Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is the winner of the 2023 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge. The event is an academic competition for students from historically Black colleges and universities that was hosted on the American Honda corporate campus in Torrance, California. More than 200 HBCU students, along with their coaches, participated in this year’s national championship tournament, which returned to an in-person format for the first time in four years.
Stillman College defeated the Tuskegee University team by accurately answering questions about history, science, literature, religion, the arts, and pop culture. Stillman College bested teams from 64 HBCUs and qualified for the National Championship Tournament after winning a series of regional competitions throughout the academic year. Stillman students earned a $75,000 award for the college for winning the tournament.
This is the 34th year Stillman College has participated in the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge and the first year it has won the National Championship. The winning team was coached by Thomas Steven Jennings, an associate professor of history at Stillman College. Team members includes captain Carla A. Louca, a senior majoring in religion from Tuscaloosa, Susannah Britain LeMay, a junior majoring in journalism from Fredericksburg, Virginia, Jaela Williams, a junior majoring in criminal justice from Huntsville, Alabama, and Zharia Nubia Lankford, a senior majoring in journalism from Douglasville, Georgia.
Runner-up Tuskegee University was awarded a $30,000 grant, while the third- and fourth-place finishers – Winston-Salem State University and Oakwood University, respectively – each received a $20,000 grant. The University of the District of Columbia, Southern University-Baton Rouge, Spelman College, and Tennessee State University also were among the top eight finishers.
“Congratulations to Stillman College for its first Honda Campus All-Star Challenge win! I also congratulate all of the students, coaches, and schools in the top 8! You certainly make us proud!!!”
DY Butler