Concordia College Alabama will hold a parade and ceremony for its two national championship basketball teams on Friday afternoon.

The parade will start at the School of Discovery at 3:30 p.m. and will end at Concordia’s west campus. After the parade, Concordia will hold a cookout, introduce the players and hold a trophy presentation.

Campbell said the college has been working to ensure the ceremony was what the players wanted.

“We got a committee together and the coaches had spoken to their teams to get a sense of how they wanted to celebrate,” said Abby Campbell, Concordia College Alabama’s director of public relations. “Since this was such a huge, historic win for both of the teams, we wanted to make it a big celebration, with a big parade and as much involvement as possible.”

Earlier this month, Concordia’s men’s and women’s basketball programs won United States Collegiate Athletic Association championships. The Concordia men defeated Illinois Tech 61-51 and the Concordia women beat Berea 70-59. Both games took part in Uniontown, Pennsylvania on March 4.

“This is a huge feat, and it hasn’t been done but a few times in the history of college basketball, so we want to make sure we celebrate these guys right,” said Concordia men’s basketball coach Fredrick Summers.

Campbell said several members of the Selma City Council are expected to be on hand for the presentation.

The council voted at Tuesday night’s council meeting to waive the fees for Concordia’s championship parade.

The teams were at Tuesday’s meeting, where they were recognized for their accomplishment.

“Some council members didn’t know we were having this much success on Concordia’s campus with the men’s and women’s basketball program and you had some that did know. It gave us a chance to let all council members who were there know what type of success we were having and what type of young men and women we have in our program and the longevity of it,” Summers said.