CHICAGO (May 7, 2024) – The UIC Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Chicago Baseball & Educational Academy (CBEA) are pleased to extend their partnership through 2029, it was announced Tuesday by UIC Director of Athletics Michael Lipitz and CBEA founder/president Curtis Granderson.
 
UIC will continue to serve as the home for CBEA, annually hosting more than 10,000 Chicagoland youth on its campus, including the state-of-the-art Curtis Granderson Stadium, the 10-year home of the Flames' baseball program, and the Flames Indoor Turf Field. The partnership will also assist CBEA in providing high-quality baseball education and mentoring programs and developing great citizens among the next generation of Chicagoans.
 
"I'm very excited to continue the partnership with UIC that we started in 2018," Granderson said. "This gives so many kids an opportunity to set foot on an amazing college campus, many for the first time. While on campus, these kids get to learn, practice and play, year-round, both inside and out, with one of the best views in all of baseball. I'm very thankful to UIC for its commitment to helping so many."
 
"UIC Athletics is proud to be the home of CBEA and to share in its mission to educate through sport," Lipitz said. "Curtis represents the very best of UIC and he continues to lead by example in his commitment to Chicagoland youth. We're excited to partner with CBEA to welcome thousands more kids to UIC's campus in the years ahead."
 
Granderson, who made a leadership gift towards construction of his namesake stadium in 2014, remains one of the most decorated student-athletes in UIC athletics history, roaming the outfield for the Flames from 2000-02. As a junior in 2002, he was named the Horizon League Player of the Year after setting single-season program records for batting average (.483 – also second in the nation), hits (100) and runs (76), all marks that stand to this day. He was chosen as a 2002 second-team All-American by Baseball America and USA Today's Baseball Weekly, as well as a third-team All-American by Louisville Slugger.

He graduated from UIC with his degree in business administration and business marketing and was inducted into the UIC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008. Granderson was subsequently enshrined in the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 2021, and most recently, the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame in March 2024.
 
For more information on the UIC baseball program, visit UICFlames.com. Fans can also follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_Baseball and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_baseball and @uicflames).
 
The Chicago Baseball & Educational Academy (CBEA) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing high quality baseball education and mentoring programs to Chicago youth who may otherwise not have access. CBEA has worked with more than 60 Chicago community youth baseball organizations seeing thousands of Chicago children at facilities on the UIC campus. Additional information on CBEA can be found online at cbeauic.org.

To learn more about Curtis Granderson, check out his website, www.TheGrandyman.com and for information about his various philanthropic initiatives, visit www.curtisgrandersonfoundation.org.