Google Named Official Halftime Sponsor of The Inaugural Toyota HBCU New York Football Classic

Google is expanding its commitment to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by sponsoring the Inaugural Toyota HBCU New York Football Classic Halftime Show, taking place on September 17th, 2022. As the halftime sponsor, Google will provide $350,000 in funding, which includes $210,000 in scholarships to 105 HBCU students. Each recipient will be awarded $2,000 for books and laptops for the upcoming school year—students from any HBCU are eligible to apply.

The Inaugural Toyota HBCU New York Football Classic will commence between Morehouse College and Howard University at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Over 30,000 students, alumni, and fans are expected to attend and the game will air live on CNBC. Google has partnered with HBCU Tools for Schools, a nonprofit that provides educational resources to students attending HBCUs, regardless of social or economic status, for the selection and distribution of scholarship funds. After the ‘Battle of the Bands’ halftime show, a few selected students will receive their $2,000 scholarship live on television.

“We’re so excited to serve as this year’s official halftime sponsor for the Inaugural Toyota HBCU New York Football Classic,” says Melonie Parker, Chief Diversity Officer at Google. “HBCUs continue to serve as safe havens for Black students and are responsible for shaping the next generation of leaders and thinkers across today’s leading industries, including tech. At Google, we want to do our part to support these institutions and their students as we work to make tech more inclusive and representative at all levels of the workforce, together.”

Last year, Google announced $50 million in unrestricted grants to 10 HBCUs to support scholarships, investments in technical infrastructure for in-class and remote learning, and the development of curriculum and career support programs. And building on this commitment, provided a $6 million investment in The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) and United Negro College Fund (UNCF) in February.

“Having this partnership with Google, speaks volumes to the value and viability of both participating HBCU schools, and the importance that they have on the HBCU culture, sports, and landscape in the state of New Jersey, and within the city of New York,” said Derick Moore, Executive Producer and Founder of the Toyota HBCU New York Football Classic and founding chairman of HBCU Tools for School Foundation.

In addition to financial support, Google has partnerships with HBCUs across the country, including Morehouse College and Howard University, to facilitate its Google in Residence and Tech Exchange programs. Through Google in Residence, experienced software engineers from Google spend the fall semester on campus, teaching introductory computer science classes. First-year students learn about basic coding and debugging, simple data structures, and how to work with large code bases. Tech Exchange provides a virtual learning experience for students to build applied CS and data structure skills as well as interview prep courses during the spring semester of sophomore year.

About Google 

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Google Cloud, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.

About The Toyota HBCU New York Football Classic 

Howard and Morehouse have faced each other on the football field 37 times dating back to 1923, with Howard holding the all-time series advantage, 25-10-2. The teams last met in 2015 as Howard claimed a 25-17 victory at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

About Van Wagner

Van Wagner is a leading entertainment and sports agency, with global expertise in filmed and live entertainment, sponsorship sales, multimedia rights, and out of home advertising. Van Wagner, creates, advises, and sells on behalf of world-class teams, leagues, brands, properties, and colleges. An innovator in the sports and media business, Van Wagner is a global leader in high-impact broadcast visible signage throughout the MLB, NBA, NCAA, and international soccer, sponsorships sales, college multimedia rights, and in-venue content production at the world’s biggest sporting events. For more information, visit www.vanwagner.com.