Bethune-Cookman, Jackson State set for Oct. 15 college football game at TIAA Bank Field

There's more than one college football game coming to Jacksonville in October.

Bethune-Cookman and Jackson State will meet at TIAA Bank Field on Oct. 15, the city and B-CU athletic department announced Tuesday, matching Jacksonville's second-nearest NCAA Division I football program against the team coached by Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Florida State cornerback Deion Sanders.

Kickoff time remains to be determined.

The game had been originally scheduled for B-CU's usual home at Daytona Stadium, and comes to Jacksonville two weeks before the Florida-Georgia game on Oct. 29.

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"It is going to be great for our guys to get the chance to play in a NFL stadium," Bethune-Cookman head coach Terry Sims said in a statement. "For us, to play in a city like Jacksonville, with our great supporting alumni associations, it will be very exciting, and it is still a close enough drive up the road for our regular crowds from Daytona to attend. We are looking forward to the opportunity for our team and for our fans."

The contest adds another chapter to Jacksonville's rich history of football involving Historically Black Colleges and Universities, matching the colleges that produced a pair of Jaguars Pro Bowlers in Rashean Mathis (Bethune-Cookman) and Jimmy Smith (Jackson State).

Bethune-Cookman will be making its 53rd visit to the city, counting decades of games at the old Gator Bowl in the Gateway Classic series that stretched from 1946 to 2006. The series was discontinued in 2007.

B-CU, 29-23-1 in Jacksonville all-time, last played on the First Coast against Southern in a 30-29 loss on Sept. 2, 2006.

The Wildcats, coached by Terry Sims, finished 2-9 last season, the school's first since leaving the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Jackson State, SWAC champion in 2021 at 11-2, has vaulted into the national spotlight in the last two years with the hiring of Sanders as well as the recruitment of several high-profile national prospects, including five-star cornerback Travis Hunter. The school also has a recent Jacksonville connection after a 53-0 shutout over Edward Waters University, which then still competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, during the 2021 spring season.

The Tigers defeated Bethune-Cookman 42-12 in last year's matchup in Jackson, Miss.

Fans can purchase tickets through Ticketmaster or at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena box office.

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: College football: Bethune-Cookman, Jackson State to play October game in Jacksonville