Prairie View A&M head coach Tremaine Jackson has no problem breaking from tradition — especially when it comes to opening the season against Texas Southern.
For years, the Panthers and Tigers had opened their seasons against one another, making the matchup one of the most familiar traditions in HBCU football.
But with the teams no longer meeting to begin the season for the first time since 2018, Jackson believes the change is overdue.
“I totally understand the reasoning on why both teams played so early, but that’s not the reason anymore,” Jackson said on Monday. “We have to get out of doing the same thing that we’ve always done because it feels good to everybody, and do what’s best for the two programs.”
Jackson was blunt when asked about starting the season with a conference rival.
“I think it’s asinine that you open up with a conference rival game,” he said. “I think that’s crazy. That’s not college football. College football rivals happen in the end.”
The decision ultimately isn’t Jackson’s to make, but the Panthers coach said he is focused on what is ahead rather than dwelling on the loss of the traditional Labor Day Classic opener.
“I don’t care,” Jackson said. “I’m worried about Tarleton State. That’s the TSU that we got to play first.”
Prairie View was set to open the season against Tarleton State, giving the Panthers an opportunity to face a nationally ranked FCS opponent on national television.
Jackson said that opportunity was exactly what he envisioned when he took over the program.
“For us to be able to play a top-five in the FCS opponent on national TV, which is exactly what we said we wanted to do when we got here, and now we got to be ready to go as we make this trip,” he said.
Rather than lamenting the change in the schedule, Jackson embraced it.
“I’m super excited to be playing in Week Zero,” he said. “I think everybody should play in Week Zero.”
For Jackson, the early-season matchup was about more than simply getting a game on the schedule. He wanted his team to get an immediate measuring stick.
“We wanted to get on the grass as soon as we could to find out, get a glimpse of what we have an opportunity to be, so we can hurry up and get to work on what we need to do next, win, lose or draw,” Jackson said.
The Panthers coach acknowledged that the Labor Day Classic will still have its place whenever Prairie View and Texas Southern meet. But for now, Jackson sees a different rivalry taking center stage.
“The way the Labor Day Classic falls, it’s whenever it is now,” he said. “We’re worried about TSU at Tarleton State. That’s the new classic for us. That’s what’s out in front of us.”
And there is another incentive: a trophy.
“Anytime we play for a trophy, we want to win the trophy,” Jackson said.
For Prairie View, the focus had shifted from preserving a decades-old tradition to building a new one — beginning with a Week Zero road test against Tarleton State.
