Howard University and Morehouse College will renew their longstanding rivalry during the inaugural of the Nation’s Football Classic, which will be the first face-off between the schools in 15 years. The contest will be held annually in Washington, D.C., until 2013, with plans to recruit other HBCUs in the future.
For years, interest has been building for the matchup, says Andre Pattillo, Morehouse’s athletic director. As HBCUs with strong academic reputations, the schools are natural rivals.
“Because there’s such an underlying relationship between two schools, there’s been a cry for them to renew their relationship in athletic competition,” Pattillo says.
The idea for an annual game got backing from the Washington Convention and Sports Authority in Washington, D.C. WCSA will partner with the United Negro College Fund to sponsor the event, which will be held on Sept. 10 at 3:30 p.m. at RFK Stadium.
Pattillo says the game could be akin to the Bayou Classic, an annual matchup between two Southern HBCUs — Grambling State University and Southern University.
Such an event could give greater exposure to Morehouse’s athletic program, says Pattillo. As an NCAA Division II school, it’s often difficult for Morehouse to recruit top athletes.
“Sometimes, we miss out on students because they particularly want to be playing at a Division I level instead of at a Division II school,” he explains.
