On Jan. 25 and 26, Dillard University’s athletic department will host an extraordinary weekend of basketball and social events culminating in the 2013 Allstate Sugar Bowl Bleu Devil Classic, the annual basketball doubleheader featuring men’s and women’s games versus crosstown rival Xavier University.

On Friday, Jan. 25, Dillard will kick off the weekend with the 5th Annual Billy Ray Hobley Scholarship Gala at 7 p.m. in the atrium of the Professional Schools Building. This year’s alumni honorees include Doug Evans, President of the Dryades YMCA and Vic Vazasseur, Athletic Director at LB Landry Sr. High School.  New Orleans recording artists BRW will perform hits at this night of dinner, drinks and dancing named for the late Dillard basketball great. Gala tickets cost $75. All proceeds will benefit Dillard scholarships.

On Saturday, Jan. 26, pre-game festivities for the Bleu Devil Classic will begin at 10 a.m. in Kabacoff Plaza and feature food, music, cheerleaders, a Greek stroll-off, and a performance by the Sophie B. Wright Charter School drum line. The Lady BleuDevils basketball team will host Xavier at 5 p.m. on the “Battlefield” in Dent Hall Gymnasium, and the men’s game will follow at 7 p.m. General admission is $15; VIP seating is $50.

Tickets for the 5th Annual Billy Ray Hobley Scholarship Gala and the Allstate Sugar Bowl Bleu Devil Classic are available through www.dillardbleudevils.com and the Dillard University cashier’s office in Rosenwald Hall (M-F, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.). Limited quantities will also be available at the door.

To learn more, contact Habtom Keleta, Dillard’s director of sports information, at (504) 816-4451. Join us for a celebration of Dillard athletics. Come out and Bleed Bleu!