Morehouse College won the 2022 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC), an academic competition for students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

A total of more than 300 HBCU students, coaches, presidents and school representatives participated in this year’s virtual HCASC program.

Morehouse beat 60 other HBCU teams to win the National Championship and an institutional grant of $75,000.

Morehouse’s four-member team comprises Stephen Agyepong, Isaiah Thompson, Andre Brown, and Kendall Wood and is coached by Robert Myrick.

During the competition, each team member demonstrated their skills and worked together as a team, all while being established scholars in their own right. For example, Agyepong, a senior majoring in Biology; Thompson, a senior majoring in Economics; Brown, a junior majoring in Biomedical Engineering; and Wood, majoring in Biology.

Agyepong, the team’s captain, notes that the HCASC competition is a positive space for Black students.

“HCASC has been a positive space for young Black people to immerse themselves in all of the subjects that they know, love and study,” Agyepong said. “Although my HBCU experience was greatly impacted by COVID-19, I still found a sense of community from my team and other schools in the HCASC cohort.”

Since HCASC was founded in 1989, Morehouse College has qualified for the HCASC National Championship Tournament.

Yvette Hunsicker, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility and Inclusion & Diversity at American Honda Motor Co., congratulated the Morehouse winners.

“Congratulations to the winning scholars from Morehouse who symbolize our mission to power HBCU minds and help students achieve their dreams,” Hunsicker said. “On behalf of everyone at Honda, we appreciate the tremendous efforts from all of the students participating in this year’s competition, and we want to offer special thanks to the many volunteers and HBCU alumni who make HCASC possible.”

Honda named Myrick, Morehouse’s head coach for the past eight years, coach of the year. As a coach, Myrick has consistently kept Morehouse among the top HCASC teams and through his generosity and enthusiasm, he has supported the HCASC community.

Ernest C. Jones Sportsperson Award, which recognizes a student who exemplifies team spirit, teamwork, integrity and educational focus during the National Championship Tournament, went to Joshua Ernest of Winston-Salem State University. 

HCASC named this award after one of its early mentors who helped many HBCU students. 

The Runner-up, Kentucky State University, was awarded a $30,000 institutional grant, while the third and fourth place finishers – Oakwood University and Tuskegee University, each received $20,000 grants.

Dillard University, University of the District of Columbia, Alabama A&M University and Spelman College rounded out the “Great 8” teams that competed in the HCASC Finals, held April 10-12. Honda provided nearly $400,000 in institutional grants to the participating HBCUs.

The Honda Campus All-Star Challenge is a year-round program that celebrates black excellence and showcases the academic abilities of top HBCU students from across the country.

HCASC challenges students to broaden their knowledge on various topics while enhancing their leadership and collaborative skills. 

By bringing together students from other HBCUs, participants can network and gain mentorship opportunities. 

Since 1989, more than 145,000 scholars have participated in the academic tournament.

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