adidas Basketball Unveils 2024 HBCU Collection

On models from the Trae Young 3 to the AE1, adidas renews their relationship with schools like Grambling and Alcorn State.

Matt Varga March 12th, 2024 (updated)

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In a social media blast yesterday, adidas Basketball revealed that they’ll be shipping out a bundle of their NBA stars’ sneakers to athletes at 5 HBCUs to continue celebrations of Black History Month. The collection matches up the likes of Anthony Edwards, Trae Young and James Harden to those select schools. Each specific pair will make their on-court debut over the course of the next week and change.

The news is a sneaker-centric extension of adidas’ partnership with these 5 specific HBCUs, a shared history that began with the rollout of an NIL partnership program in 2022. Last year, Grambling in particular renewed their relationship with the German giant, and a player exclusive colorway of the then-brand new D.O.N. Issue 4 were produced in commemoration.

In this more wide-ranging announcement, the men’s and women’s team of each university will receive specifically tailored adidas PEs. For the gold portion of this collection, U Arkansas-Pine Bluff athletes will receive PE Anthony Edwards shoes, Alabama State will get Damian Lillard’s, and Grambling will get Donovan Mitchell’s D.O.N. 5. The two purple-dominant PEs belong to the Hawks and Clippers stars, with PVAMU matching up with Harden and Alcorn State the recipient of exclusive Trae Young shoes.

At least for now, the purple and gold versions of those half dozen shoes will remain just as their title states, player exclusive. However, fans of the programs can look forward catching these sneakers on the feet of each school’s athletes until February 12th.

Elsewhere for the Three Stripes, they’re preparing for the NBA’s big weekend in style, unveiling a new All Star adidas D.O.N. Issue 5.

Adidas Basketball 2024 Hbcu Collection 2 6615a8

Written by

Matt Varga, Junior Editor

Matt Varga is an Editor at SneakerNews. Initially earning a degree in Video Arts and Technology, he got his start in the music world, video editing and writing coverage primarily on hip-hop and electronic. A long-standing interest in sneakers eventually led him to switching over to the footwear side of things. An avid collector, his time in the hobby stretches back more than a decade. Though always a contentious argument, his favorite sneaker of all time comes down to the Air Jordan 1 “Black Toe” and Air Jordan 5 “Laney,” his first ever pick-up. When he’s not writing, you can find Matt cooking, traveling, attending concerts and when weather permits, on the handball court.