2026 Hope Credit Union HBCUAC Champion SUNO, West Division champion Tougaloo set for NAIA Opening Round
NEW ORLEANS - The 2026 Hope Credit Union Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) Basketball champion Southern University at New Orleans and finalist and West Division champion Tougaloo College are off to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men's Basketball National Championship Opening Round.
Southern University at New Orleans was selected as a No. 16 seed in the Liston Quadrant. It will face the host No. 1 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan University at 6 p.m. Friday. The Knights won their first HBCUAC title and secured their first NAIA Championship appearance since 2012. They outscored Fisk University in the second round and pulled upsets against East No. 1 Stillman College and West No. 2 Philander Smith University. Southern University at New Orleans topped Tougaloo College 84-81 in an overtime thriller to take the title.
This is the Knights' eighth appearance in the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship. They are 3-7 and last advanced in 2012, when they reached the second round. Live statistics and video are available. The winner will face the winner between No. 8 Montana Tech and No. 9 Oklahoma City at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Tougaloo was selected as a No. 15 seed in the Duer Quadrant. It will face the host No. 2 Louisiana State University in Shreveport at 7 p.m. Friday. The Bulldogs dominated the West Division with a retooled roster, finishing 10-2. It reached the 2026 Hope Credit Union HBCUAC Basketball championship with convincing victories over Wilberforce University and Oakwood University.
This is the Bulldogs' 11th appearance. They are 5-9 and reached the Rounded Eight in 2023. Live statistics and video are available. The winner will face the winner between No. 7 Morningside and No. 10 Texas Wesleyan University at 5 p.m. Saturday.
About the HBCU Athletic Conference
The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) is the only HBCU conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The HBCUAC membership includes Dillard University (LA), Fisk University (TN), Huston-Tillotson University (TX), Oakwood University (AL), Paul Quinn College (TX), Philander Smith University (AR), Rust College (MS), Southern University at New Orleans (LA), Stillman College (AL), Talladega College (AL), Tougaloo College (MS), University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), Voorhees University (SC), Wilberforce University (OH), and Wiley University (TX). HBCUAC sponsors championships in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's track and field, women's volleyball, softball, and baseball. In 2022, the HBCUAC secured the largest media rights deal in conference and NAIA history, signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Urban Edge Network. On July 1, 2024, the conference rebranded from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) to the HBCU Athletic Conference, marking a new era for the conference that embodies the makeup of its membership. For more information, visit hbcuac.org.