The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the football teams of Tennessee State University, Jackson State University, and other Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to almost cancel their entire seasons. But for those teams who are able to make it to the field, games will be played through one of the rarest schedules in the history of the sport. Read the full story from HBCU Sports below.
TSU football will have a different feel in the spring with all of its games scheduled to be played on Sundays.
HBCU football after church.
In less than 60 days, a new, different kind of football season will begin for schools across the HBCU landscape.
Because several FCS conferences decided this past summer to postpone fall football due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, what was supposed to be the 2020 campaign is scheduled to start in February.
And the majority of the games — for the first time ever in many cases — will be played on Sunday, which is an intriguing opportunity for programs, said Tennessee State head coach Rod Reed.
With no NFL or major college football as competition, HBCU football will garner a huge chunk of the spotlight
“It will be a different experience,” said Reed on Nashville Sports Radio WSNR. “And like I said, hopefully, you know it’d be a great experience for our players. It will be pretty cool if we can get some TV contracts out of it.”
Tennessee State, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, will play a seven-game schedule starting Feb. 21 versus Jacksonville State.
The regular season will conclude on April 11.
In August, the OVC board of presidents voted to postpone fall sports, joining 13 other FCS leagues, including the SWAC and MEAC to hold off football.
“Our kids are ready to play,” Reed said. “It’s going to be a challenge with some teams playing four games this fall, but we’re excited about our team and we’re excited about the guys coming in. We’re just excited about the opportunity to play.”
