Courtesy of NC A&T Athletics
GREENSBORO — North Carolina A&T, in partnership with the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Football Conference, released the Aggie’s complete 2024 football schedule on Wednesday. The schedule includes a long-awaited renewal of a historic HBCU rivalry, an ACC school, five home games, and seven road games. The 2024 season will mark the first time the Aggies have placed 12 games on the regular-season schedule since 2008. It also includes games against five in-state schools and four HBCUs. In addition to playing an FBS team, the Aggies must play four playoff teams from 2023.
The following is a breakdown of the Aggies 2024 season.
Date: Aug. 29, 2024
Opponent: Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Location: Winston-Salem, N.C. (Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium)
Time: TBD
Series: Wake Forest leads, 1-0.
Breakdown: Before playing Wake Forest in 2004, the Aggies had never played an ACC school. Now, the Aggies are starting to make a habit of it. The Aggies have played Duke twice and UNC once since 2015. They also have a date awaiting against N.C. State down the road. A&T’s showdown against the Demon Deacons will be a Thursday night game.
NORTH CAROLINA A&T FOOTBALL 2023
Date: Sept. 7, 2024
Opponent: Winston-Salem State Rams
Location: Greensboro, N.C. (Truist Stadium)
Time: TBD
Series: A&T leads, 36-12.
Breakdown: Many have been waiting to see this one played for a long time. The Rams did land the last punch, beating A&T 21-14 in Greensboro. The Winston-Salem State Rams University (WSSU) and A&T Aggies are bitter rivals like A&T and North Carolina Central, except the Rams and the Aggies never play. Many would love to see this game played yearly, but that is not likely with A&T on the Division I-FCS level and WSSU as a Division II. But why dwell on the future? Let’s enjoy this while we have it.
Date: Sept. 14, 2024
Opponent: Delaware Blue Hens
Location: Greensboro, N.C. (Truist Stadium)
Time: TBD
Series: Delaware leads, 1-0.
Breakdown: A&T played one of its better defensive games of the season at Delaware last season. It will be the Aggies conference opener in 2024. The Blue Hens will be making their first-ever visit to A&T, but it could also be their last. Delaware has informed the CAA of its intentions to leave the CAA for the Division I-FBS level. In the meantime, the Aggies will try to knock off a 2023 FCS playoff team that finished 21st in the nation in the USA Today Coaches poll and 22nd in the STATS Perform media poll.
Date: Sept. 21, 2024
Opponent: North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Eagles
Location: Durham, N.C. (O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium)
Time: TBD
Series: A&T leads, 54-36-5.
Breakdown: Winston-Salem State and NCCU on the same schedule? Heaven must be like this. It has been a long time since the Aggies were in Durham to play the Eagles. The last time the Aggies were in Durham, they had a good time, defeating the Eagles 45-0. The last two years versus NCCU could have been better. The Aggies have lost the previous two games by two touchdowns apiece.
Date: Sept. 28, 2024
Opponent: South Carolina State University (SCSU) Bulldogs
Location: Orangeburg, S.C. (Oliver C. Dawson Stadium)
Time: TBD
Series: SCSU leads, 31-24-2
Breakdown: It will be the third game of a four-game agreement the two schools signed once the A&T departed the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Former A&T offensive coordinator Chennis Berry is now the head coach at SCSU after the retirement of legendary Bulldogs head coach Buddy Pough. The Aggies have won the last seven matchups, their longest winning streak in the series.
Date: Oct. 5, 2024
Opponent: Richmond Spiders
Location: Richmond, Va. (Robins Stadium)
Time: TBD
Series: Richmond leads, 2-0.
Breakdown: North Carolina A&T will return to Robins Stadium for the first time in eight years after losing to the Spiders in the 2016 NCAA FCS playoffs, 39-10. The Aggies will be playing in their third straight road game when they head to the capital city of Virginia. Richmond won a share of the CAA Football Conference title last season and appeared in the 2023 playoffs. A&T failed to score an offensive touchdown against the Spiders last season at Truist Stadium.
Date: Oct. 19, 2024
Opponent: Hampton Pirates
Location: Greensboro, N.C. (Truist Stadium)
Time: 1 p.m. (Homecoming)
Series: Hampton leads, 28-18-2
Breakdown: There will be some old-school Aggies, and perhaps some new-school ones too, who will be happy to see an HBCU opponent come to town for the Greatest Homecoming On Earth. The Aggies have not defeated the Pirates since both schools left the MEAC. But the two teams have also yet to play against each other in Greensboro since leaving the MEAC. In 2021, in a Big South Conference game, Hampton defeated A&T 30-9 at home. Last season, the Pirates won 26-24 in a CAA Football Conference game in Hampton.
Date: Oct. 26, 2024
Opponent: Campbell Fighting Camels
Location: Buies Creek, N.C. (Barker-Lane Stadium)
Time: TBD
Series: The series is tied, 1-1.
Breakdown: Campbell is another Big South opponent turned CAA opponent on the Aggies schedule. A&T won a Big South game over Campbell in 2021 at Truist Stadium before returning to Truist to defeat the Aggies in 2022. Therefore, A&T will make its first trip to Buies Creek for a football game. Campbell will be under the leadership of new head coach Braxton Harris.
Date: Nov. 2, 2024
Opponent: William & Mary Tribe
Location: Greensboro, N.C. (Truist Stadium)
Time: TBD
Series: First meeting
Breakdown: A&T head coach Vincent Brown spent four seasons at William & Mary as its defensive coordinator under Mike London. Brown will invite his former team to Truist Stadium for a late-season CAA Football Conference game. That is about where the familiarity with William & Mary ends. The two teams will be playing each other for the first time.
Date: Nov. 9, 2024
Opponent: Villanova Wildcats
Location: Philadelphia, Pa. (Villanova Stadium)
Time: TBD
Series: Villanova leads, 1-0.
Breakdown: There was a three-way tie for first place in the CAA Football Conference in 2022. The Aggies have two of those three teams on their schedule, including Villanova. The Aggies will play at Villanova for the first time. It will be the first of a challenging back-to-back road trip for A&T toward the end of the season. Villanova is also one of four teams on the Aggies schedule who reached the playoffs in 2022.
Date: Nov. 16, 2024
Opponent: Towson Tigers
Location: Towson, Md. (Johnny Unitas Stadium)
Time: TBD
Series: Towson leads, 1-0.
Breakdown: After going to Philly, the Aggies will head north for the second straight week to face Towson at Johnny Unitas Stadium for the first time. The Aggies will try to return the favor with a road win over Towson after the Tigers defeated the Aggies at A&T’s Greatest Homecoming On Earth.
Date: Nov. 23, 2024
Opponent: Elon Phoenix
Location: Greensboro, N.C. (Truist Stadium)
Time: 1 p.m.
Series: A&T leads, 8-5.
Breakdown: The placement of this game as the season finale could aid in making it a spirited Piedmont rivalry. It will never be on the level of NCCU or WSSU for various reasons, but it will be a good end-of-the-year matchup, nevertheless. What will make it even more fun is if there is a conference championship on the line between the two teams during the finale. That would be truly awesome for the community.