The 2025 Southern Heritage Classic will be an all-SWAC affair.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will face Alcorn State at Liberty Stadium in Memphis on Sept. 27 in each team’s conference opener, the Classic announced Friday. This matchup was originally scheduled to be played in Pine Bluff on that date and leaves UAPB with three SWAC home football games at Simmons Bank Field this season.
The teams have agreed to a one-year contract to play in Memphis, per a UAPB spokesperson. The spokesperson also said the Golden Lions are seeking a longer contract in the future to continue playing in the Classic, though a long-term opponent has not been decided.
This will be the third straight year UAPB plays in the HBCU classic which has been held annually since 1990, though the game was not played in 2018 or 2020.
The 2025 Classic will be the first without Tennessee State, which had played in every iteration of the game. The Tigers, who beat UAPB 24-14 in 2023 and 41-28 in 2024, declined to renew their contract with the game, opting instead to schedule a four-game non-conference series with Alabama A&M dubbed the Legacy Series.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
TSU had traditionally played Jackson State annually in Memphis until JSU withdrew from the Classic following the 2022 matchup.
Questions surrounding the status of the Classic following TSU’s departure have held up UAPB’s ability to finalize its 2025 football schedule. The Golden Lions and Bethune-Cookman are the only SWAC teams yet to release a schedule.
The UAPB spokesperson had previously said TSU’s withdrawal meant the game could not be played on its original date of Sept. 13 because all potential replacement opponents had other games already planned. Alcorn will face Mississippi State that day.
A new date could not be selected until the University of Memphis, which plays its home games at Liberty Stadium, finalized its schedule. That came Friday afternoon when the Tigers’ conference, the American Athletic Conference, released its league slate. Memphis will play a road game at Florida Atlantic on Sept. 27, allowing UAPB and Alcorn to play in Memphis.
The official announcement from the Southern Heritage Classic came roughly 40 minutes after the public release of the AAC schedules.
With the Classic now scheduled, UAPB is close to finalizing its 2025 football slate. The UAPB spokesperson said a fourth non-conference opponent should be finalized shortly, and current plans are to announce the full schedule Monday.
The spokesperson also said UAPB has made playing in Memphis a priority to regrow its brand in the area and recruit students from the city at a level it has in the past.