FILE PHOTO: A general view of the field during the Yale Bulldogs vs Harvard Crimson football game at Harvard Stadium in Boston, Massachusetts.
Adam Glanzman | Getty Images
A new tradition for HBCU football could be starting at one of the nation’s oldest football stadiums on the campus of Harvard University.
“It’s really a cultural event,” said Derek Brown, co-founder of the Essence HBCU Classic, an NCAA football game between teams of historically Black colleges and universities. This year’s inaugural match-up is between with the Morehouse College Maroon Tigers and the Johnson C. Smith University Golden Bulls on Saturday during Labor Day Weekend.
“Football is definitely a part of the weekend. But I would say it’s the appetizer, and everything that comes with it is the entrée,” Brown said.
The four-day event co-founded by Campus Rise, which also created the HBCU NY Classic, will feature a pep rally, tailgate, battle of the bands and a step show with the goal of creating at atmosphere similar to an HBCU homecoming.
“We are trying to amplify HBCUs and the amazing folks that go to those schools,” said Michele Ghee, chief content officer of title sponsor Essence. “What an amazing opportunity to say, ‘Yes, HBCUs are producing great students just like Harvard.'”
The event’s organizers said they chose Boston because of the large number of HBCU alumni in the area and chose Harvard Stadium for its historical significance.
In 1971, Howard University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore played a game at the stadium organized by the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts.
“Boston is actively working to shape a new narrative,” said John Borders IV, a Morehouse graduate and head of the Boston Office of Sports, Tourism and Entertainment, noting Mayor Michelle Wu is actively trying to distance the city from its history of racial tensions. “Boston has a rich Black history. While people may have one perception about Boston historically, there is a different dimension.”
The presidents of Morehouse and Johnson C. Smith say the game will likewise give both HBCUs an opportunity to inform people of their rich history and to build their national presence.
“It’s really an opportunity to have that broader exposure and to bring the product of Morehouse, the product of the pride of HBCUs on the road to showcase,” said F. Dubois Bowman, president of Morehouse.
“I think there are lots of questions we have to ask ourselves about representation, about the role that people of color, particularly Black people, play in this country,” said Valerie Kinloch, president of Johnson C. Smith. “When we talk about traversing different types of spaces, we have to understand how historically Black colleges and universities have a wide impact, and that also includes an impact on spaces that we usually would not be represented in.”
In addition to Essence, the game is being sponsored by betting giant DraftKings and Cash App, a subsidiary of Block.
“This partnership reflects who we are and what we stand for,” said Zack Ashley, global head of brand partnerships at Cash App, in a statement. “We’re honored to help bring the ESSENCE HBCU Classic to Boston and to celebrate the excellence, pride, and history of these institutions while providing real-world benefits to the communities they serve.”
Brown said the sponsorships are a clear acknowledgment of the value of HBCUs and their alumni during a time when many companies are ending their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
“It’s a new tradition, but it’s not a new consumer,” Brown said. “I think all of our partners recognize that this a consumer that they wanted to target. They are not doing charity, they are sponsoring this event because it gives them great access to a consumer that is very important to their business.”
