HAMPTON, Va. (Jan. 16, 2026) … With a CBS Sports audience looking on, Hampton takes on fellow CAA HBCU member North Carolina A&T on Dr. Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 19.

Each MLK Day, crowds gather at Emancipation Oak at 10 a.m. (where the Emancipation Proclamation was read to area residents in 1863) and march from the 200-plus year-old southern oak to Ogden Hall for ceremonies honoring the slain civil rights advocate.

Dr. King is honored with a statue in Hampton University's Legacy Park and in the naming of Martin Luther King Jr. Hall. The statue is located between the Memorial Chapel and Ogden Hall overlooking the Hampton River.

Dr. King visited the Hampton campus several times during his lifetime including a visit to Hampton Roads in March 1968 just prior to his death in Memphis, Tenn.

King's mother, Alberta Williams King, was a 1924 Hampton Institute (now University) graduate where she earned a teaching certificate.

The Game
Both Hampton (8-10, 2-3) and North Carolina A&T (7-9, 0-5) will be looking to get back on the winning track when they meet on Martin Luther King Day.

After winning the first two CAA games against much-improved Stony Brook and league favorite Towson, the Pirates have dropped decisions at UNCW, at Campbell and at Charleston.

The Aggies won three of their first four contests to start the season but have a five-game losing streak falling to 0-5 in the CAA.

The Pirates rely on tough defense and physical play. If their first five CAA contests, the Pirates have yielded just 66.0 ppg and CAA opponents are shooting just .424 from the floor, averaging just 21.2 field goals per outing.

Hampton has won nine straight games at the Convocation Center including a 5-0 start this season.

Michael Eley etched his name in the record books for his performance at Campbell on Jan. 8. Eley exploded for a career high 43 points, tying the Hampton record for points in a game since the school moved to Division I in 1995. He also tied for eighth place for most points in a single game in CAA history.

Eley missed two games due to a foot injury and went scoreless in 10 minutes against UNCW in his first game back setting up his record-setting performance in the Campbell game.

Junior guard Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt also averages double-figures for the Pirates at 10.8 ppg.