The City of Birmingham will host a football game between the Southern Jaguars and the Alabama State Hornets at Legion Field on Aug. 29, following approval from the Birmingham City Council.
This event is part of Birmingham’s efforts to attract major sporting events. Mayor Randall Woodfin said the city is building its reputation as a destination for sports and entertainment. “Our city continues to recruit premier sports and entertainment events,” said Woodfin. “We are thrilled to build on our relationship with the SWAC and look forward to hosting Alabama State University and Southern University as we offer another great HBCU experience for fans. I want to thank members of the Birmingham City Council for their continued partnership in providing high level sports and entertainment in the Magic City.”
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) has been recognized as one of the leading historically Black college athletic conferences, often producing professional-level athletes and leading all Football Championship Subdivision conferences in attendance over recent decades.
Roman Banks, Director of Athletics at Southern, and Dr. Jason Cable, Vice President of Athletics at Alabama State, described this matchup as a “marquee event” that will be nationally televised. They said it would showcase two prominent programs from the conference: “Southern University and Alabama State University are extremely excited to partner with the City of Birmingham for the hosting of this marquee football game at historic Legion Field this upcoming football season. This match-up is slated to be nationally televised and should be a highly entertaining affair between two historic football programs,” stated Banks and Cable.
The game will also mark Marshall Faulk’s debut as head coach for Southern after his previous coaching role at Colorado, while Eddie Robinson enters his fifth season leading Alabama State. The Hornets aim for a championship after missing last year’s title game by one win.
Organizers expect significant economic benefits from visitors coming into Birmingham for this nationally recognized event. Tickets are expected to go on sale next week.
