UAPB Football: The Golden Lions and Alcorn State Will Compete in the 36th Southern Heritage Classic
MEMPHIS, TN.– In 2025, the 36th Southern Heritage Classic will take place on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m., featuring the Alcorn State University Braves taking on the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Golden Lions at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis.
Alcorn State is new to the Classic Experience, while UAPB will be making its third consecutive appearance in Memphis.
“We are thrilled to welcome Alcorn State to Memphis this September to take on UAPB,” said Southern Heritage Classic founder Fred Jones Jr. “For the first time in our history, there is added significance to this year’s event, as this will be a conference game for both teams.”
Alcorn State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff are members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). This meeting was originally scheduled to be held in Pine Bluff, Ark., but both teams agreed to move the contest to Memphis. The Golden Lions lead the all-time series 22-20-3, though the Braves won last year’s meeting, 38-28, in Lorman, Miss.
Alcorn State won back-to-back SWAC titles in 2018-19 and is the owner of five black-college national championships, the most recent of which occurred in 2014. Arkansas-Pine Bluff last won a conference championship in 2012 and captured its lone national championship that year.
Alcorn State is located in Lorman, Miss., which is approximately 270 miles south of Memphis, while Pine Bluff, Ark., is roughly 150 miles west of the Bluff City.
Ticket availability and additional events will be announced in the coming weeks.
About the Southern Heritage Classic presented by FedEx
The Southern Heritage Classic, founded in 1990 by Fred Jones Jr., brings fans from across the U.S. to watch HBCU football every September at the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn. The greatness of the Classic rests on how it connects kindred spirits – young and old – in celebration of the beauty of cultural diversity and the richness of the city’s heritage.
