New Mobile App Announces Joint Venture With NIKE/Jordan Brand Architect & Renowned Sports Entrepreneur Erin Patton To Curate Diversified Gaming Experience Tailored for HBCU Audience

(Black PR Wire) Dallas, Texas USA –  In a commitment toward further solidifying themselves in the digital era as the definitive mobile app + social network connecting the seismic Historically Black College & University (HBCU) audience, HBCU GO announced  it has forged a multi-year partnership with AMPlifi STUDIOS to satisfy the unmet demand and cultural void that exists within the fast-growing, vast E-SPORTS and Gaming ecosystem.

HBCU GO is a unique partnership between the HBCU TV Network and Kiswe Mobile, and the brainchild of media industry leaders Curtis Symonds, CEO and co-founder Clinton Evans, President & GM of HBCU TV Network.  The former BET executives were instrumental in the meteoric rise of Black Entertainment Television (BET) and assisting BET founder Robert Johnson sell the company for $3 billion. Symonds and Evans have since pioneered a success path through the digital transformation, on the forefront of the second wave of disruption and cultural sea change across the media landscape.

“I feel very strongly that there needs to be more education and exposure of HBCU’s and Gaming is a huge component to their lifestyle and authentic aspect of the overall campus experience,” Symonds said. “We are creating a social platform where students can provide the content to fill the gaps in Black programming. The App is almost like another channel because of the amount of video, live content and star power we bring.”

Looking to carve out HBCU GO's E-SPORTS niche and secure its slice of the $6.9B Mobile gaming pie, Symonds underscored the importance of aligning with the right partner that was able to translate the gaming opportunity in a differentiated way with a visceral understanding of cultural nuances and inter-generational nature of the HBCU experience. To satisfy this requirement, he and his partner turned to the Lone Star State for one of its rising stars in the E-SPORTS ecosystem and long-standing trusted advisor, Erin Patton Chairman of AMPlifi SPORTS GROUP and its gaming subsidiary, AMPlifi STUDIOS.

Despite the staggering levels of investment that have poured into E-SPORTS coiffeurs, Patton believes the access point and representation of cultural groups is still lagging, particularly in the mobile segment, given changes in media preferences and consumption. “We’ve barely scratched the surface as it relates to raising the decibel level around the cultural resonance within the E-SPORTS and Gaming ecosystem,” he said.  While the social experience and corresponding network effects will be a key driver, Patton added the most integral component of the partnership with HBCU GO revolves around Education and creating a sustainable pipeline of future innovators, coders, publishers and Entrepreneurs.

“Few people outside the HBCU community recognize the disproportionate impact of HBCUs in STEM fields,” he said.  “For example, though our nation's 105 HBCU’s make up just three percent of colleges and universities, they produce 27 percent of African Americans with bachelors' degrees in STEM fields. That, coupled with radical shifts in traditional media consumption, content distribution and the advent of geo-culturalism, bodes very well for this partnership.”

For more information log onto www.hbcugo.tv or contact Clint Evans 860.966.1480 or Erin Patton 201.988.3412.