The Andre Dawson Classic, formerly the Urban Invitational, is the annual, round-robin collegiate baseball tournament designed by Major League Baseball to highlight Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their baseball programs.
Recognized by the Higher Education Act of 1965, HBCUs have offered quality educational and athletic programs for African-American youth for more than a century. HBCUs have a proud baseball tradition, and have produced Hall of Famers such as Lou Brock (Southern University) and Andre Dawson (Florida A&M University).
The Urban Invitational was first launched in 2008 at the MLB Youth Academy in Compton, California, and was hosted there until 2012 when the tournament relocated to Houston. The Houston Astros hosted the event at Minute Maid Park in 2012 and 2013. In 2014 and 2015 the tournament relocated to New Orleans, and those two years included participation by NCAA Division I programs LSU and University of New Orleans. It has remained in New Orleans ever since.
This year’s tournament will feature seven HBCUs: Grambling State University (Grambling, Louisiana), University of Arkansas Pine Bluff (Pine Bluff, Arkansas), Alabama State University (Montgomery, Alabama), Prairie View A&M (Prairie View, Texas), Florida A&M University (Tallahassee, Florida), Jackson State University (Jackson, Mississippi) and Southern University (Baton Rouge, Louisiana). They will be joined by the University of New Orleans.
Since 2008, the year of the inaugural Invitational, more than 25 HBCU athletes who have played in the tournament have been selected in the MLB Draft.
| Date | Time (local) | Matchup | Site | Scoring |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, Feb. 18 | 11 a.m. | Southern 7, Alabama State 6 (10 inn.) | NOLA | Gameday |
| Friday, Feb. 18 | 3 p.m. | Florida A&M 13, Prairie View A&M 7 | NOLA | Gameday |
| Friday, Feb. 18 | 7 p.m. | UNO 9, Arkansas Pine Bluff 3 | UNO | Gameday |
| Friday, Feb. 18 | 7 p.m. | Grambling 10, Jackson State 1 | NOLA | Gameday |
| Saturday, Feb. 19 | 1 p.m. | Southern 7, Jackson State 5 | NOLA (TV-MLBN) | Gameday |
| Saturday, Feb. 19 | 1 p.m. | Prairie View A&M 15, Arkansas Pine Bluff 7 | UNO | Gameday |
| Saturday, Feb. 19 | 4 p.m. | UNO 12, Grambling 2 | UNO | Gameday |
| Saturday, Feb. 19 | 6 p.m. | Alabama State 9, Florida A&M 6 | NOLA (TV-MLBN) | Gameday |
| Sunday, Feb. 20 | 11 a.m. | Florida A&M 8, Southern 7 | UNO | Gameday |
| Sunday, Feb. 20 | 12 p.m. | Jackson State 11, Prairie View A&M 6 | NOLA | Gameday |
| Sunday, Feb. 20 | 2 p.m. | UNO 10, Alabama State 0 | UNO | Gameday |
| Sunday, Feb. 20 | 3 p.m. | Grambling 11, Arkansas Pine Bluff 7 | NOLA | Gameday |
NEW ORLEANS -- The main attraction at the Andre Dawson Classic is the on-field action, but as is the case with every diversity-focused event that Major League Baseball supports, there is a lot of important work going on behind the scenes, too. The effort to add players into the talent...
The Andre Dawson Classic, an annual round-robin tournament that was launched in 2008 to showcase Historically Black Colleges and Universities, took place this weekend in New Orleans. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Urban Edge Network to further highlight the Andre Dawson Classic,” said Del Matthews, vice president of baseball...
NEW ORLEANS -- Long before he was old enough to participate in the Andre Dawson Classic, Jahli Hendricks watched the tournament on MLB Network with his dad, a yearly tradition between father and son. Hendricks grew up in south Philadelphia, which, geographically speaking, was nowhere near any of the schools...
Major League Baseball and Urban Edge Network on Friday announced a collaboration to co-stream MLB Network’s broadcast of the Andre Dawson Classic on Saturday, Feb. 19. Urban Edge Network will stream two games from the HBCU College Baseball tournament -- Jackson State University vs. Southern University and Florida A&M University...
NEW ORLEANS -- College baseball tournaments sprung up in nearly every region of the United States on Friday, a regular rite of passage marking the beginning of a new season. It’s a big weekend for thousands of ballplayers, including a couple hundred who have gathered at the New Orleans Youth...
If anyone knows the importance of opportunities provided by Historically Black Colleges and Universities, it’s Andre Dawson. As one of only two enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame to come from an HBCU (Lou Brock is the other), the Florida A&M alum also understands more than most how hard...
Payton Harris strikes out three batters over the final three innings to earn the save for Alabama State in a 9-6 win over Florida A&M
Ethan Jenkins enters the game in the 9th as a pinch hitter and launches a solo home run deep to left, cutting Florida A&M' deficit to 9-6
Angel Jimenez singles into center field to bring home a run as Alabama State extends its lead to 9-4 in the bottom of the 5th inning
Ty Hanchey belts a line-drive double to left-center, cutting Florida A&M's deficit to 8-4 in the top of the 5th inning
With Chris Lewis caught between first and second base, Cristopher DeGuzman comes home to score before the tag is made in the 4th inning
Angel Jimenez hits a ground-ball single up the middle and two runs score, increasing Alabama State's lead to 7-3 in the bottom of the 3rd
Ian Matos smacks an infield single up the middle to drive in a run and a second run scores on an error to give ASU a 5-3 lead in the 3rd
Zeddric Burnham scores on a throwing error by Hunter May, making it 3-2 in the 3rd inning
Christopher DeGuzman attempts to tag out a runner at second base, but the ball gets away and a run comes home for FAMU in the top of the 2nd inning
