neclos Jr | ThaRealSuave | North Carolina A&T State University |
| Quran Rubin Coy Watts | callingwolves_ | North Carolina A&T State University |
| Christopher James Pitts | Sametarsier8657 | Saint Augustine’s University |
| Carlik A Humes | Freakylikky | Virginia Union University |
| Rodney Jimmel McKay Jr | RockoTuff | Virginia Union University |
The NFL partnered with GCN (Gaming Community Network), a GameSquare Esports company who manages the online qualifiers, including registration and online tournament execution, player communications, competitive integrity, and the professional broadcast on February 12.
About the NFL HBCU Initiative
In May 2016, the NFL launched Strength of HBCUs, Impacting Pro Football Since 1948 in partnership with two prominent HBCU athletic conferences – the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The initiative has since expanded to also include other conferences and schools to recognize and strengthen its relationships with HBCUs across the country. Through these relationships, the NFL has developed several HBCU-focused programs to educate and connect students to careers in football administration and the sports industry at large.