The game aired nationally on ESPNU and turned a conference matchup into a showcase tied to the coaches\u2019 shared history in Philadelphia. Attendance of over 47,000 was announced for the Thursday night showcase game. <\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, from last year, it was a heck of a game,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cWould you not say it was incredible? So, I mean, we got to top that.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeSean Jackson wants a classic bigger than its coaches<\/p>\n
For DeSean Jackson, the opportunity is not limited to another game against Vick. He sees a brand that could outlive their coaching tenures and create a recurring place for HBCU football in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe and Vick, we intended for it to be a classic,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cSo regardless if we\u2019re not here, regardless of what our futures may bring, it can always be like the DeSean Jackson-Michael Vick HBCU Classic.\u201d<\/p>\n
That vision now intersects with another reported HBCU event at the stadium.\u00a0Lincoln University head coach Frank Turner said at CIAA Media Day<\/a> that Lincoln University is expected to face Virginia Union at Lincoln Financial Field on Oct. 31. Lincoln would serve as the home team in that CIAA matchup.<\/p>\n Jackson welcomed that development when he learned about it at Media Day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great thing to see Lincoln being able to play at Lincoln Financial Field,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cHopefully they got a great turnout. Obviously, a lot of people come out and support.\u201d<\/p>\n The overlap could strengthen the case for building an HBCU football tradition in Philadelphia. It also creates the biggest immediate complication.<\/p>\n Both prospective games currently occupy the same date. Lincoln-Virginia Union is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Oct. 31, while\u00a0Norfolk State lists Delaware State<\/a>\u00a0for 2 p.m. in Norfolk. Staging both at Lincoln Financial Field would require a date or time change, or a carefully organized doubleheader.<\/p>\n The Delaware State-Norfolk State matchup also belongs to the Spartans this year. Norfolk State\u2019s official schedule lists the game at William \u201cDick\u201d Price Stadium, and the school\u00a0has sold season tickets since July 1<\/a>. Its six-game home package costs $250 for reserved seats and $200 for general admission.<\/p>\n Moving the game would require Norfolk State to address a home date already marketed to its supporters. The schools, MEAC, broadcasters, stadium operators and event organizers would also need to align travel, staffing, security, ticketing and television plans on a compressed timeline.<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s move carried a different equation. Delaware State gave up a scheduled home game in Dover to create the Philadelphia event. This time, Norfolk State would have to agree to surrender or relocate its home date unless officials found another arrangement.<\/p>\n The public schedules remain unchanged. Norfolk State still lists the game in Norfolk, while\u00a0Delaware State still lists it as a road contest<\/a>.\u00a0Lincoln\u2019s official schedule<\/a>\u00a0also still places Virginia Union on campus despite the reported plans for Philadelphia.<\/p>\n That makes the current status clear: Talks may be active, but a deal is not done.<\/p>\n Still, DeSean Jackson\u2019s comments show why the idea remains alive. One successful HBCU showcase at \u201cThe Linc\u201d created demand for another. The question is whether organizers can overcome a crowded Oct. 31 calendar quickly enough to turn Jackson\u2019s long-term classic vision into a 2026 encore.<\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DeSean Jackson wants his HBCU football matchup with Michael Vick to become a lasting Philadelphia classic, and the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249338,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[106666,564,14172,14173,69,71,70],"class_list":["post-249337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-delaware-state","tag-featured","tag-hbcu-sports","tag-meac","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"DeJack1\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/DeJack1.jpg\")
\nOct. 31 presents major logistical questions<\/p>\n