Courtesy of Howard University Athletic Media Relations


WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 17, 2021) – The Howard University men's basketball team will take on the University of Notre Dame on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (MLK Day), scheduled for Monday Jan. 17, 2022, inside Burr Gymnasium.
 
Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. (ET) and will be nationally televised on Fox.
 
"Dr. King's impact on our world is remarkable," Howard men's basketball head coach Kenneth Blakeney said. "His influence continues to be both felt and needed. It gives me chills to think that only a few miles from where Dr. King shifted the country with his infamous speeches, marches and meetings, our basketball programs will have a historic first by hosting Notre Dame at Howard University."
 
Both programs were originally scheduled for MLK Day 2021, but it was cancelled due to concerns relating to COVID-19 inside the Howard men's basketball program.
 
"I am as excited about this trip than any game we have scheduled for this season," Glenn and Stacey Murphy Head Men's Basketball Coach Mike Brey said. "We were so disappointed that we had to cancel last season's game due to the pandemic, but the delay gives us an opportunity to really do it right. This game deserves the kind of atmosphere that only a full house at Burr Gymnasium can deliver."
 
The matchup features Notre Dame visiting a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) for the first time in program history.
 
"Our program's first trip to an HBCU on Martin Luther King Jr. Day is another step in our commitment to remaining active participants in the push for social change in this country," Brey added. "This event will provide an amazing educational experience for our student-athletes, coaches, support staff and University."
 
MLK Day is an American federal holiday, acknowledging the birthday of the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which protested racial discrimination in federal and state laws. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law and it was first observed three years later (Jan. 20, 1986).
 
This will be the fourth time Howard honors Dr. King's Celebration of Excellence by hosting nonconference contests with iconic, historical institutions. HU has greeted Ivy League perennials Harvard (2016 & 2019) and Yale (2020) to The Burr.
 
"We are pressing forward towards the beloved community Dr. King sought to achieve," Blakeney said. "I am honored to lead this program and work with my lifelong friend, Coach Mike Brey, to deepen the call for social justice with our players."
 
Blakeney and Brey both have ties to the D.C. area, having played at DeMatha High School under legendary and Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wooten.
 
Howard is set to host its first Power Five opponent inside Burr Gymnasium since welcoming then Pac-10 foe Oregon State (Nov. 27, 2010).
 
Tickets are on sale now for the 2021-22 men's and women's basketball season. Be sure to grab your tickets at www.BisonTickets.com.