Every summer in the Carolinas, you can count on a few things. Bike Week, the heat and a war of words between North Carolina A&T and Winston-Salem State fans about a game that won’t be played that fall.
At least, that’s the way its been for the past couple of years.
The flame was ignited again on Monday when the Winston-Salem Journal’s John Dell reported that WSSU Chancellor Elwood Robinson is interested in re-kindling the dormant rivalry.
“We want to rekindle some old rivalries and that’s important,” Robinson told the Journal. “I have certainly gotten the impression from a lot of people that they would like to see that happen so we are working with A&T.”
An NC Central grad, Elwood also talked about looking into getting NCCU on the schedule as well. Both A&T and NCCU play at the Division I level in the MEAC, while WSSU returned to Division II and the CIAA after a brief stint as a provisional member of the MEAC.
It’s been five years since the Triad’s two state HBCUs met on the football field, but you would think the two squads just stepped off the field with the intensity the students, fans and alumni (especially alumni) talk about the game.
In the five years since WSSU beat A&T 21-14 at Aggie Stadium, the stature of the lost rivalry has only grown, festering on message boards and social media on an almost-year-round basis.
It seems almost inevitable that at some point the two schools will get together again at some point and give the people what they want. When they do, however, WSSU will have some catching up to do as it currently trails 37-12 in the series, despite winning three of the last five games.