Tennessee State football adds two HBCU opponents to 2024 schedule
Tennessee State football will play fellow HBCUs Mississippi Valley State and Howard in 2024, according to Tigers athletic director Mikki Allen.
TSU will kick off the 2024 season on Aug. 31 against Mississippi Valley State in the 26th annual John A. Merritt Classic at Nissan Stadium. They last met in the John A. Merritt Classic in 2019 in a game won by TSU 26-20.
The TSU-Mississippi Valley State all-time series is tied at 4-4. Before 2019, the teams played in TSU's 2001 homecoming at Nissan Stadium (then Adelphia Coliseum) when the Tigers claimed a 41-3 win.
The contract with Mississippi Valley State is for a single home game.
The deal with Howard is a home-and-home series. TSU will travel to Howard on Oct. 19, 2024, and Howard will play the Tigers at Nissan Stadium on Oct. 18, 2025.
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The teams have met only once. TSU beat the Bison in 2001, 45-0.
TSU (4-2) is coming off wins this season against fellow HBCU schools Arkansas-Pine Bluff (24-14) in the 34th annual Southern Heritage Classic, and Norfolk State (24-17) in last week's homecoming for the Tigers.
Kennesaw State canceled a 2024 game at TSU, which was scheduled for Sept. 21. The Owls are moving from FCS to FBS in 2024. TSU beat host Kennesaw State 27-20 on Oct. 7.
The Tigers return to action Saturday (2 p.m. CT) at Nissan Stadium against Lincoln (0-8) and then play their third straight home game on Oct. 28 (2 p.m. CT) against Big South/Ohio Valley Conference foe Lindenwood. Both games are on ESPN+.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee State football adds two HBCU opponents to 2024 schedule
