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Stan Becton | sifoeeprocess.com | September 8, 2025

2025 HBCU football: Schedule, scores, rankings and updates

The moments after North Carolina Central won the 2025 MEAC/SWAC Challenge

The 2025 HBCU football season will bring excitement, great games, rivalries and more. We'll be tracking the season from start to finish below with scores from every FCS HBCU football game, plus the latest news.

You can click or tap each of the links below to jump ahead to a section:


👀 This week's HBCU football schedule

See this week's HBCU football results in the FCS below.

Click or tap any of the games below for live stats | Click or tap here for a live scoreboard

Week 3 — Week 3 power rankings

Saturday, September 13

Click or tap here for a complete list of HBCU homecomings and classics in 2025.


📰 HBCU football news and notes

Click or tap here to view the latest HBCU football standings in a new tab

Week 3

Game update

The Tampa Bay Football Classic is no more. Bethune-Cookman announced Monday that the Tampa Bay Football Classic is canceled and the game against Southern is back to Daytona Beach.

Players of the week

The following players earned player of the week honors after their Week 2 performances:

  • Stats Perform HBCU FCS National Player of the Week: QB Cornelious Brown IV, Alabama A&M
  • Stats Perform HBCU FCS National Team of the Week: Delaware State
  • MEAC Offensive Player of the Week: QB Kaiden Bennett, Delaware State
  • MEAC Defensive Player of the Week: DL CJ Wesley, Howard
  • MEAC Rookie of the Week: WR Maxim Copeland, Morgan State
  • MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Week: OL Daniel Casillas Jr., Morgan State
  • MEAC Specialist of the Week: K Evan Helfrich, Norfolk State
  • SWAC Offensive Player of the Week: QB Cornelious Brown IV, Alabama A&M
  • SWAC Co-Defensive Player of the Week: LB Lenore Jalil, Alabama State
  • SWAC Co-Defensive Player: LB Matthew Cooks, Texas Southern
  • SWAC Newcomer of the Week: DL Quincy Ivory, Jackson State
  • SWAC Specialist of the Week: K Gerardo Baeza, Jackson State

Week 2

Players of the week

The following players earned player of the week honors after their Week 1 performances:

  • Stats Perform HBCU FCS National Player of the Week: QB Andrew Body, Alabama State
  • Stats Perform HBCU FCS National Team of the Week: Prairie View A&M
  • OVC-BigSouth Football Freshman of the Week: WR DeVaughn Slaughter, Tennessee State
  • CAA Defensive Player of the Week: LB Joshua Iseah, North Carolina A&T
  • MEAC Offensive Player of the Week: RB Marquis Gillis, Delaware State
  • MEAC Defensive Player of the Week: LB Quentin Johnson, Delaware State
  • MEAC Rookie of the Week: RB Randall Nauden, Morgan State
  • MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Week: OL Jerrod Burrell, Morgan State
  • MEAC Specialist of the Week: K Matt Conord, Howard
  • SWAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week: QB Andrew Body, Alabama State
  • SWAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week: RB Ahmad Miller, Jackson State
  • SWAC Defensive Player & Newcomer of the Week: DL Quincy Ivory, Jackson State
  • SWAC Specialist of the Week: P Donovan Warren, Jackson State

Week 1

First Take visits Norfolk State

The hit daily sports talk show "First Take" visited the campus of Norfolk State ahead of NSU's season-opener against Towson. Checkout some clips from the show below.

Preseason news

Before the season, we looked at some of the top storylines and players to follow for 2025. Click or tap the links below for more.

The preseason is here, conferences are announcing their all-conference teams and predicted orders of finishes. Here's where HBCU programs landed.

MEAC

  1. South Carolina State (5 first-place vote) — 63 points
  2. North Carolina Central (4) —  61 points
  3. Morgan State — 39 points
  4. Norfolk State (1) — 36 points
  5. Howard (1) — 33 points
  6. Delaware State (1) — 20 points

SWAC East

  1. Jackson State (16) —126 points
  2. Florida A&M (3) — 99 points
  3. Alabama State (2) — 91 points
  4. Alabama A&M — 62 points  
  5. Bethune-Cookman (1) — 45 points
  6. Mississippi Valley State — 24 points 

SWAC West

  1. Southern (17) —  120 points
  2. Alcorn State (2) —  90 points
  3. Prairie View A&M (1) —  72 points
  4. Texas Southern —  60 points
  5. Grambling State — 55 points
  6. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1) —  28 points

Other HBCUs

  • Tennessee State was predicted to finish 8th in the CAA.
  • Hampton was predicted to finish 11th in the CAA.
  • North Carolina A&T was predicted to finish last at 14th in the CAA. 

Preseason players of the year

  • MEAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year – Running back Jason Collins Jr., Morgan State
  • MEAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – Linebacker Erick Hunter, Morgan State
  • SWAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year – Quarterback Jacobian Morgan, Jackson State
  • SWAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – Defensive lineman Ckelby Givens, Southern

Defending Champs entering 2025

  • The defending Celebration Bowl champion is Jackson State. The Tigers also won the SWAC after previously winning the SWAC East division.
  • South Carolina State won the MEAC in 2024.
  • The defending SWAC West division champion is Southern.

Click or tap here for a complete HBCU football championship history


📝 Key dates for the 2025 HBCU football season

Here are some key dates for the 2025 HBCU football season.

Key dates

  • sifoeeprocess.com's Preseason HBCU football power rankings will release on Friday, Aug. 1.
  • The 2025 HBCU football season begins with the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on Saturday, Aug. 23.
  • The 2025 FCS Playoffs start on the weekend of Saturday, Nov. 29.
  • The 2025 SWAC Football Championship Game is on Saturday, Dec. 6.
  • The 2025 HBCU football season concludes with the Celebration Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 13.

🗓 Full HBCU football schedule and results

See a week-by-week HBCU football schedule in the FCS below. Stay tuned for HBCU football power rankings each week. 

All time Eastern | Click or tap any of the games below for live stats | Click or tap here for a live scoreboard

Week 0 — Preseason power rankings

Saturday, August 23

The moments after North Carolina Central won the 2025 MEAC/SWAC Challenge

Week 1 — Preseason power rankings

Thursday, August 28

Friday, August 29

Saturday, August 30

Week 2 — Week 2 power rankings

Saturday, September 6

Week 3 — Week 3 power rankings

Saturday, September 13

Week 4

Saturday, September 20

Week 5

Saturday, September 27

Week 6

Saturday, October 4

Week 7

Saturday, October 11

Week 8

Saturday, October 18

Week 9

Saturday, October 25

Week 10

Thursday, October 30

Saturday, November 1

Week 11

Saturday, November 8 

Week 12

Friday, November 14

Saturday, November 15

Week 13

Saturday, November 22

Week 14

Thursday, November 27

Saturday, November 29

Week 15 - Conference Championships

Saturday, December 6

  • 2 p.m. | SWAC No. 2 at SWAC No. 1 (SWAC Championship Game) | ESPN2

Week 16 - Bowls

Saturday, December 13

  • 12 p.m. | MEAC Champion vs. SWAC Champion (Celebration Bowl in Atlanta, GA) | ABC

📚 HBCU Football Basics

There are 21 football programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) at the FCS level. FCS HBCU football programs primarily play in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) or the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

Below are all the HBCU football programs and the conference they will play in for the 2024 season.

MEAC

  • Delaware State
  • Howard
  • Morgan State
  • Norfolk State
  • North Carolina Central
  • South Carolina State

SWAC

  • East Division
    • Alabama A&M
    • Alabama State
    • Bethune-Cookman
    • Florida A&M
    • Jackson State
    • Mississippi Valley State
  • West Division
    • Alcorn State
    • Arkansas-Pine Bluff
    • Grambling State
    • Prairie View A&M
    • Southern
    • Texas Southern

CAA*

  • Hampton
  • North Carolina A&T

OVC-Big South Football Association*

  • Tennessee State

*The CAA and Ohio Valley are not "HBCU conferences"

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