The 25th annual Honda All-Star Challenge was recently held at the automaker’s facility in Torrance, California. Over the past quarter century, 12 HBCUs have emerged as champions of the competition, which uses a quiz-show type format based on the old television show, College Bowl. In both 2012 and 2013, the competition was won by teams from Morgan State University in Baltimore.
But this year, the winning team represented Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. This is the first time that Fisk University has won the competition. For their efforts, the team has earned a grant of $50,000 dollars for their institution.
The Fisk team consisted of senior Anthony Franklin and juniors Victor Ray Bradley, Matthew G. Barthwell, and Anna M. Wilkins. The Fisk team bested a team from Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama, in the final. Other HBCUs participating in the Elite Eight of the Honda All Star Challenge were Tuskegee University, North Carolina Central University, Morgan State University, Morehouse College, Florida A&M University, and Alabama State University.
The winning teach was coached by Stafford W. Cargill, chair of the department of business administration at Fisk. Dr. Cargill holds an MBA from Andrews University in Michigan and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Notre Dame.
Since its inception in 1989, the Honda All-Star Challenge has awarded more than $7.5 million in grants to Black colleges and universities.
