After signing an agreement to continue playing the Magic City Classic in Birmingham, Alabama A&M University is looking to increase attendance and event participation for the Classic and its other signature football games on its own time and in its own way.
On Tuesday, AAMU announced the formation of task forces to be chaired by athletic director Dr. Paul Bryant and retired judge M. Lynn Sherrod focusing on community engagement for Magic City, the Louis Crews Classic versus Lane College on Sept. 9 and the Bulldogs’ homecoming game against Tuskegee University Sept. 30.
Alabama A&M in 2022 averaged 8,112 fans per home game, which ranked 40th in the FCS.
The task force headed by Bryant will be comprised of a Board of Trustees member, a senior university staff member, university council advisory members and stakeholders from the city of Huntsville.
The university was spurred to create these task forces by what they felt were legitimate concerns about money and other issues surrounding the Magic City Classic’s contract.
“AAMU was opposed to a four-year term of the management agreement due to the lack of guaranteed funding for the entire term of the contract, as the Jefferson County Commission only guaranteed funding for the 2023 MCC event,” the statement reads. “ASC indicated that the funding was required for them to guarantee the university fixed payment for the four years they required in their proposed contract.”
AAMU general counsel Rochelle A. Conley adds, “As a public institution, AAMU has an obligation to ensure that every contractual agreement is fair and in the best interest of our university stakeholders, most importantly our students. Our primary goal moving forward is to ensure that our legal rights, as awarded through our partnership with the City of Birmingham, are preserved and maintained.”
