National Negro High School Basketball Tournament ~1945-1964~

In 1929 Charles H. Williams established the National Negro High School Basketball Tournament, which was sponsored by the historically black Hampton Normal and Agriculture Institute (now Hampton University) in Virginia. In 1945, under President Walter S. Davis and Athletic Director Henry A. Kean, Sr. the tournaments moved to Tennessee A&I State College. Between 1945 and 1953, the games were played at both A&I and Pearl High School. From 1953 to 1964, the tournaments were played in A&I's new Kean's Little Garden. For almost two decades, Tennessee A&I State University hosted this foremost basketball tournament for African-American players from across the South and the Midwest.