The Texas Southern football fan base is in a tiff.
No, Cris Dishman and the Tigers haven’t lost a game yet. But it’s the background uncertainty that is causing an early ruckus.
First, there is the issue of where home will be exactly for a few games this season. But the biggest uproar right now is the moving of the Labor Day Classic from its usual Saturday night slot to Sunday morning at 11 a.m. on Sept 6.
If you believe the TSU fans and supporters, Prairie View is ruining the tradition of a Saturday night season-opener for the crosstown, SWAC West Division rivals, all for a little ESPN2 exposure.
But for those of us who know how the sausage is made, the TSU fans are seeing this all wrong. This is nothing but a win-win for a game that will have the distinction of being the only football show nationally in that time slot on that day.
That’s exactly how Prairie View athletic director Anton Goff saw it when presented with the opportunity to put some national shine on the SWAC, the Labor Day Classic, two strong programs, and Panther Stadium.
You can’t buy this type of exposure and advertising for both schools.
“The game has been played different times, it’s been played on different dates,” Goff said to me. “Not many times do you get to be the only football game on in the country. That’s never happened.
“People can continue to look at the way things have been done. I’m trying to be innovative.”
That’s why it was a no-brainer for Goff when one of his old ESPN connects from when he was the AD at Hartford reached out and proposed the Sept. 6 game. It’s the Sunday in between the final NFL preseason games and the kickoff of its full slate of season-opening games.
And for Prairie View, it’s a chance to capitalize on a program-shifting first season under dynamic coach Tremaine Jackson, who guided the Panthers to the SWAC Championship and to a thriller of a Celebration Bowl in which they lost to South Carolina State in a dramatic four-overtime, 40-38, decision.
“I was like, `Yeah, because it’s the only college game on TV across the country,’“ said Goff, whose football program will have at least four games carried on the ESPN platform this season. “So it’s an opportunity to play without competition. It’s a chance to continue to expand our brand after we just played on national TV during the Celebration Bowl, and it had great ratings, so I took advantage of that timeslot.”
This is also an unprecedented viewing time for the SWAC in general, with virtually every game played this season appearing on some sort of national platform, whether it be ESPN, HBCU Go or SWAC TV.
The Labor Day Classic will get the games on ESPN popping. While Goff accepted playing the game, the SWAC still owns the broadcast rights, so it’s part of the already existing SWAC/ESPN financial agreement.
TSU officials have not publicly addressed the Sunday morning time slot, and several attempts to reach interim athletic director Dr. Paul Jackson were unsuccessful. But the TSU fan base hasn’t been shy about voicing its displeasure.
Goff said he hasn’t heard of any issues.
“I’m not getting no blowback,” Goff said. “There might be some chatter, but ain’t nobody hitting me up about it.”
What is interesting is that the one shift few have raised issues with is that the Labor Day Classic, which usually kicks off the college football season for both programs, is no longer the opener for either school. The Panthers will open in Week Zero at FCS powerhouse Tarleton State in front of an ESPN2 viewing audience on Aug. 29, and TSU will host North Carolina Central on that same day at Aldine HISD’s W. Thorne Stadium.
“If they are doing it, that’s great for both teams,” Goff said. “The way the transfer portal works, almost every year you have a brand-new team, so you really don’t know what you got until you head into that first game. So, to be able to play a game before a big rivalry game, a conference game, a division game, just to figure out what you got and work out some kinks, I think is a good thing.”
Prairie View’s game against Tarleton State is one of a beefed-up non-conference schedule that also includes Stephen F. Austin, Baylor, and East Texas A&M. There will be no easy weeks for the Panthers this season.
“For us, we have been chanting and preaching about how we want to be a premier FCS program nationally. So for me, that means you need to play other premier FCS football teams to see where we match up,” Goff said. “If you want to legitimately say you are premier, you have to play other ranked FCS teams and actually beat them.
“This is an opportunity for us to play Tarleton, play Stephen F. Austin, play East Texas A&M, and play Baylor. I think we have a really strong schedule to see where we match up at.
“Everybody can talk about how good they are, but until you actually play other folks, you can’t really say that. I want to be able to say that definitively.”
“You will continue to see a lot of teams play a Week Zero, especially us. We are going to try to play a Week Zero game every year because we want to get a game in before conference. Not too many programs play a conference game as early as we do, especially a division game. So to be able to get a little something in before that helps everybody.”
Prairie View athletic director Anton Goff
In the meantime, Texas Southern is having a scheduling issue for a few of its home games this upcoming season that seems pretty close to being resolved. The football program has scheduling conflicts with the primary Shell Stadium resident, the Dynamo, on Aug. 29, Oct. 17 versus Southern, and Nov. 7 against Alabama State.
While no official announcement has been made, it appears those games will be played at a high school stadium in the area. I’ve talked to Jackson a couple of times since the basketball season, and she said an announcement was coming within days both times.
With the HBCU Go schedule released, it looks like all three games will be played at W. Thorne Stadium, but it won’t be official until all contracts have been signed by all interested parties.
I also reached out to the Dynamo folks back in February and got this response: “We are actively collaborating with the leadership at Texas Southern University regarding the 2026 football schedule and will share more information once confirmed with the university.”
