North Carolina A&T, Tennessee State to start home-and-home series in 2025

Tennessee State is set to start a home-and-home series with North Carolina A&T starting in 2025, per a report by Kevin Kelly of FBSchedules in May. Tennessee State, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, has expanded the number of HBCU games that they’ve played in recent years and a matchup with the Aggies will be a battle of blue-blood HBCU football programs. 

In 2025 the Aggies will head down south to the Land of Golden Sunshine for the John A. Merritt Classic. In 2028, the Tigers travel to Greensboro to return the favor.  The last time these two teams saw each other on the turf was 2010 which resulted in a 37-7 win for Tennesseee State. Ironically, Tennessee State and North Carolina A&T faced off in the FCS Playoffs in 1999. Tennessee State entered the game undefeated, having finished the season 11-0. But, North Carolina A&T executed their defensive game plan to perfection, stifling the Tiger’s offense and winning 24-10.

But, even with those matchups, the Tigers and Aggies don’t share a lot of football history, as they’ve only played against each other five times toal. Fans are looking forward to creating a new rivalry that could eventually turn into an annual match-up.

The game scheduling has been in the works for quite some time. A copy of the football game contract with Tennessee State University was obtained from North Carolina A&T State University via a state public records request by FBSchedule in May. The contract was executed on April 18, 2024.

Tennessee State football has been on a roll recently under the direction of head coach Eddie George. Following their dominant 27-14 victory over Howard University during their homecoming on Saturday, the Tigers are ranked 25th in the latest AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. 

Tennessee State will enjoy a bye week following their four-game win streak. After their break, they will look to solidify their success this season and make a run to the FCS Playoffs. The Tigers play back-to-back conference opponents for four straight matches. They close the regular season against the only other Big South OVC team in the top 25 in Southeast Missouri.