FOR STUDENTS
Show your capabilities.
Put learning into practice and demonstrate what you bring to a team when the stakes and expectations are real.
THE BOTB DIFFERENCE
Talent, demonstrated.
The Battle is an experiential talent-acquisition and project-based evaluation experience. Student teams tackle complex challenges and defend their ideas before industry professionals, making problem-solving, collaboration, and communication visible through their work.
FOR INDUSTRY
See potential in action.
Engage with emerging leaders and observe how they analyze, adapt, collaborate, and present ideas.
FOR UNIVERSITIES
Connect learning to opportunity.
Highlight interdisciplinary strengths and deepen conversations about career readiness and industry expectations.
A DECADE OF BRILLIANCE
THE NEXT
CHAPTER
STARTS HERE.
The Academic National Championship for HBCU Talent brings students together to solve meaningful challenges and connect with industry leaders.
Launched in 2017, the Battle celebrates its tenth annual event September 28 through October 1, 2027, in Austin. The move to fall aligns the experience with university recruiting cycles and creates new opportunities for students and partners to connect.
SCHOLARSHIP IMPACT
$1M+
Institutional and individual scholarship prizes awarded since inception.
Talent deserves access.
Since inception, HBCU Battle of the Brains has awarded over $1 million in institutional and individual scholarship prizes. Students and alumni have gained career and internship opportunities across industries, along with professional development and relationships that can shape their futures.
THE BOTB EXPERIENCE
IDEAS ARE ONLY
THE BEGINNING.
The experience puts students in the room and in the spotlight. Teams investigate a complex challenge, build a solution, and present their thinking to a panel of judges.
Across the broader program, participants encounter conversations, activations, and opportunities to learn from industry professionals. The 2027 program details will be announced as they are confirmed.
01
The Challenge
Cross-disciplinary teams tackle a time-sensitive business and technology problem.
02
The Pitch
Students turn their analysis into a compelling case and defend their approach.
03
The Connections
Participants engage with peers and professionals beyond their own campuses.
04
The Possibilities
Students gain exposure to career paths, perspectives, and new ways to lead.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE POSSIBILITIES
Moments worth working for.
See the people, effort, and pride behind the results. Celebrate our 2026 champions and explore the competition’s history.
A championship moment at HBCU BOTB 2026.
THE EXPERIENCESHIPS
From campus to the heart of the industry.
Explore the moments that took HBCU students onto NFL Draft stages, inside professional sports organizations, and into conversations with industry leaders.
These historical Experienceships grew from our NFL partnership. Future opportunities will be shared as they are confirmed.
A DEFINING CHAPTER | 2020–2021
Connections that changed what came next.
During the virtual era, HBCU Battle of the Brains brought students together with mentors, executives, and industry partners through HBCU Office Hours, #HBCUAskJack with Cash App, and a wider series of programs.
HBCU Office Hours also helped give rise to HSI Battle of the Brains and Black Sports Business Symposium.
A CONVERSATION THAT CREATED A NEW CHAPTER
The opportunity was already in the room.
The Battle brought faculty advisors, university leaders, and industry partners together around extraordinary students. Meeting of the Minds began in 2018 to make full use of that shared space, opening direct conversations about talent, career readiness, and the pathways between campus and industry.
In 2026, Navigating a New World examined how to get more students hired. In spring 2027, BOTB CONNECT grows from Meeting of the Minds, carrying the collaboration into a wider ongoing platform for the HBCU and HSI communities.
2018: Meeting of the Minds. 2027: BOTB CONNECT. One evolving commitment to student opportunity.
VOICES FROM OUR COMMUNITY
Voices worth hearing.
From NFL leadership and sports journalism to celebrated HBCU football alumni, these recorded messages reflect the people and relationships surrounding the Battle.
TROY VINCENT SR. · KIMBERLEY A. MARTIN · DOUG WILLIAMS · ANTOINE BETHEA
#HBCUBOTBRAINS A DECADE IN MOMENTS
The Battle, through your eyes.
The people, performances, and places behind the Battle. Explore six standout moments, then hear directly from the students and partners who experienced them.
EXPLORE ALL 22 STORIES
Real people. Original posts. Lasting connections.
CHAMPIONSHIP 2026Tuskegee takes the crown
CHAMPIONSHIP 2025Morehouse makes historyBEST TECHNICAL 2026Built under pressureDELL SCHOLARSHIP 2026A freshman’s breakthrough
CULTURAL EXPERIENCESHIP KANSAS CITYHistory comes alive
COMMUNITY SERVICE THRIVENTGenerosity in action2025 Morehouse College photograph: Morehouse College Newsroom →. Other photographs: HBCU BOTB competition and Experienceship archives.
THE COMMUNITY IN ITS OWN WORDS
STUDENT VOICEThe return that became a championshipA first-person story of persistence, growth, and a 2025 first-place finish.Mark Ross | MorehousePARTNER PERSPECTIVEWhy the talent pipeline mattersA partner reflects on 150-plus students presenting their ideas in 2026.Melissa Peña | eBaySTUDENT EXPERIENCECheyney made. Battle tested.The team, the challenge, and the connections that followed in 2023.Matthew Wilford | Cheyney
Stay close to the Battle.FOLLOW THE COMMUNITY #HBCUBotBrains
A SHARED COMMITMENT TO OPPORTUNITY
Past Sponsors & Partners
Thank you to the organizations that have helped create opportunity for HBCU students across past competitions.
Our Title Sponsor Legacy
The Home Depot · 2018
NFL · 2019 through 2024
The Home Depot and the NFL are the only two organizations to have served as title sponsors of HBCU Battle of the Brains.
Additional significant historical supporters include Amazon, Capital One, Dell Technologies, eBay, Expedia Group, KPMG, and Thrivent.
H-E-B · Our Longest-Standing Partner
H-E-B has been with HBCU Battle of the Brains since year one, creating opportunities for generations of students.
The complete historical roster appears below. Recognition reflects support of past competitions.
2027 sponsorship is now open.
HBCU Battle of the Brains, LLC | Austin, Texas | Contact Us