SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento State senior forward Shaqir O'Neal accepted an invitation to compete in the slam dunk contest at the 37th-annual State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championship at Hinkle Fieldhouse this Friday in Indianapolis. The event will be broadcast nationally on ESPN on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. PT.

O'Neal will become the first Hornet to compete at the event since high-flying Jameel Pugh finished as the runner-up in 2005.

O'Neal won an electric dunk contest at Hornet Madness in October when he sealed the victory by jumping over 6-foot-11 Brad Miller for a flush.

The 6-foot-8 forward was the only Sacramento State player to start all 31 games this season, and played double-figure minutes in each of those contests. 

The State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships invites a collection of top men's and women's college basketball players to compete for slam dunk and 3-point shooting bragging rights. The night features the yearly Slam Dunk Championship, the Men's 3-Point Championship, the Women's 3-Point Championship and the team shootout. 
 
It will be the seventh time Indianapolis has played host to the event, and the third time the annual competition will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse - home of the Butler Bulldogs.
 
Participants in the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships have included basketball greats Gary Payton, Steve Nash, Jason Terry, Kyle Korver, Michael Finley, Allan Houston, and more.
 
A complete roster of participants in the 2026 State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships will be released soon via CollegeSlam.com, Twitter (@CollegeSLAM) and Instagram (@College_Slam).