Courtesy of Pro Football Hall of Fame
Virginia Union University, from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, will face Miles College, from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, in the 2025 Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic in Canton on Aug. 31. For the first time in the six-year history of the Labor Day weekend game, the newly dubbed “Clash at The Classic” will feature the defending HBCU football champions from the CIAA and SIAC — two athletic conferences primarily composed of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
“Clash at The Classic”
Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on the campus of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. NFL Network, which will provide coverage of the game, announced the teams and new conference arrangement today during its broadcast of the 2025 Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl in New Orleans, La.
“We are grateful to the commissioners and teams of the CIAA and SIAC for their commitment to playing in the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic game,” said Jim Porter, president & CEO of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “The format of bringing in the defending conference champions sets up the ‘Clash at The Classic’ as an entertaining, well-matched game annually, with top-tier players representing their historic universities.”
Virginia Union head coach Alvin Parker and the Panthers are making their second appearance in Canton; they defeated Morehouse College 45-13 in the 2023 Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic. In 2024, the Panthers posted a 10-4 record that included two wins in the Division II NCAA tournament before falling to the eventual national runner-up Valdosta State Blazers in the quarterfinal round.
The 2025 “Clash at The Classic” will serve as Miles head coach Chris Goode’s first game at the helm of the Golden Bears. The program finished a historic 2024 season with a 10-3 record that included school records for most victories, most consecutive wins in a single year (10), and its first NCAA Division II playoff victory. The Golden Bears’ season also ended at the hands of Valdosta State, one week before the Blazers ousted Virginia Union.
Fans can purchase their seats now to see the game and energizing band performances featuring the Virginia Union Ambassadors of Sound Marching Band and the Miles College Purple Marching Machine. Tickets, starting at $40, are available here.