Does the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic Need A New Approach?

The Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic was quite the appetizer for football fans on Labor Day Eve before the Notre Dame-Miami game. The game saw an over 1000 percent increase in television viewership from last year’s edition. 221,000 viewers saw Virginia Union defeat Miles 45-3 on NFL Network on the strength of Curtis Allen’s 185 rushing yards. While television viewership was a boon, in-person attendance disappointed again. Only 3,280 fans appeared, an over 400 fan drop from last year and the second-straight season with sub-4,000 attendance. The back-to-back sub-4,000-fan showings come after a respectable attendance of 9,333 in 2023.

So what is the issue with the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic?

One could point to the classic never featuring a team with a player in the same year’s Black College Football Hall of Fame class. Black College Football is full of rich history and tradition, but not celebrating the history of participating teams is a huge mistake.

Inducting players from participating teams could be the factor that convinces more fans to make the long trip to the game. The NFL knows this and applies this logic to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in the preseason. The NFL typically selects two teams with players being inducted in that year’s Hall of Fame Class for the Hall of Fame Game. The easiest way to get more people invested in the Black College Football Hall of Fame is to diversify the Hall of Fame’s composition.

Furthermore, the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic is making a mistake by ignoring local teams. Kentucky State (321 miles), Central State (187 miles), and West Virginia State (203 miles) are all a manageable drive away from Canton. Central State is the only one of this trio to appear in the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic, in a lone appearance in 2022. Predictably, Central State helped produce the second-largest turnout in the Classic’s history, with 13,989 fans. This total was not too far behind Grambling and Tennessee State’s 2021 matchup, which drew 14,682 fans to a battle of HBCU royalty.The math is simple. These teams will bring more fans to Canton than CIAA or more southern SIAC teams.

Furthermore, West Virginia State hardly gets invited to any classics. The Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic would give their fans not only an exciting travel experience but a chance to be the epicenter of the Black College Football universe. With attendance figures as bad as they have been the last two years, it is worth at least a try.

The Black College Football Classic should become more of an event for participating teams. With as many legends that line the lexicon of Black College Football, no reason participating teams should not be enshrining a legend that same weekend. Furthermore, the classic should cater to closer fanbases and create a de facto home game. These ideas could help boost the Classic’s attendance.