Livingstone College Welcomes Johnson C. Smith for 134th Anniversary of Historic Commemorative Classic

 

SALISBURY, N.C. — Livingstone College will welcome Johnson C. Smith University to Alumni Memorial Stadium on Saturday, November 7, 2026, for the Commemorative Classic, a rivalry with roots stretching back 134 years to one of the defining early moments in Black college football. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. The game will also recognize Livingstone’s graduating football student-athletes on Senior Day.

 

For Livingstone, the Classic is more than a late-season matchup. It brings one of college football’s most enduring rivalries back to the Salisbury campus where the first meeting took place in 1892—and where the Blue Bears will look to turn home-field advantage into a new chapter of their own.

 

The rivalry began in December 1892, when students from Biddle Institute—the institution now known as Johnson C. Smith University—traveled from Charlotte to Salisbury to play Livingstone College on a snowy field that is now part of the College’s front lawn. The contest was a far cry from today’s stadium experience: there was no scoreboard, no cameras, and no halftime show. The teams relied on limited equipment and a borrowed rulebook, played two 45-minute halves, and took the field in uniforms sewn by Livingstone’s female students. Players improvised cleats from street shoes fitted with nails, and secured a football, purchased with student donations before the game. Biddle won the inaugural contest, 5–0.

 

What began as a single contest between Livingstone and Biddle Institute became a landmark in the emergence of Black college football and helped lay the path for other Black colleges to follow.

More than a century later, the Commemorative Classic is widely recognized as one of the oldest and longest-running rivalries in Black college sports and college athletics, and stands as a living connection between that early determination and the athletes, students, alumni, bands, and communities who continue to carry the tradition forward while creating new memories for a new generation.

The Blue Bears enter the 2026 meeting with an opportunity to answer last season’s result and defend their home turf in front of the Livingstone community. With the game scheduled as the final regular-season contest and paired with Senior Day, the afternoon will celebrate both the program’s history and the student-athletes whose work has helped sustain it.

 

The game’s reach extends beyond Salisbury. Fans unable to attend in person can follow the matchup through the CIAA Sports Network. Livingstone encourages alumni, students, supporters, and the broader community to come to Alumni Memorial Stadium and be part of a tradition that connects the College’s past to its future.

 

 

Matchup: Livingstone College Blue Bears vs. Johnson C. Smith University Golden Bulls

Date: Saturday, November 7, 2026

Kickoff: 2 p.m.

Location: Alumni Memorial Stadium, Livingstone College, Salisbury, North Carolina

Additional recognition: Livingstone College Senior Day

Streaming: CIAA Sports Network