ATLANTA, Georgia — The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) are pleased to announce their continued partnership in hosting the 2nd annual Top 50 Basketball Camp. The Camp will take place July 27th-29th on the campus of Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA.
Twenty-five of the best players from each conference will be featured at the camp in a model similar to the NBPA’s Top 100 Camp. Players will receive on-court skill development from current and retired NBA players as well as participate in leadership and life skills development sessions off the court.
“We are thrilled to continue this collaboration with the SWAC and SIAC as it provides a unique opportunity for our members to share their knowledge and life experiences directly with these student-athletes,” said NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts.
The camp also aims to cultivate and create coaching and talent pipelines for current and retired NBA players exploring the transition into careers in intercollegiate athletics.
“The Conference is excited about the continued partnership with the NBPA and the SIAC to put on the Top 50 camp,” said SWAC Interim Commissioner Edgar Gantt.
“This camp allows our men’s basketball student-athletes the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge of the game of basketball at the highest level. The camp also offers lifelong educational opportunities that campers can take with them to be positive impactful leaders on campus, in their communities and most important in life.”
In addition to skill development and on-court drills, the camp will include a series of highly-competitive scrimmages and games, giving the players the opportunity to showcase their talent against the best of their neighboring conference.
“We are extremely pleased to contribute this unique partnership with the NBPA. Like last year, we expect the NBPA Top 50 Camp to continue to provide incredibly valuable professional and life-skill development opportunities to our SIAC student-athletes as well as deepen a symbiotic relationship between HBCUs and former NBA players who for years have been accorded critically important ‘first-chance’ coaching opportunities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” said Gregory Moore, Commissioner of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC).
Camp participants and coaches will be announced at a later date.
Media members interested in covering the camp are asked to contact Elle Hagedorn (elle.hagedorn@nbpa.com, 212-655-0896), Peter Holehan (p.holehan@swac.org, 205-241-3468), or Tyler Williams (williams@thesiac.com, 404-221-1041)
ABOUT THE NBPA
The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) is the union for current professional basketball players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Established in 1954, the NBPA’s mission is to ensure that the rights of NBA players are protected and that every conceivable measure is taken to assist players in maximizing their opportunities and achieving their goals — on and off the court.
The NBPA advocates on behalf of the best interests of all NBA players, including the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, the filing of grievances on behalf of the players, or counseling players on benefits, educational and post-NBA career opportunities.
In addition, the NBPA provides a forum for players to participate in union activities — from executive leadership roles, to team representative positions, global community outreach initiatives. The NBPA offers each NBA player the opportunity to get involved in the democratic institution that was created for, continues to exist for and is run by them.
ABOUT THE SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference is a Division I athletic conference located in Birmingham, Alabama, consisting of 10 first-class universities (Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, Alcorn State University, Grambling State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Prairie View A&M University, Southern University and A&M College, Texas Southern University and the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff). Founded in 1920, The SWAC sponsors eighteen sports, eight for men and ten for women. For more information, visit www.swac.org.
ABOUT THE SIAC
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and includes fourteen member institutions (Albany State University, Benedict College, Central State University, Claflin University, Clark Atlanta University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Paine College, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University). The SIAC sponsors six women’s sports and seven men’s sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II.
