Harbor City Classic Tips Off Thanksgiving Weekend; Legacy Classic to follow in January

Charlotte, NC - Black College basketball fans will get a double dose of action in two different citiesthanks to the efforts of a clothing designer with deep roots in Historically Black Colleges and Universities(HBCUs). The inaugural Harbor City Classic is set for November 24-26, 2000 in Baltimore while thesecond annual Legacy Basketball Classic will be January 12-14, 2001 in Charlotte. Both take a popularformat from football as a catalyst for generating revenue and awareness about HBCUs.

The Harbor City Classic debuts in Baltimore during Thanksgiving weekend. The event was founded byCary Mitchell, a Johnson C. Smith (JCSU) alumnus and clothing designer for several stars of the NBA,NFL and MLB. Mitchell hopes the Baltimore event will follow the success of the inaugural LegacyClassic which started in Charlotte last year. The Harbor City Classic will pit cross-town MEAC rivalsCoppin State College and Morgan State University following a contest between CIAA foes Virginia UnionUniversity and Johnson C. Smith University on Saturday, November 25 at the Baltimore Arena.

"We'll see some great basketball and enjoy some wonderful camaraderie, but most importantly, we'll havean opportunity to contribute to our youth in a positive way", Mitchell said.

Last year's Legacy Classic was held during the Martin Luther King Holiday weekend in the Queen City ofthe Carolinas and featured North Carolina A&T (N.C. A&T) against Florida A&M after Johnson C. Smithmet North Carolina Central (NCCU).

This year the Legacy Classic takes on an Aggie-Eagle flavor as NCCU and N.C. A&T will face off at 3:30p.m Sunday, January 14. The second game of the doubleheader will feature a CIAA western divisionmatchup between JCSU and Winston-Salem State at 5:30 p.m. at the Charlotte Coliseum.

A "plethora" of events will surround both Classics with designated charities and scholarship fundsbenefitting. Proceeds from the Harbor City Classic will benefit the Sam Cassell Foundation in Baltimore. In Charlotte, the Bobby Phills Scholarship Fund and Dell Curry Foundation are the designatedbeneficiaries of the Legacy Basketball Classic.

Concerts, parties, community outreach workshops, essay contests, receptions and church services are allincluded in the schedule of events for both classics.

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