The first-ever SAS Championship HBCU Invitational hits Cary, North Carolina as part of festivities around the weekend’s scheduled PGA Tour Champions event at Prestonwood Country Club.
On Monday, SAS and Octagon announced a partnership with the Black College Golf Coaches Association (BCFCA) to host the inaugural SAS Championship HBCU Invitational on Oct. 15 and 16 as part of the existing PGA Tour Champions golf event known simply as the SAS Championship.
It all goes down this weekend at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, North Carolina.
As part of the event, 80 students from HBCUs and other predominantly Black institutions will participate. Schools attending include Howard, Florida A&M, Johnson C. Smith, Livingstone, Maryland Eastern Shore, Miles, North Carolina Central University, Prairie View A&M, Savannah State, Virginia Union, and Winston-Salem State. Students representing 12 schools will break into 16 teams for a chance to claim their own SAS Championship trophy.
The tournament is believed to be the first time full HBCU or collegiate golf teams have competed against each other at a PGA Tour venue while a Tour Champions event is ongoing.
Notably, Howard University’s Gregory Odom Jr. competed in the PGA Tour Wells Fargo Championship earlier this year, but as a singular HBCU participant.
As part of the new partnership, students will also have the opportunity to participate in a career day event called “From the Course to the Office.” Programming will include panel discussions with former HBCU students who now work at tournament sponsor SAS, a software and services giant based in Cary.
“The SAS Career Day is an exciting addition to the tournament that aims to inspire curiosity about careers after collegiate athletics,” said Danielle Pavliv, Chief Diversity Officer at SAS, in an official release. “This experience allows the extraordinary student-athletes from HBCUs to learn about the experiences of SAS employees and HBCU alumni, receive resources to help navigate career options, and establish personal connections that extend beyond the tournament.”
As Octagon Senior Vice President of Integrated Marketing Jeff Kleiber said on the occasion:
“We are delighted to help shine a spotlight on these incredibly strong collegiate golf programs while simultaneously giving these student-athletes the opportunity to not only compete [at] a Tour-level facility, but also the chance to learn from golf legends and industry-leading business executives.
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