AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Black MBA Association – Austin Chapter announces Friday, March 9 – Saturday, March 10, 2018, as the 2nd Annual HBCU Battle of the Brains (HBCUBOTBrains) competition. It also announces The Home Depot as the 2018 HBCUBOTBrains title sponsor.

Several dozen teams of the top STEM and Business students of Historically Black University and Colleges (HBCUs) will come to Austin this spring to spar for college scholarships and bragging rights in the HBCUBOTBrains hackathon-style event. These teams will take a business case and in 24-hours, provide a panel of industry leaders comprehensive strategies, go-to-market plans and technology solutions for a chance to win some of the $50,000+ in college scholarships.

The Home Depot title sponsorship helps with college scholarship awards, travel stipends for several teams and provides partnering in the competition business case development and judging. The HBCUBOTBrains competition will take place at The Home Depot Austin Technology Center.

The 2018 HBCU Battle of the Brains Team Registration is open through 11:59 pm Central Time on Sunday, February 18, 2018.

In 2017, the inaugural competition drew seven teams from HBCUs across the country and crowned Paul Quinn College as the HBCUBOTBrains first winner. "We are extremely excited about our next competition. With the addition of our title sponsor, The Home Depot, we anticipate seeing a significant increase in the number of teams from last year's inaugural event," said Gregory Gibson Jr., Founder and Executive Director, HBCU Battle of the Brains. "We purposely time the HBCUBOTBrains competition in March to provide the unique opportunity to engage some of the best and brightest among HBCU students with employers around the global icons convergence of the South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference & Festival."