HBCU Athletic Conference

The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) is an NAIA collegiate athletic conference exclusively representing Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1981 as the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, it adopted its current name on 1 July 2024 and brings together member institutions across eight US states and the US Virgin Islands. Basketball has been part of its competition programme since the 1981–82 academic year. The conference administers men’s and women’s basketball regular-season competition and championship tournaments, including the 2026 Hope Credit Union HBCUAC Basketball Championship, with brackets, schedules, scores and recaps published through its official Tournament Central. Its mission is to support member student-athletes through HBCU culture and experiences and to strengthen championship and community opportunities. This profile concerns the conference organiser, not the NAIA, an individual HBCU or a single basketball team.