HBCU Students to Compete in UAF Hackathon at Microsoft

The United Athletes Foundation (UAF) Be “U” Hackathon League is an event designed to leverage the talents and resources of the emerging minority collegiate community to enable students/entrepreneurs to create innovative technologies.

Reggie Howard, UAF Executive Director and Co-Founder, stated, “These diverse collegiate student teams shall have the opportunity to create innovative business ventures / “Apps” with the support of advisors and mentor-coaches comprised of technology industry leaders. Teams will compete for scholarship prizes and for the opportunity to “show case” the winning Teams’ concepts to industry executives and potential investors.”

Ray Lewis, UAF Co-Founder, ESPN NFL Analyst, and Two-Time Super Bowl Winner added, “UAF is extremely excited to have Microsoft sponsor our Be “U” program that will focus on stem education, innovation, diversity, and entrepreneurship. Our ultimate goal is to see students from the participating universities get maximum exposure, so companies can discover and begin to develop relationships with some of the brightest and most creative minds in our communities.”

2014 UAF Be “U” Hackathon Finalists

• Claflin University

• Clark Atlanta University

• Fort Hays State University

• Hampton University

• Howard University

• Lincoln University

• Morehouse College

• North Carolina A&T State University

• New Jersey Institute of Technology

• Old Dominion University

• Spelman College

• University of Washington

Watch the congratulatory message to the Be “U” Hackathon participants from two-time Super Bowl champion and UAF Vice Chairman Ray Lewis:

Be “U” Hackathon Series Competition Format

• Student/entrepreneurs-led Hackathon teams will gather Nov. 12- 14 at Microsoft headquarters to participate in learning and training sessions, and the Hackathon League Series Competition.
• Teams will be assigned to divisions where they will compete for the finals and the opportunity to pitch for prizes and the opportunity to showcase their solutions.
• Winners will be selected and offered scholarship prizes in addition to the opportunity to showcase their solutions.
• Judges for the competition will include key members of UAF, Microsoft, US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, The US Black Chamber of Commerce and Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship

The event is supported and sponsored by Microsoft Supplier Diversity.

About the United Athletes Foundation

The United Athletes Foundation founded by former NFL player, Reggie Howard,  is a 501c3 public non-profit organization created in 2008 by a group of professional athletes who understood their unique role in improving the lives of both the athlete fraternity and society in it’s entirety.  To date, there are more than 150 professional athletes associated with the UA Foundation including members of the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA and professional boxing.

The United Athletes Foundation also boasts an impressive Board of Directors and Board of Advisors including, but not limited to our Chairman, Gordon Brown, Co-Founder, Vice-Chairman and Two Time Super Bowl Champion Ray Lewis, NBA Hall of Fame great, Julius “Dr. J.” Erving, Major League Baseball legend Hank Aaron, NFL Hall of Famer, Jim Brown, civil rights leader Ambassador Andrew and many established business leaders.

Hashtag:  #BeU