HBCU Game Day Experience Unlike Others in College Football

Stats Perform is bringing a greater spotlight to athletes, students and stories at Historically Black Colleges and Universities through a partnership with Urban Edge Network. Included in the 2024 college football season are both HBCU FCS Player and Team of the Week awards and a season-ending HBCU FCS National Player of the Year Award, each presented by HBCU+.

In the 2023 FCS football season, I attended a South Carolina State home football game for the first time, and the experience extended well beyond the action on the field.

As I parked and perused the landscape surrounding Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg, something felt familiar about it. As I walked down the street passing several tailgates with music playing, televisions broadcasting games and various mouth-watering aromas, I felt my shoulders relax and my gate slow down.

Before I knew it, I was under a tent with a group full of smiling faces eating food and enjoying the opportunity to fellowship. The first five minutes of conversation established similar interests, the next 10 were an inspection of what’s under the grill, and the rest was vibing to music and laughing at stories.

 If you have ever seen the highlights of a football game involving HBCUs – Historically Black Colleges and Universities – you may find yourself admiring more than the thrilling playmakers running, throwing, catching, blocking and tackling. It’s HBCU sports and culture coming together.

The stands always look healthy, regardless of who is playing. HBCU programs boast some of the best attendance numbers in FCS college football and many programs draw so much attention, when they travel to away opponents, they operate like a mini stimulus package for whatever team they face.

HBCUs account for less than 20% of FCS programs, but in 2023, they comprised five of the top 10 in average home attendance. They bring out people who would not usually attend football games.

FCS HBCU Programs

• Southwestern Athletic Conference – East Division: Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Bethune-Cookman, Florida A&M, Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State; West Division: Alcorn State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Grambling State, Prairie View A&M, Southern and Texas Southern
• Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Delaware State, Howard, Morgan State, Norfolk State, North Carolina Central and South Carolina State
• Other Conferences – Hampton and North Carolina A&T (CAA Football); Tennessee State (Big South-OVC)

So what is it about an HBCU game day that makes the experience a must-attend?

Cayla Sweazie is a rising star in sports media, currently a social media associate with ESPN’s Andscape and a football sideline reporter on ESPN+ broadcasts. She’s also a former Division I softball player and a proud graduate from Morgan State, so she’s experienced  HBCU game day as a student, alumni and reporter.

“I think people attend HBCU games because it’s a full immersive experience in addition to the football,” Sweazie said. “The band, cheerleaders, dancers and alumni create the perfect family atmosphere. It’s the type of vibe that even if you didn’t attend the school or an HBCU, you feel welcome, and I think that’s a really unique experience.”

The old Olive Garden slogan may as well be about HBCU game day: “When you’re here, you’re family.”

Yes, there is highly competitive football being played on the field. That is the initial draw.

Yes, the theatrics and high-quality performances from the bands, dancers and cheerleaders keep the energy and excitement high before the game, between plays, at halftime, even once the game has finished. They are worth the price of admission alone.

But while all of that makes an HBCU affair more attractive than most games, the irresistible experience is the people and their hospitality.

Any time I have attended an HBCU football game, I have left feeling like I gained a few more cousins. It’s why the atmosphere at South Carolina State felt so familiar to me.

I felt that way growing up in Tampa back when the Florida Classic between Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M was held there every season. When the Classic moved from Tampa to Orlando in 1997, the negative economic impact was so immediate that it caused the closing of the Tampa Bay Mall. As a Tampa resident, I felt the hole left from “The Classic” leaving – it felt like losing a family member.

Allen Suber II, a legendary quarterback and former coach at Bethune-Cookman, knows just how special the environment at an HBCU game day can be.

In his four seasons as a quarterback for the Wildcats, Suber became a household name across the landscape, an All-American during his junior and senior seasons. In 2002, he led the squad to a MEAC title and an 11-2 record. In 2003, he garnered the conference’s offensive player of the year award for the second consecutive year.

“People want to attend HBCU games because they get a great mixture of football, food and the band,” Suber II said about the HBCU game day experience. “Football carries traditions that divide households and the product on the field is exciting to watch. Some of the best coaches I’ve had the opportunity to work with were HBCU guys.”

The cuisine is also something Suber points to as a reason to love being at an HBCU football game.

“Food is more than your traditional hot dog and hamburger experience,” he said. “You get BBQ (barbecue), mac and cheese, and potato salad. They all are safe to eat,” Suber II said with a laugh.

Finally, Suber acknowledges the bands affect the culture and climate of an HBCU football game. In fact, the battle of the bands is its own competition, even up in the stands.

“Band is the most unique experience you will find in college football,” he said. “The band has the traditional fight songs, but also specific songs like my Wildcats’ ‘Talkin’ Out the Side of Your Neck,’ and many other songs that fraternities and sororities have strolls (traditional line dances) they do to them. The crowd is live from the kickoff to the last snap!”

The HBCU game day experience is second to none, and when you add in the “Classic” element – games held at larger, neutral-site stadiums that bring together both alumni and fan bases – the attendance numbers dwarf anything else across the FCS level.

The SWAC matchup between Grambling State and Prairie View A&M in the State Fair Classic at Dallas’ Cotton Bowl Stadium just drew over 52,000 fans last Saturday.

Additionally, North Carolina Central and Norfolk State opened their MEAC schedule in Indianapolis last weekend. It wasn’t their first classic this season, with NSU kicking off the campaign in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Atlanta and NCCU playing in a spotlight game with Alabama State in Miami.

The Magic City Classic in Birmingham, Alabama, is fast approaching on Oct. 26, and last season, it packed over 69,000 fans into a stadium to watch the yearly SWAC battle between Alabama A&M and Alabama State.

There’s more to look forward to next month. In fact, last year, the Bayou Classic between Grambling State and Southern University drew over 64,000 fans in New Orleans, and over 56,000 attended the Florida Classic.

These upcoming HBCU football classics may find it hard to match the thrilling nature of the State Fair Classic, as fans were treated to a five-overtime barnburner before Prairie View A&M took down Grambling 36-34.

But remember, the game is only part of the experience.

 It’s no wonder so many people make HBCU game day their destination all season long.

Top photo of MEAC-SWAC Challenge on Aug. 24, 2024 in Atlanta (@MEAC_SWAC)

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