One of the last pieces of business from the Deion Sanders era at Jackson State has been settled at a heavy cost.
The university agreed to pay Summitt Management Corporation, the entity that produces the Southern Heritage Classic, $800,000 to settle a lawsuit that stemmed from the Tigers football team pulling out of the final two years of their contract, according to a report by Clarion-Ledger reporter J.T. Keith.
JSU and Summitt Management Corporation were in the middle of a five-year contract that began in September 2019 that would feature the Tigers in the Southern Heritage Classic, according to the lawsuit. In February 2022, the school announced it would not be participating in the 2023 and 2024 SHC games.
After Jackson State announced its withdrawal, then-Tigers football coach Deion Sanders posted on Instagram, “Seven busses for the band. We have four buses with all our people,” he said. “And who else goes? Administration. Hotel accommodations. Food, all that. … By the time we get back, we’re broke.”
Summitt Management Corporation filed a lawsuit the next month against Jackson State and the Southwestern Athletic Conference for breach of contract, alleging “wrongful contractual interference” as the SWAC pursued Jackson State as participating in a new showcase.
The lawsuit stated that Sanders “gave interviews in which he was quoted as saying that the Classic was not profitable for JSU, that JSU could make a lot more money by not playing in the Classic, and that JSU was now “doing business.” The coach was clear that JSU was not playing in the final three years of the JSU Agreement, including 2022, which was consistent with the Termination Letter.”
The Southern Heritage Classic pays each school $350,000 per year to participate in its game, according to the lawsuit.
Played at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, the Southern Heritage Classic featuring Jackson State and Tennessee State had become a signature early-season rivalry game for 29 years that oftentimes was one of the highest attended HBCU classic football games.
