The Chicago Football Classic Returns to Soldier Field

Danielle Sanders CNW Managing Editor

After a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Chicago Football Classic returns to Soldier Field. The popular game brings teams from historically black colleges and universities to compete in an annual football tradition. This year, Mississippi Valley State University will go head-to-head with Central State University. Also, each university’s band will battle at halftime.

“Chicago is home, a lot of our alumni and our student body come from the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois. And we get a chance to bring our students back home and have this large stage to play on to make a memorable moment for our student-athletes,” said Kevicia

Brown, Director of Athletics at Central State University.

The Chicago Football Classic, Inc (CFC) is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to inspire African American high school and college students through support for programs, initiatives, and events that increase awareness of opportunities to achieve educational excellence. CFC events influence students and parents to consider the rich academic and cultural opportunities offered by Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Founded in 1997 by a group of Black businessmen, Larry Huggins, Everett Rand, and Tim Rand wanted to encourage Black Youth to achieve their person- al best in school and beyond. They realized a platform was needed to showcase the talents, potential, and accomplishments of scholarship recipients as well as the benefits of attending HBCUs and to encourage Black students and their families to lift the bar of excellence and achievement via a vehicle involving students, their families, and the entire community. The weekend includes cultural, educational, and other exhilarating activities.

More than a football game, the Chicago Football Classic awards nearly $250,000 in scholarships to Black students attending HBCU institutions. African American college students are known to fare better and graduate at higher rates from HBCUs, than African American students attending mainstream colleges and universities. The group achieves these goals via several initiatives, including adopt-a-school programs and scholarships for African American students planning to attend HBCU institutions. Students are encouraged to check out chicagofootballclassic.org for information on scholarships and an HBCU Fellowship Program with the NBA.