Courtesy of Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University is officially pulling out of what was once of the marque HBCU football classics. Dwayne Tucker, Interim TSU president, said that the offer from the Southern Heritage Classic was not enough to participate in the Memphis-based game that it had been a part of since its inception in 1990. “I think most people understand that TSU has some financial issues,” Tucker told Action News 5, “that we need to walk and correct ourselves, so to play an event where it’s financially not in our best interest; the fee that’s being proposed-it’s just not a good financial return for Tennessee State. But we’d love to come back.”
The founder and promoter of the Southern Heritage Classic, Fred Jones, revealed to Action News 5 that he had offered $400k for the Nashville, TN-based HBCU to play and bring its marching band “The Aristocrat of Bands,” for the next five years. Jones said he never received a response back from Tennessee State University.
TSU’s withdrawal comes roughly three years after its other long time affiliate, Jackson State University, attempted to do the same thing based on finances. JSU announced it intended to opt out of the HBCU showcase game in 2022, but eventually relented after being sued by organizers. The two sides eventually agreed on a $800k settlement last summer.
Tennessee State has played Arkansas Pine-Bluff, another SWAC HBCU, over the last two seasons in the game.