With the Southern Heritage Classic heading into its 23rd year, founder Fred Jones recently announced that Tennessee State and Jackson State have agreed to reserve the second Saturday in September for each other at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium through the 2019 season.
“It allows us to continue to plan,” Jones said. “All these companies that are here … they’re making long-term plans. I talked to the schools and we were able to clear both conferences’ … long-term schedule and make sure that these dates were in place going forward.”
Tennessee State has appeared in every Southern Heritage Classic since the event’s inception in 1990. Jackson State has been on the opposing sideline in 20 of the 22 matchups, and the two have played each other in Memphis every year since 1994.
“We’ve been talking about it for a while, but both teams, both (athletic directors) and both presidents are in agreement,” Jones said.
The prior agreement between the two schools was set to expire after the 2014 season.
With the deal in place, Jones turned his focus to changes in this season’s event, one of which could have been put in place to get fans away from the popular tailgate scene and into the seats at the Liberty Bowl.
