HBCU football game returns for the 39th Annual Circle City Classic
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Circle City Classic is bringing its A-game this Saturday for the 39th year.
It’s going to be jam-packed, leading up to the long-awaited Circle City Classic Football game. There are a lot of exciting events happening this week, and some of them happening at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Event organizers say they’re focusing on uplifting the youth.
“We are super excited. I can tell you our staff has put in a lot of work to make sure that this event is successful and safe and really engaging,” Matthew White, the senior director of community initiatives for the Indiana Black Expo, said.
For almost four decades, the Circle City Classic has brought the spirit and traditions of America’s historically black colleges and universities to Indiana. Now, they’re back bigger than ever.
“We’re trying some new programs. We’re doing some things that are a little bit untraditional and unorthodox, but we’re looking forward to providing resources and tool kits for our community, for our youth,” White said.
Organizers say there are many ways to get involved in the celebration.
“We’ve got an education day party that’ll happen on Saturday, which is a college career fair where we’re bringing a lot of youth out. We’ve got universities, local universities. We’ve got universities from out-of-state that are coming in to really engage with our youth,” White said.
On Saturday, the Circle City Classic game between Mississippi Valley State University and North Carolina Central University.
They say it’s the first football game in several years.
“We’re obviously really excited to bring football back. It’s been on a little bit of a hiatus, and so, the community said they wanted it, and so we brought football back, so that’s obviously going to be the highlight of what we’re doing here,” White said.
Morgan Snyder, the spokesperson for Visit Indy, says it’ll make a positive impact on downtown businesses.
“It brings an economic impact to an event that is something we really cherish here in the city,” Snyder said.
She says she’s excited to see all the football fans.
“Really counting on the football fans around the region and with the southern HBCU colleges and universities to come into this city, drive that economic impact, and really be a pivotal piece of our convention and event calendar,” Synder said.
The Circle City Classic parade kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday at the North Street and Pennsylvania Street intersection. Familiar faces at WISH-TV will be there making an appearance.
To see a full list of events, visit the Circle City Classic website.