When the Jackson State and Tennessee State athletic directors approached Fred Jones about helping them create an opportunity to play each other every year in Memphis, Jones had one condition.

He wanted to do it his way.

“Both ADs at the time said if we can play in Memphis, we have a chance to keep the rivalry going, but we don’t know how to do it,” Jones said. “They kept saying ‘look into it Fred,’ and I told them I would do it if they allowed me to do it the way I wanted to do it and they did.”

Jackson State leaves Southern Heritage Classic

Jones turned the rivalry into a highly anticipated Southern Heritage Classic that has been rocking since 1990. The game between the two HBCU (Historically Black College and Universities) schools is more than a football game. It’s a spectacular event that has been embedded in the Memphis experience for more than 30 years.

“Everything about the Classic touches all types of people,” Jones said Wednesday. “Whether it’s alumni, whether it’s the business community, whether or not the schools do recruiting. Everything is impacted by the Classic and that’s what’s made it such a great event. It’s not one-dimensional. It just touches a lot of people.”

Jackson State put a dagger in the event when it notified the Classic that it no longer plans to participate in the game. Jones said they found out from the university at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Jackson State general counsel Edward Watson’s email referenced a new agreement the Southwestern Athletic Conference signed that will cause JSU to “participate in events that conflict with the Southern Heritage Classic Agreement.”

Jackson State had agreed to participate in the Classic through 2024, and Jones said the school has backed out of all three remaining games, including the one scheduled for Sept. 10.

Tennessee State president Glenda Glover said in a statement Wednesday evening that TSU found out about JSU’s decision by the national scheduler and called it disappointing that there was no courtesy call from the university. 

Glover also called it an “insensitive and irresponsible act” with implications that go beyond football.

Southern Heritage Classic a game to remember

“The Memphis business community, including small Black-owned businesses, many of which are mom-and-pop businesses, will suffer incalculable damage,” Glover said in the statement. “These businesses rely on contracts that are generated as a result of activities associated with the game, and purchase supplies and other items in preparation for this annual event.”

One of the main motivators for Jones to turn the Classic into such a huge event in 1990 was to prove that he could make it happen. He had been a longtime concert promoter who managed events all over the country, but he wanted to show he could pull off an event like the Southern Heritage Classic in a city like Memphis.

“Memphis has a terrible reputation that people don’t really believe that things like even the Classic can survive or thrive in Memphis,” Jones said. “I mean that was the challenge that we had with the Grizzlies when I was a part of the pursuit team. Nobody believed that an NBA team was going to end up in Memphis and look what happened. And look what happened with the Classic. Nobody believed that it was going to happen but here we are ready to celebrate 33 years.”

“I needed to create something that was similar to the Super Bowl where you had a football game and you build stuff around it and that’s what I’ve been able to do. Sometimes people laugh when they say, well you’re comparing yourself to the Super Bowl, which is the greatest event on the planet. But everything was built around that football game, halftime show, all the corporate involved. All of those things are built around the Super Bowl football game, so same thing with the Classic.”

Jones said the best situation for an event like the Southern Heritage Classic is for Jackson State and Tennessee State to play in Memphis. He compared it to matchups such as Florida playing Georgia in Jacksonville or the Bayou Classic between Southern and Grambling State in New Orleans.

“Some things are just a natural,” he said. “Tennessee State (and) Jackson State in Memphis is a natural. That’s part of our success. I think now we’re at a point where if things change with the schools, I think people would still like to have a game. Have halftime, have tailgate, have a parade, and concerts and all those things. It’ll just be surrounding a different school. But I think the formula is in place.”

Calkins: Memphis and Fred Jones get the ‘Prime Time’ event they deserve

JSU pulling out of the agreement is a big blow to the Classic, but Jones is confident that the pieces are still in place for the event to live on.

“We had a long journey obviously,” Jones said. “Some of it is a winding road but there’s still tremendous amount of upside for the Classic in Memphis and we just have to overcome another hurdle. But that shows sustained power of the event. A little cliché line, like a Timex watch. It takes a licking but it keeps on ticking and that’s what we’ve been able to do. We’ve taken a lot of hits. In fact, we’re taking one now. But at the end of the day, we’ll come back strong.”