The National Football League (NFL) announced Thursday that registration has officially opened for the fourth annual EA Sports Madden NFL 24 x HBCU Tournament. This annual competition for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) aims to “maintain the tradition of providing students at HBCUs a chance to compete and to explore the business of sports through practical learning and job shadowing experiences at the NFL Pro Bowl Games in Orlando, Florida,” which will take place on Feb. 4, 2024.
The online portion of the EA Sports Madden NFL 24 x HBCU Tournament is being facilitated by esports tournament operator Rally Cry.
This year students will have three ways to qualify for the HBCU Championship: open qualifiers, women’s qualifiers, and via HBCU video applications. All undergraduate and graduate students attending an HBCU school in the United States are eligible to participate.
Qualifiers will be held in October, November, and December, and students can compete in those events using Madden NFL 24 on PC, Xbox Series X or S, or PlayStation 5 systems. The top three players from the open and women’s qualifiers will advance to the HBCU Championship in Orlando.
Students can also participate by submitting a video application that explains why they should attend the HBCU Championship. Submissions are now open and will be accepted until Dec. 1. The top two winners will be selected based on “NFL criteria,” according to qan announcement.
The top eight players selected from the qualifiers and selected video applicants will be given an NFL Pro Bowl Games experience, with participation in onsite media interviews (before, during, and after competitive play), shadowing NFL executives to get a insider’s view of the business, a tour of Camping World Stadium, interactions with NFL players, and field access to the actual game. They will also have a chance to win cash and prizes throughout the tournament.
Schedule:
- Qualifier 1: Oct. 28 [Top 2 advance Qualifiers Finals].
- Qualifier 2: Nov. 4 [Top 2 advance Qualifiers Finals].
- Qualifier 3: Nov. 11 [Top 2 advance Qualifiers Finals].
- Qualifier 4: Nov. 18 [Top 2 advance Qualifiers Finals].
- Open Qualifiers Finals: Dec. 2 [Top 3 advance to Pro Bowl].
- Women’s Qualifiers Finals: Dec. 9 [Top 3 advance to Pro Bowl].
- Video Applications Open: Sept. 21 – Dec. 1.
For more information about the Madden NFL 24 x HBCU Tournament, visit HBCUTournament.NFL.com.
The EA Sports Madden NFL 24 x HBCU Tournament is part of the NFL’s ongoing NFL HBCU Initiative, which aims to strengthen its relationships with HBCUs across the United States across several “HBCU-focused programs to educate and connect students to careers in football administration and the sports industry at large.”