Posted on Friday, February 17, 2023
Texas Southern University’s baseball team is one of six teams selected to play in the first annual Cactus Jack HBCU Classic, a round-robin collegiate baseball tournament highlighting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their baseball programs, this weekend at Minute Maid Park.
The Cactus Jack HBCU Classic will feature nine games over the weekend. Additionally, the Astros and Texas Southern University will make a significant announcement in a pre-game ceremony on Saturday night, prior to the Texas Southern and Prairie View game, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. The ceremony is tentatively scheduled for 6:45 p.m. on the field at Minute Maid Park.
The Cactus Jack HBCU Classic will feature six schools participating in the inaugural event including local programs Texas Southern University (Houston, TX) and Prairie View A&M (Prairie View, Texas), as well as Southern University and A&M College (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), Grambling State University (Grambling, Louisiana), Jackson State University (Jackson, Mississippi), and Mississippi Valley State University (Itta Bena, Mississippi).
A highlight of the tournament will be traditional HBCU in-state rivalry games between Texas Southern and Prairie View A&M, Southern University and Grambling State, and Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State, on Saturday, Feb. 18.
SATURDAY’S GAMES TO BE TELEVISED AND STREAMED
All three of Saturday’s games will be televised on AT&T SportsNet SW and available on the channel in the entirety of the Astros five-state viewing area. The games will also be streamed on Astros.com and on the Astros Twitter and Facebook pages. Gerald Sanchez and Butch Alsandor will be on the call for the first game on Saturday, with Todd Kalas and Michael Bourn calling those final two games of the day.
Outside of the Astros viewing area, MLB Network will air live the 11 a.m. CT Saturday game between Mississippi Valley St. and Jackson St. MLB Network will also air the other two games on tape delay at a later time.
TRAVIS SCOTT BOBBLEHEAD AVAILABLE
The partnership with the Cactus Jack Foundation for the tournament supports their longstanding commitment to raising money and providing scholarship opportunities for students to attend HBCUs. It is a cause that is important to Travis Scott given his family’s longtime legacy supporting HBCUs.
To celebrate the Cactus Jack Foundation’s involvement in the tournament, the Astros Foundation will be distributing Travis Scott Exclusive Bobbleheads each day of the tournament to 2,500 ticketed fans in attendance.
Single day tickets and three-day tournament packages are on sale now at Astros.com/HBCUClassic.
2023 CACTUS JACK HBCU CLASSIC SCHEDULE*
Friday, February 17, 2023
11:05 a.m. Prairie View vs. Grambling St.
3:05 p.m. Texas Southern vs. Mississippi Valley St.
7:05 p.m. Southern University vs. Jackson St.
Saturday, February 18, 2023 (In-State Rivalry Games)
11:05 a.m. Mississippi Valley St. vs. Jackson St.
3:05 p.m. Southern University vs. Grambling St.
7:05 p.m. Prairie View vs. Texas Southern
Sunday, February 19, 2023
11:05 a.m. Grambling St. vs. Mississippi Valley St.
3:05 p.m. Jackson St. vs. Prairie View
7:05 p.m. Texas Southern vs. Southern University
*Game times are subject to change; home teams are listed second
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