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American Honda Motor Company, Inc. Hosts 9th Annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge at Walt Disney World

25 February 1998

American Honda Motor Company, Inc. Hosts 9th Annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge at Walt Disney World

    ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 25 -- American Honda Motor Co., Inc. will
host the Ninth Annual, Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC) National
Championship Tournament in Orlando, Florida, March 12 - 16, 1998.
    Entering it's ninth year, the HCASC event has touched the lives of more
than 15,000 students, volunteers and college presidents.  HCASC will host 64
teams from America's top Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
to compete and ultimately be crowned National Champion on Sunday, March 15.
At stake are monetary grants for the competing institutions.
    Last year, Alabama State University was crowned the National Champion with
North Carolina's Elizabeth City State University finishing second.  North
Carolina Central University and Howard University were defeated in the semi-
final round.  All sixty-four institution receive a monetary grant depending on
their finishing position, with Alabama State receiving $50,000 as National
Champion.  In addition, eight players are named to the HCASC All-Star Team,
play an All-Star game and receive additional grants for their schools.
    Originally, developed by College Bowl Company, Inc., HCASC offers HBCU
students an opportunity to showcase their academic abilities.  Questions range
from a wide array of topics including:  history, science, the arts, popular
culture, as well as African-American history, culture and achievement.
     "In supporting HBCUs, American Honda's goal is to create educational
opportunities that help further the dreams and ambitions of our young future
leaders," says Eric Conn, Senior Manager of Automobile Advertising at American
Honda Motor Co., Inc.  Over the past nine years, Honda has donated over $2
million in grants to more than 80 participating institutions.
    The theme of this year's tournament, "On the Move," serves as the coming
out celebration  for these young gifted leaders.  They have grown up in a
different time and way which reflects the dawn of a new era.


    The 1998 HCASC Top 64 are as follows:

    Alabama A&M University              Morgan State University
    Alabama State University            Morris Brown College
    Albany State College                Norfolk State University
    Alcorn State University             North Carolina A&T State University
    Benedict College                    North Carolina Central University
    Bennett College                     Oakwood College
    Bethune-Cookman College             Philander Smith College
    Central State University            Prairie View A&M University
    Claflin College                     Saint Paul's College
    Clark Atlanta University            Savannah State College
    Dillard University                  Shaw University
    Elizabeth City State University     Sojourner-Douglass College
    Fayetteville State University       South Carolina State University
    Fisk University                     Southern University-Baton Rouge
    Florida A&M University              Southern University-New Orleans
    Fort Valley State University        Stillman College
    Grambling State University          Talladega College
    Hampton University                  Tennessee State University
    Harris-Stowe State College          Texas College
    Howard University                   Texas Southern University
    Huston-Tillotson College            Tougaloo College
    Jackson State University            Tuskegee University
    Jarvis Christian College            University of Arkansas - Pine Bluff
    Johnson C. Smith University         University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
    Lane College                        University - District of Columbia
    Langston University                 Virginia State University
    LeMoyne-Owen College                Virginia Union University
    Lincoln University - Missouri       Voorhees College
    Livingstone College                 West Virginia State College
    Miles College                       Wilberforce University
    Mississippi Valley State University Winston-Salem State University
    Morehouse College                   Xavier University


HONDA CAMPUS ALL-STAR CHALLENGE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT - WALT DISNEY
                            WORLD, ORLANDO FLORIDA
                             MARCH 12 -- 16, 1998

    FACT SHEET

    What:   The 9th Annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC) National
Championship Tournament is a questions and answers game for America's top
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).  The game, modeled after
the award-winning College Bowl television program, challenges students on a
wide variety of topics including:  history, science, religion, the arts,
popular culture, as well as African-American history, culture and achievement.

    Sixty-four teams will compete in a "round-robin" competition culminating
in a single elimination tournament, for which a national champion will be
crowned  At stake is more than $300,000 in monetary grants for the competing
institutions.

    Sponsor:  American Honda Motor Co., Inc. is the exclusive sponsor of the
HCASC program.  Honda has contributed over $2 million in grants to the HBCUs
since the inception of the competition in 1989.

    The National Championship Tournament is open to all four-year,
undergraduate HBCUs, all of which are members of the National Association For
Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO).

    Background:   For the 9th consecutive year, HCASC begins on the HBCU
campuses where students compete for one of four "varsity" spots and an
alternate position on the national championship qualifying team.  In 1997,
more than 75 schools enrolled in the HCASC program vying to qualify for one of
the 64 tournament slots.  The first 64 teams to complete their campus
tournament, advance to the National Championship Tournament.

    The National
    Championship:  Sixty-four teams will meet at the Hilton at Walt Disney
World Village in Orlando, Florida from March 12 - 16, 1998.  The 64 team field
will be competing for more than $300,000 in monetary grants for their
institutions.

    Close to 500 students and volunteers attend the National Championship
Tournament.  During the National Championship Week, attendees are also treated
to visits to Walt Disney World, and participate in student development forums.
So the HCASC National Championship provides not only intense competition, but
assists students by providing a networking forum

    Contacts:        Christopher Dwight
                     Muse Cordero Chen & Partners, Inc.
                     6100 Wilshire Boulevard, 16th Floor
                     Los Angeles, California  90048
                     (213) 954-1655
                     (213) 954-9171 Fax

                      Lillian E. Parker
                      College Bowl Company, Inc.
                      14900 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 220
                      Sherman Oaks, California  91403
                      (800) 388-2272, Ext. 104
                      (818) 788-6627 Fax

    1998 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge NCT Key Events

    Thursday, March 12
         7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
         Opening Dinner
         (Grand Ballroom)

    Friday, March 13
         8:45 am  - 6:30 pm
         Round Robin Games
         (Mezzanine)

    Saturday, March 14
         8:45 am  - 5:30 pm
         Round Robin Games &
         Playoffs
         (Mezzanine)

         6:30 pm - 2:00 am
         Move & Groove! Dinner
         (Pavilion)

         7:00 pm - 11:00 pm
         Volunteer Recognition
         Dinner
         (Church Street Station)

    Sunday, March 15
         8:30 am  - 11:00 am
         Championship Games
         (International Ballroom)
         All-Star Game
         (International Ballroom)

         7:30 pm - 11:00 pm
         Awards Banquet
         (International Ballroom)

    Monday, March 16
         5:00 am - End of Day
         Departures
        (Hotel Lobby)

    Key Events for Press use only, do not print

SOURCE  American Honda Motor Company, Inc.