NEW YORK, NY — The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), announced the creation of the Top 50 Basketball Camp, which will take place, July 20-23 at the Atlanta University Center in Atlanta, GA.  The NBPA, in conjunction with the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) will hold the inaugural camp, which will feature 25 of the best players from each conference.  Modeled after the NBPA’s Top 100 Camp, players will receive skill development sessions on the court from current and retired NBA players and participate in leadership and life skills development sessions off the court.

“Our members are very excited to be able to share their professional knowledge and life experiences with today’s student-athlete,” said NBPA Executive Director, Michele Roberts. “This relationship with the HBCU’s demonstrates the NBPA’s capacity to play a role in enlightening the young people of today as they seek to shape their future, on and off the court.

This unique partnership will cultivate and create coaching and talent pipelines for current and retired NBA players, who are exploring the possibility of transitioning into careers in intercollegiate athletics.

“Historically Black College and Universities often provide crucial “first chance” opportunities to professional athletes seeking coaching and administrator opportunities in intercollegiate athletics,” said SIAC Commissioner Gregory Moore.  “This initiative seeks to cultivate, institutionalize and ultimately broaden critically important talent pipelines, while also imparting invaluable skill instruction and mentoring to our student-athletes.”

The participants in the camp will participate in elite competition, featuring on court drills and games and practices against the best players from the SIAC and SWAC, along with skill development sessions

“The Southwestern Athletic Conference is honored to work with the leadership and members of the NBPA, as well as the SIAC, to bring this incredible opportunity to our stakeholders,” said SWAC Commissioner, Duer Sharp. “The most fulfilling piece to this is an opportunity for these future leaders to develop their academic and character compass, as they embark on their future on and off the court.”

A key component of the camp will be the education series for the 50 camp participants, which will feature leadership development, understanding of off-the-court responsibilities and providing an overall educational experience the participants will be able to draw upon for the rest of their lives.

Camp participants and coaches will be announced at a later date.

Media members interested in covering the camp are asked to contact Daren Jenkins (daren.jenkins@nbpa.com, 212-655-0833).

ABOUT THE NBPA

The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) is the union for current professional basketball players in the National Basketball Association (NBA).  Established in 1954, the NBPA’s mission is to ensure that the rights of NBA players are protected and that every conceivable measure is taken to assist players in maximizing their opportunities and achieving their goals — on and off the court.

The NBPA advocates on behalf of the best interest of all NBA players, including the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, the filing of grievances on behalf of the players, or counseling players on benefits, educational and post-NBA career opportunities.

In addition, the NBPA provides a forum for players to participate in union activities — from executive leadership roles to team representative positions, global community outreach initiatives. The NBPA offers each NBA player the opportunity to get involved in the democratic institution that was created for, continues to exist for and is run by them.

ABOUT THE SWAC

The Southwestern Athletic Conference is a Division I athletic conference located in Birmingham, Ala., consisting of 10 first-class universities (Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, Alcorn State University, Grambling State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Prairie View A&M University, Southern University and A&M College, Texas Southern University and the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff). Founded in 1920, The SWAC sponsors eighteen sports, eight for men and ten for women. For more information, visit http://www.swac.org.

ABOUT THE SIAC

The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., and includes fourteen member institutions (Albany State University, Benedict College, Central State University, Claflin University, Clark Atlanta University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Paine College, Spring Hill College and Tuskegee University). The SIAC sponsors six women’s sports and seven men’s sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II.