More Than a Game: HBCU Football Brings History, Culture and Community to Canton

Today, two championship football teams will take the field at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. But what is happening here this weekend is bigger than football.

On The Corner | September 6, 2026

CANTON, Ohio — Two defending HBCU conference champions meet at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium today as Albany State University and Johnson C. Smith University face off in the 2026 Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic.

Kickoff for the Clash at the Classic is scheduled for 4 p.m. The matchup brings together Albany State, the defending Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion, and Johnson C. Smith, the defending Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion.

The game is the centerpiece of a weekend of activities in Canton highlighting HBCU athletics, education, culture and community involvement.

Two Conference Champions

Albany State comes to Canton following a 12-2 season in 2025 that included the SIAC championship and a trip to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals.

Johnson C. Smith finished last season 10-2, defeated Virginia Union 45-21 for the CIAA championship and advanced to the Division II playoffs.

The matchup also includes a connection between the two coaching staffs. Albany State head coach David Bowser spent last season at Johnson C. Smith as a special assistant to Golden Bulls head coach Maurice Flowers.

Following the game, the competition will continue in another form when Albany State's Marching Rams Show Band and Johnson C. Smith's International Institution of Sound participate in the traditional Fifth Quarter, an HBCU marching-band showcase.

Classic Weekend Extends Beyond Football

Although today's game is the headline event, the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic has developed into a broader community weekend.

This year's schedule has included an HBCU college fair for area high-school students, a Habitat for Humanity Day of Service and Reading the Playbook, which brought members of Stark County's Divine Nine Black fraternities and sororities together with local elementary students.

A Minority Business Reception scheduled for today is intended to connect minority-owned businesses with other businesses and community organizations.

Those activities reflect the organizers' effort to use the Classic as more than a sporting event, particularly by introducing Northeast Ohio students to HBCUs and connecting visiting institutions with the Canton community.

Canton and the HBCU Football Story

The Classic also draws attention to a part of football history with a direct connection to Canton.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities provided opportunities for generations of Black athletes who faced exclusion and discrimination at predominantly white colleges and universities.

HBCU programs subsequently produced players who became some of professional football's most significant figures.

According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, 35 of its enshrinees attended HBCUs.

The Black College Football Hall of Fame was established in 2009 by former NFL quarterbacks James “Shack” Harris and Doug Williams to preserve that history and recognize the players, coaches and contributors who shaped Black college football.

Since 2016, the organization has had a permanent presence at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

Among the HBCU players whose careers eventually reached the Pro Football Hall of Fame are Mel Blount, Willie Lanier and Art Shell.

That relationship gives Canton a distinctive role in preserving both professional football history and the history of Black college football.

HBCUs Remain Part of the Present

The Classic also provides an opportunity to look beyond HBCUs solely as historical institutions.

More than 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities continue to operate across the United States, educating students in fields ranging from education and business to science, engineering, medicine and the arts.

Events such as the college fair accompanying the Classic introduce those institutions to students who may have had limited exposure to HBCUs or their academic programs.

The football game provides the attraction. The educational and community events expand its potential impact.

A National Tradition Comes to the 330

For Canton, the Classic places a national Black college tradition alongside the city's established identity as the home of professional football.

It also brings an element of HBCU culture that extends well beyond the field.

Marching bands, alumni organizations, fraternities and sororities, students and supporters are all part of an HBCU football tradition in which the game serves as both an athletic competition and a community gathering.

Today's Albany State–Johnson C. Smith matchup will determine a winner on the field.

The larger story surrounding the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic is why the event continues to have a place in Canton: it connects the history preserved at the Hall of Fame with institutions, students and traditions that remain very much part of American life today.

Game Information: Albany State University vs. Johnson C. Smith University — Saturday, Sept. 6, 2026, 4 p.m., Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Canton.

Sources: Pro Football Hall of Fame; Black College Football Hall of Fame; 2026 Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic schedule and event information.