For the third time in four years, Morehouse College has won bragging rights as national champions of the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge.  The three-day competition pits students from 64 Historically Black Colleges and Universities against one another to determine the best and brightest at showcasing intellectual skills.  Morehouse beat the team from the University of  Maryland Eastern Shore at the 15th annual competition in Orlando, Florida.  During the competition, the answered questions on world history, science, literature, religion, the arts, social sciences, popular culture and African American history and culture.

As the national Champions, Morehouse will receive a check for $50,000, which will be used to provide equipment and materials for future teams, as well as funding for the newspaper program, which provides students with free issues of USA Today and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspapers.

Dr. Anderson Williams, coach of the Honda All-Star Challenge Team, said that he is very happy about this year's victory.  Morehouse is one of two teams that has won the competition three times. Florida A&M University is the other team.  "With the players that we have coming back next year, I think we have a good chance at making it four out of five victories." Williams said.  "Coaches from the other teams always ask me what is my secret?  The truth is, the only secret is that Morehouse continues to turn out good men."

Morehouse College senior John Thomas III was named to the competition's All-Star Team, which earned the College an extra $1,000 in award winnings.  He was also received an honor for exemplary sportsmanship.
 
Team captain Christopher E. Lee said it is great to be back on top.  "Everyone [at the College] wanted us to bring the championship back home," he said.  "This team was probably the best team that has ever participated in this competition. Our  chemistry was incredible.  We operated like one huge brain. Everything fell together at the right time. But most of all, we had a coach that believed in us when we didn't believe in ourselves."  Lee said the team also set a record for the most questions answered. "Of 168 questions, we accurately answered 116," he said.

The Honda Campus All-Star Challenge was established by American Honda Motor Co., Inc. in 1989. Since its inception, approximately 50,000 HBCU students have taken part in this prestigious program and nearly $3.5 million in grants have been awarded to the schools. The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) and the Association of College Unions International are partners to the program.

Photo Credit: Preston Mack

Ranked the number one college in the nation for educating African American students by Black Enterprise magazine, and by the Wall Street Journal as one of the top feeder schools for the 15 most prominent graduate and professional schools in the country. Morehouse College is the nation’s largest, private liberal arts college for men. Founded in 1867, the College enrolls approximately 3,000 students and confers bachelor’s degrees on more black men than any other institution in the world. The College offers 26 majors in three academic divisions: Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Mathematics, and Business and Economics. Morehouse offers a number of programs and activities to enhance its challenging liberal arts curriculum through the Leadership Center at Morehouse College, Morehouse Research Institute, and Andrew Young Center for International Affairs.

Prominent alumni include Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize laureate and civil rights leader; Dr. David Satcher, former U.S. Surgeon General and director of the National Center for Primary Care at the Morehouse School of Medicine; Sheldon “Spike” Lee, filmmaker and president of 40 Acres & A Mule Productions; Maynard H. Jackson, president of Jackson Securities and the first African-American mayor of Atlanta; and Nima A. Warfield, the first African-American Rhodes Scholar from an Historically Black College or University.

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