HBCUGo Misses Opportunity With Puerto Rico HBCU Classic

HBCUGo announced its much-anticipated HBCU broadcast slate yesterday, and classics fill the 26-game slate. The network will air five HBCU classics, including the inaugural Las Vegas HBCU Classic between Grambling and Jackson State and the Truth and Service Classic between Howard and Morehouse. However, a classic they won’t air could cause some buzz.

HBCU football heads to Puerto Rico for the first time when Kentucky State plays Franklin Pierce in the commonwealth on October 18th. Naturally, there is a level of fascination accompanying the game. HBCUGo could have gained even more notoriety by broadcasting this game.

The network proved its investment in the pageantry of HBCU classics with its 2025 selections. Broadcasting a groundbreaking international classic should have been a no-brainer. Although HBCUGo will air two intriguing homecoming matchups on October 18th: Prairie View A&M @ Southern and Tuskegee @ Albany State, these are not the novelty that Kentucky State’s Puerto Rico game is.

Two concerns may have caused HBCUGo to pass on this game. First, Kentucky State’s opponent, Franklin Pierce, is not an HBCU. While there are limited slots for HBCUs in their 26-game schedule, not every member from the network’s contracted conferences will appear on the network. Notably, only five of the CIAA’s 11 schools appear on HBCUGo. If the network worried about equal airtime among its HBCUs, it would not give four slots to Jackson State and three to Florida A&M and Alabama A&M while schools like Kentucky State and Lane had none.

Furthermore, the costs of sending a crew to Puerto Rico could have been another concern. However, HBCUGo could have sent just the camera crew to Puerto Rico while the broadcasters called the game remotely. Although many have criticized this strategy, it does cut costs while still allowing HBCUGo to broadcast the historic event.

This year’s HBCUGo schedule is robust and cements it as the preeminent broadcaster of Black College Football. Nonetheless, the omission of the Puerto Rico HBCU Classic is inexcusable.