HBCU matchups to bring nearly 100-year-old football rivalry to uptown

CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Sports Foundation has added another college football rivalry to its roster for the 2022 and 2027 seasons. That’s when North Carolina A&T State University and North Carolina Central University will play at Bank of America Stadium.

The game next year will mark the first time the NFL venue has hosted a matchup featuring historically black colleges and universities.

The A&T-Central rivalry is nearly 100 years old, with the first game in 1924. It’s been played in Charlotte twice: in 1990 and 2008. The latter game was played at Memorial Stadium before a crowd of 20,180 fans.

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A&T’s campus is in Greensboro and Central is in Durham, meaning both schools’ students and fans are within easy driving distance for the Charlotte games. Exact dates and times will be determined later. Both games are expected to be season openers, signaling likely Labor Day weekend dates.

“Charlotte is a phenomenal city for any kind of sporting event,” Greater Charlotte Hospitality & Tourism Alliance CEO Mohammad Jenatian told CBJ. “And we need to be going after all types of events to make up for what was lost (in the pandemic).”

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