Playbook for Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic in Canton

CANTON ‒ Morehouse College returns to town this weekend, to take on Virginia Union in the annual Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic game.

Kickoff is at 4 p.m. Sunday.

The Maroon Tigers of Morehouse appeared in the inaugural Classic in 2019, while the Panthers of Virginia Union will make their first visit to play at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

The Big Game: Morehouse College vs. Virginia Union set for 2023 Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic

The matchup of the two Historically Black College and Universities is the penultimate event in a series of related activities that began Thursday and concludes with a post-game marching band show.

Here are five things to know about the Classic:

What's this game all about and why is it in Canton?

This will be the fourth Classic game in five years − the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 contest.

This year's matchup, presented by AEP Ohio, was announced in January at the Greater Canton Martin Luther King Jr. Commission's 30th annual Mayors' Breakfast by James "Shack" Harris and Doug Williams, co-founders of the Black College Football Hall of Fame. Although the Black College Hall was founded in 2009 in Atlanta, its museum is located within the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The game always pits two of the country's 107 HBCU schools.

Such Black institutions are formally defined in the federal Higher Education Act of 1965 as: "any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary (of Education) ... "

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Where are these teams, and are they any good?

Morehouse College is in Atlanta; Virginia Union is in Richmond.

Both schools have NCAA Division II football programs − same as Walsh University in North Canton, and schools such as Ashland University and Notre Dame College in South Euclid, for example.

Virginia Union was 9-2 last season; Morehouse finished 1-9.

The best player on the field will likely be Virginia Union's Jada Byers. The 5-foot-7, 185-pound junior running back rushed for 1,928 yards last season, with a host of electrifying jaunts.

As a high school player in New Jersey in 2019, he scored 10 touchdowns in one game to set a state record.

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Anyone famous go to either of these schools?

YES!

Virginia Union University, founded in 1865 to give newly emancipated slaves an opportunity for education, has a long list of notable alumni, including former Cleveland baseball star Larry Doby.

A member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Doby was the first Black man to play in the American League. His debut in 1947 came just months after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the National League's Dodgers.

One year after that, in 1948, a fellow named Martin Luther King Jr. graduated from Morehouse College.

The Atlanta institution has graduated other well-known alumni, including actor Samuel L. Jackson and one of the greatest 400-meter hurdlers in history, Edwin Moses. The school recently named its track and field facility after Moses.

How do I get tickets to see the game?

Prices start at $25 and you can buy them now at this shortened link, shorturl.at/OQVX8.

The game also will be broadcast on the NFL Network.

What other related activities are set this Labor Day weekend?

There are 14 in all, not including the game itself. Thursday's three events are education-related.

Friday's are about fellowship, including "The Red Carpet Affair" from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. On Saturday, there's a golf outing at historic Clearview Golf Club and a block party and gospel concert with Grammy winner Tamela Mann at Centennial Plaza.

Five Sunday game-day events kick off at 9 a.m. with an interfaith service at the plaza.

View the entire schedule at this shortened link, shorturl.at/lqxY4.

Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 ortim.botos@cantonrep.com.On Twitter: @tbotosREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: What you need to know about Sunday's Black College Football Classic in Canton