NBA legend and Winston-Salem State University graduate Chris Paul is tipping off another year of highlighting HBCU basketball this weekend.
The Chris Paul Family Foundation and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame are set to host the third-annual CP3 HBCU Tip-Off this weekend. The event will take place November 18-19 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. It is designed to showcase non-Division I HBCUs.
“As an HBCU graduate himself, Chris Paul has long been a prominent voice for the empowerment of HBCU athletes,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. “The Hall of Fame is honored to work alongside Chris to create opportunities for these student-athletes, and we look forward to watching them play in two competitive weekends of basketball.”
This year’s participants are Cheyney (PA) University, Tuskegee University, Winston-Salem State University and Virginia Union University.
VUU has won both iterations of this event so far, defeating Winston-Salem State in 2021 in the inaugural title game and Xavier University of Louisiana last year. It comes into Saturday’s game against Cheyney 1-3 after losing just eight games all season in 2022-2023.
Cheyney is making its first showing in the CP3 HBCU Tip-Off. A one-time member of the NCAA Division II, it is currently outside the NCAA. Its only available result is a 100-52 loss to D1 Morgan State of the MEAC.
The winner of that game, set to start at 5:30 PM will face the Winston-Salem State/Tuskegee winner from the 8 PM game.
Tuskegee is making its first showing in the CP3 HBCU Tip-Off. TU won 20 games last season, but comes into the matchup with Winston-Salem State 0-2 on the season.
WSSU competed in the inaugural challenge in 2021, defeating Clark Atlanta and losing to Virginia Union. That loss started a four-game losing streak to VUU that lasted until the 2023 CIAA semifinal when it came up with a one-point win. WSSU head coach Cleo Hill Jr. talked about the weekend after picking up his second win in three games on Tuesday.
“That’s one of our better trips playing in a Chris Paul Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. Very nice facility. Very nice And they really take care of us,” Hill said. “But we’re looking forward to a matchup with Tuskegee out of the SIAC. They’ve been very good for the last couple of years. And then, we’ll see what happens with Virginia Union and my own old stomping ground, Cheyney State University. We’ll see what happens with them. You know, hopefully we take care of Tuskegee and it’ll be nice to meet VUU again in championship play.”