The inaugural Gulf Coast Challenge arrives in Mobile this week as far more than a single football game.
When Alabama A&M hosts Southern University at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday with a 4 p.m. kickoff, it caps several days of entertainment built around the Historically Black Colleges and Universities rivalry. The event is produced jointly by the Mobile Sports Authority and the Gulf Coast Challenge Committee.
“College football is a huge event and having the opportunity to host two of the largest HBCU football teams in the South speaks volumes for our city,” said Tim Hale, the challenge’s executive director.
Festivities begin Wednesday with a college and career fair at the Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel and a kickoff concert featuring Doug E. Fresh in Cathedral Square. A golf tournament at Heron Lakes, alumni mixers, a battle of the bands at the Mobile Civic Center and a parade by Bishop State Community College follow before tailgating opens at noon Saturday.
On the field, Southern enters as the defending winner from a 35-14 meeting in 2017. Alabama A&M brings back 13 starters, including a strong defensive unit, and quarterback Aqeel Glass. The game replaces the former Fifth Quarter Classic, which had drawn tens of thousands of fans and millions in economic impact.