CEO & Founder of HBCU All-Stars
Travis L. Williams
Travis L. Williams is the CEO & Founder of HBCU All-Stars LLC, a Black-owned sports marketing, events, and media company located in Atlanta. Williams founded this GOD-driven company in 2019 with his wife Kya Williams, CFO & Co-Founder, and their two adorable children Teagan & TJ.
“College Basketball’s Biggest Weekend” in Indianapolis
Why the HBCU All-Star Game Experience Matters
In October 2019, after 17 years of coaching, I felt a calling I couldn’t ignore. Everywhere I went, talent showed up early — disciplined, prepared, and ready — while opportunity showed up late, if at all.
This was bigger than basketball. This was about whether HBCU student-athletes and coaches would be talked about or truly invested in, seen, and valued.
The evidence was undeniable.
There are over 450 players in the NBA and 150 in the WNBA. For years, there was zero representation of women HBCU players on WNBA rosters.
Robert Covington, who I coached at Tennessee State, carried the HBCU culture during his 10-year NBA career. Until this season, there wasn’t a single active HBCU All-Star alum on an NBA roster.
“The problem is not talent — it’s visibility, access and opportunity.”
That reality is why we built HBCU All-Stars — a Black-owned sports marketing, events, and media company guided by exposure, access, recognition, opportunities, resources and results. That’s the bar our HBCUs and their gifted student-athletes and coaches have always deserved.
This mission is personal. My wife Kya serves as co-founder and CFO, and our children are ambassadors for the work. We made it a family commitment because the goal was never to create a moment — it was to build a pathway for future generations.
This season marked a breakthrough. Javonte Cooke of Winston-Salem State University, who competed in our 2022 game, signed with the Portland Trail Blazers. Out of more than 450 NBA players, he’s the first active HBCU All-Star alum on a roster. That’s progress — but it’s also perspective.
When I talk about equity, I’m not talking about handouts. I’m talking about standards — facilities and resources that match the talent, coaching infrastructure and essentials young adults need to thrive. The talent has never been the question. The investment has.
At its core, the HBCU All-Star Game Experience exists to elevate HBCU athletics on a stage where opportunity has been uneven.
“The lack of professional representation doesn’t signal a weak pipeline — it signals an invisible one.”
On Sunday, April 5, 2026, College Basketball’s Biggest Weekend & Men’s Championships alignment is intentional. Placing HBCU talent in the spotlight challenges outdated narratives about where excellence resides.
The weekend includes a Pro Day Combine mirroring NBA standards. In 2025, scouts from 25 of 30 franchises attended. Our goal: all 30 teams in the building.
The weekend culminates Easter Sunday at Corteva Coliseum. But this isn’t just a game. It’s a four-day experience including a college admissions fair, awards ceremony, social justice luncheon, youth programming, basketball clinic, and conversations connecting education, culture, sports and career pathways.
“The hardwood is the stage — opportunity is the mission.”
Invest in a platform connecting people, sports, education, and economic impact — ensuring talent and opportunity finally meet on time.
The hardwood is the stage — opportunity is the mission. A sold-out arena sends a clear message: HBCU excellence matters and deserves investment. Hotels fill rooms, restaurants serve visitors, and local organizations become part of a nationally visible experience. This compliments College Basketball’s Biggest Weekend, ensuring the nation invests in talent too often overlooked.
Indianapolis has the chance to lead. Buy a ticket. Bring a young person. Donate one if you can’t attend. Support us as a sponsor or partner. Invest in a platform connecting people, sports, education, and economic impact — ensuring talent and opportunity finally meet on time.
Because when a city shows up for HBCU excellence, the return extends far beyond the final buzzer — and the world has no choice but to pay attention.
Travis L. Williams is the founder and CEO of HBCU All Stars.
Coach Williams has been the head men’s basketball coach at two prestigious HBCUs, Tennessee State and Fort Valley State Universities. He has over 23 successful years of playing and coaching on the NCAA Division I & II levels, with numerous conference tournament championships and NCAA & NIT Tournament berths. He coached eight years at two prestigious HBCU’s, and over 30 of Williams’ former players made the “All-Conference Academics Team or Dean’s List”. He has coached over 25 All-Conference and Region Players, more than 25 ALL-Tourney Team Players, 4 All-American Team Players, and over 45 of his former players have played professionally in the NBA, G-league, WBA (World Basketball Association) semi-pro, and internationally overseas. He has academic and athletic consulting experience in both public and private colleges and universities.
His vision is providing “E.A.R. and O.R.R” Exposure, Access, Recognition, Opportunities, Resources, and Results for our very hard-working, talented, ambitious, and deserving students, student-athletes and brilliant coaches at the most distinguished Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) across the country and globally around the world.
The Williams Family is the visionary leaders behind the annual HBCU All-Star Games during Final Four Weekend featuring 24 of the nation’s best HBCU student-athletes and ancillary experiences during the 2022, 2023, and 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Tournament Championships in New Orleans, Houston, and Phoenix. There are over 60-70% of the 72 HBCU All-Star Game alums playing professionally overseas, NBA G-League, and with the Harlem Globetrotters.
In June 2024, Williams’ company HBCU All-Stars LLC made history once again and went global across the world with the first ever HBCU All-Stars International Tour to Paris, France during the Olympics Year. His top 2022, 2023, and 2024 HBCU All-Star Game alums played in the famed Quai 54, World’s Largest Street Ball Tournament Championship sponsored by the Jordan Brand and Friendly Exhibition Games during this historic HBCU All-Stars International Tour in Paris.
In 2022, 2023, 2024, William launched the annual ATL Has Something to Say HBCU All-Stars Challenge in 2022 and 2023 at Morehouse College Forbes Arena and Georgia State University Convocation Center featuring some of the most talented players and teams from the four premier Black College Conferences MEAC, SWAC, CIAA, SIAC, and Independent team Tennessee State University. In September 2023, he also founded the first ever HBCU All-Stars Coaches Clinic to shine a national spotlight on some of our most talented HBCU coaches in the business.
