The long chronology of the shared history between Howard University and Morehouse College added another chapter on Saturday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Both educational institutions have produced some of the country’s most influential and consequential figures, including Howard graduates Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court justice, and former United States vice president Kamala Harris, and Morehouse alumnus Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a civil and human rights giant.
The schools met on the football field this past weekend as the Howard Bison of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) defeated the Maroon Tigers of Morehouse College of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) 38-10 in Saturday’s HBCU NY Classic in front of a crowd of 16,248.
The two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have clashed since 1923, with Howard holding a commanding 28-10-2 against the Morehouse men. Howard led 14-3 at halftime, but a Morehouse touchdown cut the lead to 14-10. The Bison would then score 24 unanswered points to close out the game. Howard quarterback Tyriq Starks, a graduate student, completed 16 of 27 passes for 241 yards, including two touchdowns, and ran for another touchdown, earning MVP honors for the game. Howard is 2-1 on the season, while Morehouse is 0-2.
“We played complementary football. The defense gave us short fields in which our offense was able to capitalize,” Howard head coach Larry Scott said. “We celebrate this win but will remain tactical in what we do to steadily improve in a process-driven way each day.”
Howard will face another storied HBCU on Saturday, the Hampton University Pirates, in the Fifth Annual “Truth and Service Classic” at Audi Stadium in Washington, DC. Scott, who took over the head spot at Howard in 2020, and the Bison look to rebound from a record of 4-8 last season after earning a berth to the Celebration Bowl in 2023 with a 4-1 conference mark and 6-6 overall.
Morehouse, led by its second-year head coach Terrence Mathis, who is very familiar with MetLife Stadium as a former linebacker for the New York Jets from 1990-1993, has not had a winning conference record since the 2021 season, when they finished 4-3 in the SIAC and 4-6 overall. The Maroon Tigers will host Kentucky State University on Saturday at B.T. Harvey Stadium in Atlanta.