The HBCU New York Football Classic at MetLife Stadium: A Celebration of Black Excellence

The HBCU New York Football Classic, held annually at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is more than just a game; it’s a vibrant celebration of Black excellence, culture, and community. This event brings together Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), their students, alumni, and supporters, creating an unforgettable experience.

A Historic Rivalry Renewed

The Classic often features match-ups between historic rivals, showcasing the rich traditions and competitive spirit of HBCU football. For example, the 2025 HBCU NY Classic, held on Saturday, September 13, 2025, featured a highly anticipated rematch between the Howard University Bison and the Morehouse College Maroon Tigers. This rivalry dates back decades, with Howard and Morehouse having played on the gridiron 37 times since 1923. In their initial match-up, Howard defeated Morehouse 10-0. This rivalry, often referred to as the "Howard/’Spel-House" rivalry, is significant because, due to Morehouse being a Division II program and Howard competing in Division I, these two schools rarely meet. The HBCU NY Classic provides an essential stage for this meaningful college football contest, preserving a foundational part of HBCU heritage for a national audience.

In 2024, Howard established dominance early, leading to their decisive 35-21 win. Morehouse showed flashes of brilliance despite the loss. Wide receiver Ajani Williams was a clear standout with two touchdowns, while linebacker Caleb Grant was a defensive force with a game-high 12 tackles.

A Day of Cultural Celebration

Beyond the football game itself, the HBCU New York Football Classic is a comprehensive cultural experience. Attendees can enjoy:

Marching Band Battles: The electrifying performances of HBCU marching bands, such as Howard's "Showtime" marching band and Morehouse's "House of Funk," are a major draw.
Step Shows: Dynamic displays of synchronized stepping, a unique tradition within Black Greek letter organizations.
Cultural Expos: Showcasing Black art, history, and achievements.
Alumni Gatherings: Opportunities for alumni to reconnect and celebrate their shared heritage.

These elements combine to create an atmosphere of pride, unity, and celebration, reflecting the vital role HBCUs have played in American education and cultural life.

The 2023 Toyota HBCU New York Classic

In 2023, the Toyota HBCU New York Classic featured a game between Morehouse College and Albany State University. This event, billed as the "world’s largest HBCU Homecoming," took place on Saturday, September 16, at MetLife Stadium. The game was broadcast live on CNBC and streamed on Peacock Network and the NBC Sports App.

The Toyota HBCU New York Classic welcomes fans, students, and alumni from the 107 HBCUs across the country.

The Vision Behind the Classic

Sports Eleven05, a minority-owned Sports & Entertainment company based in New York City, is the driving force behind the HBCU New York Football Classic. The company is co-founded by an HBCU Alum and a Serial Entrepreneur. Their commitment to the participating schools sets the Classic apart. Sports Eleven05 provides each school with a six-figure honorarium and covers 100% of their travel, lodging, and meal expenses while in New York. This ensures that the schools realize the full financial benefit of their participation, a unique feature among HBCU classics.

The Importance of HBCU Classics

HBCU classics are more than just football games; they are significant cultural and economic events that celebrate the heritage and contributions of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. These games provide a platform for showcasing the talents of HBCU students, fostering a sense of community among alumni and supporters, and generating revenue for the participating institutions and local economies.

The History of Black College Football Classics

Special games pairing HBCUs have existed since at least 1915 when Wiley University played Homer College in a Louisiana State Fair-sponsored game in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Though Grambling State's Eddie Robinson did not invent classic games, he is widely regarded as having perfected them as revenue-generating social events. He was particularly proud of the success of the Bayou Classic. As a result of Robinson's efforts, Shreveport had established itself as the epicenter of black football classics, hosting at least five in the past.

Football classics come in three different kinds of formats. They can pair the same two rivals year after year, or they can feature a single host school with rotating opponents.

One of the more noteworthy annual games that later converted into a classic was the Southern-Tennessee State series. Among games that feature a permanent host with a rotating opponent, the Prairie View Bowl (first held in 1928) normally pitted Prairie View A&M against a school deemed to have had a worthy enough year to play in the season-ending game. Florida A&M's similar Orange Blossom Classic began in 1933 as a black equivalent to the segregated Orange Bowl.

As participants of the Great Migration have begun to age, it remains to be seen if their descendants can sustain games that focus on teams from regions of the country that they are less familiar with. In addition, the schools themselves have also been forced to weigh the benefits of maintaining their historical ties with classics or to accept the changes of modern game scheduling.

Improvements to all modes of transportation and the end of segregation have greatly increased the scheduling options of HBCUs. Also, HBCUs are increasingly scheduling "guarantee games"-roadtrips against National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision schools that can guarantee high payouts but are also very difficult to win.

Read also: Top HBCU Bands

Because of the commitments of some universities-especially Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) schools-to season-finale classic games, they may forgo the opportunity to participate in the FCS playoffs. The Bayou Classic and Alabama-based Turkey Day Classic, for example, are closely associated with Thanksgiving weekend-which directly conflicts with the playoffs' opening round.

Labor Day weekend, with its season-opening games, is now the biggest weekend for classics.

Examples of Black College Football Classics

Listed below are examples of black college football classics played since 2000:

A. G. Richardson Memorial Classic: Annual game between South Carolina State and Benedict College.
Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl: Annual game between the champions of the MEAC and SWAC conferences.
Carolina Classic: Annual game between North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central. The series, which began in 1924, rotated between Durham and Greensboro, North Carolina until 1992. It was moved to Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina and returned to a classic-style format between 1994 and 2005.
Chicago Football Classic: Formerly an annual game.
Classic for a Cause: Annual classic between Morgan State and Towson.
Down East Viking Football Classic: Annual game between two schools in different portions of the Hampton Roads area-Hampton on the "Peninsula" and Norfolk State on the "Southside".
First Classic: Formerly an annual game between Cheyney and Lincoln (PA), held the first week of the season.
Nation's Football Classic: Game between Hampton and Howard. The series was played in Washington, DC in a classic format until 2016.
Bayou Classic: Annual game between Grambling State and Southern, held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving Day at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The series, which began in 1932, is televised on NBCSN.
Big Easy Classic: Formerly an annual game that, since 2002, had featured Jackson State and Southern. It originally featured Southern and Tulane.
Capital City Classic (Mississippi): Annual game between Jackson State and Southern. The series, which began in 1929, was played in New Orleans in a classic format in 2002 and 2004 and known as the Big Easy Classic.
Capital City Classic (Mississippi): After its permanent association with New Orleans was discontinued, the series began to rotate between Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi and Southern's A. W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Dixie Classic: Formerly an annual game between Alcorn State and Jackson State. The series, which began in 1927, rotated between Jackson and Lorman, Mississippi until 1992. It was moved to Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson in a classic-style format between 1993 and 2011.
CommUNITY Classic: Annual game between Johnson C. Smith and Livingstone College. The series, which began in 1892, featured the first black college football game.
Delta Classic: Formerly an annual game featuring Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Fountain City Classic: Formerly an annual game.
Gulf Coast Challenge: Annual game featuring Johnson C. Smith and Stillman College.
Circle City Classic: Annual game featuring Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M.
Gateway Classic: Annual game featuring Bethune-Cookman.
Labor Day Golden Classic: Formerly an annual game featuring Alabama State.
Lucille M. Smith Football Classic: Game between Clark Atlanta and Fort Valley State.
John A. Merritt Classic: Annual game between Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern.
Missouri Classic: Game between North Carolina A&T and Southern.
MEAC/SWAC Challenge: Annual game between a MEAC team and a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) team, formerly the defending conference champions, held on Labor Day weekend.
Magic City Classic: Annual game between Alabama State and Alabama A&M.
Nation's Football Classic: Formerly an annual game that most recently had featured Hampton and Howard.
New York Urban League Football Classic: Formerly an annual game, formerly known as the Whitney M. Young Jr. Memorial Football Classic, and held at MetLife Stadium.
Orange Blossom Classic: Formerly an annual game between Florida A&M and Florida International. The game was formerly known as the FAMU/FIU Orange Blossom Classic and was canceled after the 1978 season but was revived in the 1990s. It originally featured Florida A&M against another HBCU school, but the recently revived version included FIU.
Port City Classic (Shreveport): Formerly an annual game that, since 2010, had featured Grambling State, and was held on Labor Day weekend. It originally featured Southern and was part of the revived Louisiana State Fair Classic series in 2001, before spinning off to become an early September game of its own the following year. The event was canceled after the 2012 season.
PG Classic: The first PG Classic was played by Alcorn State and Howard. The second was played by Morgan State and North Carolina A&T.
Red River State Fair Classic: Annual game, formerly played in Shreveport, Louisiana, that features Grambling State and a SWAC opponent.
Shreveport Classic: Annual game that, since 2015, has featured Grambling State and a SWAC opponent, and is held during the State Fair of Louisiana. The game was formerly known as the Louisiana State Fair Game, the Louisiana State Fair Classic, the Port City Classic-State Fair Game.
Soul Bowl: Biennial game between Alcorn State and Jackson State.
State Fair Classic: Annual game, formerly known as the Al Lipscomb State Fair Classic, that, since 1993, has been between Grambling State and Prairie View A&M and is held during the State Fair of Texas.
T. M. Alexander Football Classic: Formerly an annual game between Clark Atlanta and Fort Valley State.
Turkey Day Classic (Alabama): Annual game between Alabama State and Tuskegee and held on Thanksgiving Day. This game is sometimes referred to as the first black college football classic with 1924 considered its inaugural year.
Tuskegee-Morehouse Football Classic: Annual game between Morehouse and Tuskegee.
W. C. Gordon Classic: Formerly an annual game that was also formerly played in Philadelphia, and featured Cheyney.
Willie E. Lanier Classic:

Looking Ahead

The HBCU New York Football Classic is poised to continue its role as a premier event, celebrating the legacy, culture, and future of HBCUs. By providing a national stage for these institutions and fostering a spirit of community and pride, the Classic ensures that the contributions of HBCUs remain a vital part of the American landscape.

A Local Connection

Located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, MetLife Stadium is a significant regional sports venue for residents of Parsippany-Troy Hills, situated just 26 miles away-about a 31-minute drive. This proximity makes upcoming events particularly relevant to the local community.

Anticipation for the 2025 Matchup

The anticipation for the 2025 rematch between Morehouse College and Howard University is exceptionally high, especially following Howard’s 35-21 victory in 2024. Fans and analysts are already dissecting the matchup.

Team Strengths and Weaknesses

Both teams bring significant talent to the field.

Morehouse Maroon Tigers

The defense is anchored by First-Team All-SIAC selection Caleb Grant, also known as the “Tackle Machine.” His ability to disrupt the backfield is critical.

Howard University Bison

The offense relies on a balanced attack. Running back Jarett Hunter, who led the team with 755 rushing yards in 2024, is a primary threat.

It seems that Morehouse’s formidable defense, led by Grant, will be tested against Howard’s consistent and multifaceted offense. The central question is whether Morehouse has developed enough offensive firepower to support its defensive stars.

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