The Cramton Bowl will play host to a special football game this fall to recognize America’s first Black military pilot unit.
Coming this fall, the ESPN-backed Red Tails Classic is scheduled in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen who fought in World War II.
Tuskegee and Fort Valley State will play in the inaugural game at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., to open the 2021 fall football season on Sept. 5, on ESPNU.
“Tuskegee’s Labor Day football game will certainly be different this year. We are excited about taking on conference rival Fort Valley State University in this year’s inaugural Red Tails Classic,” said Tuskegee interim President Charlotte P. Morris. “The Tuskegee Airmen are our American heroes, and we are elated to honor them in this newly branded classic.”
Fort Valley State and Tuskegee are both members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The SIAC did not hold football during the 2020-21 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This will be the first SIAC football game in 660 calendar days.
“I am excited about it, I think it’s a great opportunity for our players and our school,” said Willie Slater, Tuskegee athletic director and head football coach. “When the opportunity presented itself for us to play in the Red Tails Classic, I was all for it. I think it’s a real good opportunity to play on ESPN.”
