The stakes will be different this year when the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff makes its third appearance in the Southern Heritage Classic.
The Classic will be a conference game for the first time in its history when UAPB faces Alcorn State at 6 p.m. Saturday on HBCU GO at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis.
The 36th edition of the Classic will be the first without Tennessee State, which withdrew from the game after last year. UAPB (1-2) played the Tigers in the Classic each of the past two seasons, with TSU winning both games.
The Tigers’ departure left UAPB and the game’s organizers scrambling to find a replacement opponent, which ultimately required shifting the date to this Saturday from its originally scheduled date, Sept. 13.
Had TSU remained part of the Classic, UAPB and Alcorn State (0-3) would be playing in Pine Bluff this weekend. Instead, they will open conference play in Tennessee, leaving UAPB with three SWAC home games this season. The Golden Lions replaced the lost home game with the Sept. 13 non-conference home game against Lincoln (Calif.), which UAPB won 34-8.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
UAPB coach Alonzo Hampton said he didn’t make the decision to move this game to Memphis, but he agreed with it.
“Memphis has been great to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff,” Hampton said. “Mr. Fred Jones has been an outstanding ambassador for HBCUs, and he’s done a tremendous job by us. So, at the end of the day, we call Memphis our second home, anyway. It gives people another opportunity to be able to get outside of Pine Bluff, and our fans travel well.”
Hampton referred to Fred Jones Jr., the Classic’s founder. Jones said in an interview earlier this month with the Tri-State Defender, a Memphis-based publication, the Classic has dates lined up with the stadium, which also hosts the University of Memphis, through 2029.
The Classic does not yet, however, have signed contracts in place with UAPB, Alcorn or any other school to participate beyond this year.
TSU, which had been the only team to play in every game dating back to the Classic’s debut in 1990, chose to replace the Classic on its schedule with a four-game series with Alabama A&M dubbed the Legacy Series. The Tigers lost the series opener 23-21 at home on Sept. 13.
Alcorn will become the fifth SWAC school to participate in the Classic. The Classic historically featured Jackson State playing Tennessee State, with Grambling State and Mississippi Valley State each appearing once in the early 1990s in JSU’s place. JSU pulled out of the Classic permanently after the 2022 season, with UAPB filling its spot beginning in 2023.
The Braves have yet to play a home game this season. Head coach Cedric Thomas said they are used to playing away from home but need to block out the distractions that can come with a classic.
“It’ll be a lot of pageantry,” Thomas said. “I don’t think the team would have to be involved in a whole bunch, but you still got a specific time to be at the stadium. … We just gotta make sure that we got tunnel vision and we’re focused on just the football game and let the fans and everybody else kind of enjoy the things that’s associated with the classic.”
Both teams are coming off bye weeks. Alcorn will then finally get its home opener next week, while UAPB will play another conference away game before returning home for homecoming on Oct. 11.