‘Back at home.’ Tuskegee vs. Morehouse returns to Columbus. Game, parade this weekend
A historic rivalry between two college football programs has returned to Columbus in time to celebrate its 85th anniversary.
The 85th Annual Tuskegee vs. Morehouse Football Classic is set to kickoff Saturday at 2 p.m. at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium in Columbus. Other popular events associated with the game, including tailgating at South Commons next to the stadium and a parade before the game, have also returned.
“We’re back at home, we’re back at home,” said Tuskegee head football coach Aaron James, “So it’s been a long time, a long time coming.”
James was among several speakers at a luncheon Wednesday afternoon at the Columbus Civic Center hosted by the event’s organizing committee for the media, and area football coaches and players.
The game was a mainstay in the Chattahoochee Valley through the 2019 game, before moving to Birmingham, Alabama, for the 2021-2023 games.
The main purpose of the Tuskegee-Morehouse Football Classic is to raise money for scholarships to help young men and women go to college, according to the event’s website.
Classic Chairperson Lisa Goodwin is asking the community to support the schools and help raise the game’s profile by purchasing a ticket, and attending the game in person.
“The one thing that we have got to do is fill the stands,” Goodwin said. “And that’s not just from our universities, but from the community, the surrounding community.”
Goodwin said there’s an important change for tailgating this year: there’s a $5 entry fee to access the tailgating area, unless you have a game ticket, a classic pass or paid parking. Youth K-12 receive free entry, according to a banner at the main entrance of the Columbus Civic Center.
“That’s going to help offset some of things we need to do in order to send scholarship money to these schools,” Goodwin said.
Also returning is the 85th Annual Classic Parade. The Parade will begin at 9 a.m. in Phenix City at the corner of Broad and Dillingham streets, go north on Broad to 13th Street, cross the 13th Street bridge into Columbus, and then proceed down Broadway where it will finish at 9th Street.
More information is available on tusgekeemorehouse.com.
This story was originally published October 3, 2024 at 1:42 PM.
