TUSKEGEE, Ala. __ The Tuskegee University football team announced its 2024 football schedule Monday, featuring three home games, two neutral site contests, and six road games with the season beginning Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024.
“I am very excited about our upcoming schedule, which consists of some key non-conference opponents in representatives from the CIAA and two Division I SWAC programs,” TU head coach Aaron James said. “These opportunities will not only allow us to showcase our talents to our normal fan base and supporters, but also give us the chance to show the pride and culture of Tuskegee football as a whole. Playing in the SIAC already provides us with a very strong strength of schedule, but we have added these out of conference games to continue to push ourselves so that we may be prepared in any situation.”
The season begins for the fourth consecutive year in the Boeing Red Tails Classic inside of the historic Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala. The 2024 matchup will feature a new team on the opposing sideline, as CIAA member Johnson C. Smith will battle against the Golden Tigers on Sunday, Sept. 1.
Johnson C. Smith is coming off a 7-4 record and a 6-2 mark in the CIAA, marking the first winning season for JCSU since 2012. The Golden Bulls finished the season in the inaugural Florida Beach Bowl in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Dec. 13, as they fell to Fort Valley State 23-10. The two programs last met Sept. 8, 2012, in Atlanta, Ga., in the Inner City Classic with Tuskegee winning 35-17.
Tuskegee University then makes its first road trip of the season to meet Grambling State, a historic matchup as the teams will meet for the first time since 1949. The meeting will be the first of two games between the Golden Tigers and an opponent from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Tuskegee and Grambling have met three times in program history, with Tuskegee holding a 2-1 mark after winning consecutive games in 1946 and 1947.
The Golden Tigers then open the 2024 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference slate with Savannah State on Sept. 21 at Abbott Memorial Stadium. The two programs met last season in Savannah, where Tuskegee pulled out a 21-14 road win.
Three straight games away from home follow, starting at Edward Waters (Sept. 28), where TU will look to avenge an upset loss at last year’s Homecoming contest. The Golden Tigers won their only matchup in Jacksonville during the series history in 2019, 27-26.
Next up is the 88th Morehouse-Tuskegee Classic on Oct. 5, as the storied rivalry returns to the Fountain City of Columbus, Ga., and A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium for the first time since 2019.
The final game of the stretch is at Lane (Oct. 12), where Tuskegee won a double-overtime home matchup 28-22 in the 2023 meeting.
Tuskegee then hosts Kentucky State at home on Oct. 19, followed by a trip to Ohio for a battle with Central State on Oct. 26, before the month of November begins with a trip to Atlanta, Ga., against Clark Atlanta on Nov. 2.
Tuskegee University then returns home to host rival Miles for the 2024 Homecoming game on Nov. 9, as the Golden Tigers look to avenge last year’s final second loss on Homecoming. Tuskegee is 72-23-3 all-time on the occasion and 17-4 against the Golden Bears.
The regular season then concludes with the annual Turkey Day Classic game against another rival in Alabama State in Montgomery on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 21).