The City of Rochester announced plans Monday for the second annual Baldwin Richardson Foods Frederick Douglass HBCU Football Classic.
The Central State University Marauders from Ohio will play the Lane College Dragons from Tennessee at 1 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Rochester Community Sports Complex on Oak Street.
Central State will be looking to avenge a 28-7 loss in the inaugural game last year to Georgia’s Albany State University. That game reportedly drew 6,500 spectators to the sports complex.
The game is the centerpiece of a weekend of special events and activities for young people and families, including a college fair with representatives from historically Black colleges and universities. There also will be a pep rally, tailgate party with live music, and, after the game, a battle of the bands – a “musical showndown” between the Invincible Marching Marauders and the Quiet Storm of Lane College.
“If even one student who attends these events is inspired to attend an HBCU and becomes a future entrepreneur, who builds something meaningful and creates jobs here in Rochester, then the mission we all share is advanced,” said Erin Tolefree, Baldwin Richardsons Foods' president and CEO.
HBCU football classics have existed for a century, Mayor Malik Evans said, and are as much about competition as they are about community and tradition. And about investing in youth, Tolefree said.
“The talent, creativity and potential of our young people is limitless,” Tolefree said, “Events like this give them a vision of what is possible and a reason to believe they belong in these spaces.”
Last year, Tolefree said, the football classic helped reach more than 7,000 students in the Rochester area.
For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.fdhbcuclassic.com
