Circle City Classic football game is returning to Indianapolis

Indianapolis, Indiana – The Circle City Classic football game concluded a week of celebrations on Saturday, following a one-year break.

The yearly parade, a coronation, and a career fair were among the events.

Fans and former students from throughout the nation, not only from the participating institutions, flock to see the classic.

“We’re just family, we were all in school we’re representing a plethora, the 70’s the 80’s the 90’s, the 2000’s all across we came to converge on this city,” said Reese Walker, an Mississippi Valley State fan who traveled to Indianapolis Sunday.

At Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday, North Carolina Central defeated Mississippi Valley State 45-3. With the exception of 2020 and 2022, the meeting between two HBCU teams has taken place in Indianapolis every year since 1984.

“We had our tailgate not to far from each other and they said you guys are going to lose, and I said we’ll see, so yeah, we came out on top,” said NC Central fan Jetta Vaughn.

Vaughn leads the alumni chapter for NC Central in central Indiana as its president. The Circle City Classic, according to her, is more than just a game.

“We raise money for scholarships for individuals to go to schools, and it’s for individuals around Indiana. The IBE (Indiana Black Expo) does an amazing job of making sure students who want a different option, who want to go to school outside of Indiana, have that opportunity.”

The Circle City Classic website states that since its founding, $5 million in college scholarships have been raised.