Savannah State Institution, situated in Savannah, Georgia, is a four-year, state-supported historically black university (HBCU). Savannah State University, founded in 1890, is Georgia's oldest public historically black university. The school's athletic teams are known as the Savannah State Tigers. Black colleges and universities were established in the United States to provide educational opportunities to African Americans who had been denied access to other schools. Many blacks were not permitted to attend white schools due to racial segregation laws that existed throughout most of the country until they were ruled unconstitutional by federal courts. Today, there are about 150 such institutions nationwide. The first two institutions for African Americans were Baltimore College which opened in 1787 and Shaw University which opened its doors in 1816. South Carolina provided another opportunity when it granted a charter to the University of Freedmen in 1867. This last institution closed after only six years when its president was killed during a riot. In 1890, the state legislature chartered Savannah State College which became one of the first eight state-operated HBCUs in the nation. Today, there are more than 70 HBCUs across the country affiliated with their respective states' governments. Several others are privately owned but receive some government assistance. No HBCU has ever been awarded full university status by a state government.