TSU Baseball and Band to Participate in Urban Youth Invitational

 

The Urban Invitational, the annual, round-robin collegiate baseball tournament designed to give Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their baseball programs national exposure, is relocating to Houston, Texas and will feature Texas Southern University and four other HBCUs – the most-ever in the tournament’s five-year history. The Houston Astros MLB Urban Youth Academy at Sylvester Turner Park will be the primary site of the tournament on Friday, February 17^th and Sunday, February 19^th, while the games on Saturday, February 18^th will be played at Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros. Two of those contests will air live on MLB Network and MLB.com.

HBCUs Texas Southern University (Houston, Texas), Alabama State University (Montgomery, Alabama), Grambling State University (Grambling, Louisiana), Southern University (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) and Prairie View A&M University (Prairie View, Texas) will all participate in the Urban Invitational along with NCAA Division-I school University of California, Irvine.

Game schedule (all times CT):

Feb. 17 at Sylvester Turner Park: Texas Southern vs. Grambling State, 6 p.m.

Feb. 18 at Minute Maid Park: Texas Southern vs. Prairie View A&M, 7 p.m.

Feb. 19 at Sylvester Turner Park: Texas Southern vs. UC-Irvine, 11 a.m.

Tickets to the games and events at Minute Maid Park will be available to the general public for $5.00, and parking for Minute Maid Park is also available for $5.00. There is a special ticket package available for $10.00, which will allow access to the ballpark and provide a concession voucher for a hot dog and soda. High School students and below with a valid student ID will be admitted to the ballpark for free. Games at the Houston Astros MLB Urban Youth Academy at Sylvester Turner Park will be available on game day for a suggested $5.00 donation. Children 12 and under, and any student 18 and under with a valid student ID, will be admitted free. All proceeds from the ticket donations at the Academy will benefit the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Foundation, which is a not-for-profit 501(c) (3) corporation.

“We are thrilled to be working with the Houston Astros in bringing these six outstanding programs to Houston for this year’s Urban Invitational,” said Jimmie Lee Solomon, Executive Vice President, Baseball Development, Major League Baseball.

“The Houston Astros are extremely excited about hosting the Urban Invitational in Houston this year,” said Daryl Wade, Manager of the Houston Astros MLB Urban Youth Academy. “This event gives the organization a chance to reach out to inner-city high school youth with a message that seeking education after high school is attainable for anyone.”

As an additional aspect of the Urban Invitational weekend activities, MLB and the Houston Astros will host a college fair at Minute Maid Park on Saturday, February 18^th beginning at 11:00 a.m. CT. More than 20 colleges and universities will be represented and will provide information about college preparation, undergraduate and graduate degree programs, financial aid and scholarship opportunities.

Beginning at 3:00 p.m. CT (4:00 p.m. ET), the games at Minute Maid Park on Saturday, February 18^th will air live on MLB Network and MLB.com, with play-by-play from Greg Amsinger and analysis from two-time MLB All-Star Harold Reynolds. In between these contests, fans at Minute Maid Park will be entertained in a collegiate “battle of the bands,” with live performances from Southern University’s “Human Jukebox,” Texas Southern University’s “Ocean of Soul” and Prairie View A&M University’s “Marching Storm.”

Information about the Astros MLB Urban Youth Academy is available at Astros.com/uya or by calling 281-960-9166.