The 2025 HBCU football season will bring excitement, great games, rivalries and more. We’ll be tracking the season from start to finish below with scores from every FCS HBCU football game, plus the latest news.

You can click or tap each of the links below to jump ahead to a section:

 

👀 This week’s HBCU football schedule

See this week’s HBCU football results in the FCS below.

Click or tap any of the games below for live stats | Click or tap here for a live scoreboard

Week 2 — Week 2 power rankings

Saturday, September 6

Click or tap here for a complete list of HBCU homecomings and classics in 2025.

📰 HBCU football news and notes

Click or tap here to view the latest HBCU football standings in a new tab

Week 2

Players of the week

The following players earned player of the week honors after their Week 1 performances:

Stats Perform HBCU FCS National Player of the Week: QB Andrew Body, Alabama State
Stats Perform HBCU FCS National Team of the Week: Prairie View A&M
OVC-BigSouth Football Freshman of the Week: WR DeVaughn Slaughter, Tennessee State
CAA Defensive Player of the Week: LB Joshua Iseah, North Carolina A&T
MEAC Offensive Player of the Week: RB Marquis Gillis, Delaware State
MEAC Defensive Player of the Week: LB Quentin Johnson, Delaware State
MEAC Rookie of the Week: RB Randall Nauden, Morgan State
MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Week: OL Jerrod Burrell, Morgan State
MEAC Specialist of the Week: K Matt Conord, Howard
SWAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week: QB Andrew Body, Alabama State
SWAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week: RB Ahmad Miller, Jackson State
SWAC Defensive Player & Newcomer of the Week: DL Quincy Ivory, Jackson State
SWAC Specialist of the Week: P Donovan Warren, Jackson State

Week 1

First Take visits Norfolk State

The hit daily sports talk show “First Take” visited the campus of Norfolk State ahead of NSU’s season-opener against Towson. Checkout some clips from the show below.

Norfolk State showed up and showed out for First Take’s HBCU tour 😤@CameronNewton | @stephenasmith | @MollyQerim pic.twitter.com/6v1NJ3ULHP

— First Take (@FirstTake) August 28, 2025

“To help these young men … understand what greatness looks like, understand what success looks like, understanding what being men of character looks like, that means more to me than anything.”

—@MichaelVick on coaching at an HBCU 💪 pic.twitter.com/xGxKonX6Mk

— First Take (@FirstTake) August 28, 2025

Preseason news

Before the season, we looked at some of the top storylines and players to follow for 2025. Click or tap the links below for more.

The preseason is here, conferences are announcing their all-conference teams and predicted orders of finishes. Here’s where HBCU programs landed.

MEAC

South Carolina State (5 first-place vote) — 63 points
North Carolina Central (4) —  61 points
Morgan State — 39 points
Norfolk State (1) — 36 points
Howard (1) — 33 points
Delaware State (1) — 20 points

Click or tap here to see the full MEAC preseason all-conference teams.

SWAC East

Jackson State (16) —126 points
Florida A&M (3) — 99 points
Alabama State (2) — 91 points
Alabama A&M — 62 points  
Bethune-Cookman (1) — 45 points
Mississippi Valley State — 24 points 

SWAC West

Southern (17) —  120 points
Alcorn State (2) —  90 points
Prairie View A&M (1) —  72 points
Texas Southern —  60 points
Grambling State — 55 points
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1) —  28 points

Click or tap here to see the full SWAC preseason all-conference teams.

Other HBCUs

Preseason players of the year

MEAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year – Running back Jason Collins Jr., Morgan State
MEAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – Linebacker Erick Hunter, Morgan State
SWAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year – Quarterback Jacobian Morgan, Jackson State
SWAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – Defensive lineman Ckelby Givens, Southern

Defending Champs entering 2025

The defending Celebration Bowl champion is Jackson State. The Tigers also won the SWAC after previously winning the SWAC East division.
South Carolina State won the MEAC in 2024.
The defending SWAC West division champion is Southern.

Click or tap here for a complete HBCU football championship history

📝 Key dates for the 2025 HBCU football season

Here are some key dates for the 2025 HBCU football season.

Key dates

NCAA.com’s Preseason HBCU football power rankings will release on Friday, Aug. 1.
The 2025 HBCU football season begins with the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on Saturday, Aug. 23.
The 2025 FCS Playoffs start on the weekend of Saturday, Nov. 29.
The 2025 SWAC Football Championship Game is on Saturday, Dec. 6.
The 2025 HBCU football season concludes with the Celebration Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 13.

🗓 Full HBCU football schedule and results

See a week-by-week HBCU football schedule in the FCS below. Stay tuned for HBCU football power rankings each week. 

All time Eastern | Click or tap any of the games below for live stats | Click or tap here for a live scoreboard

Week 0 — Preseason power rankings

Saturday, August 23

The moments after North Carolina Central won the 2025 MEAC/SWAC Challenge

Week 1 — Preseason power rankings

Thursday, August 28

Friday, August 29

Saturday, August 30

Jackson State 28, Hampton 14
Howard 10, Florida A&M 9 (Orange Blossom Classic in Miami, Florida)
Arkansas 52, Alabama A&M 7
Tennessee State 24, North Carolina A&T 21
Southern 34, Mississippi Valley State 29
South Carolina State 16, Wofford 15
New Hampshire 27, North Carolina Central 10
South Alabama 38, Morgan State 21
Texas Tech 67, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 7
Grambling State 55, Langston 7 (in Shreveport, Louisiana)
Prairie View A&M 22, Texas Southern 21

Week 2 — Week 2 power rankings

Saturday, September 6

Week 3

Saturday, September 13

Week 4

Saturday, September 20

Week 5

Saturday, September 27

Week 6

Saturday, October 4

Week 7

Saturday, October 11

Week 8

Saturday, October 18

Week 9

Saturday, October 25

Week 10

Thursday, October 30

Saturday, November 1

Week 11

Saturday, November 8 

Week 12

Friday, November 14

Saturday, November 15

Week 13

Saturday, November 22

Week 14

Thursday, November 27

Saturday, November 29

Week 15 – Conference Championships

Saturday, December 6

2 p.m. | SWAC No. 2 at SWAC No. 1 (SWAC Championship Game) | ESPN2

Week 16 – Bowls

Saturday, December 13

12 p.m. | MEAC Champion vs. SWAC Champion (Celebration Bowl in Atlanta, GA) | ABC

📚 HBCU Football Basics

There are 21 football programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) at the FCS level. FCS HBCU football programs primarily play in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) or the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

Below are all the HBCU football programs and the conference they will play in for the 2024 season.

MEAC

Delaware State
Howard
Morgan State
Norfolk State
North Carolina Central
South Carolina State

SWAC

East Division

Alabama A&M
Alabama State
Bethune-Cookman
Florida A&M
Jackson State
Mississippi Valley State

West Division

Alcorn State
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Grambling State
Prairie View A&M
Southern
Texas Southern

CAA*

Hampton
North Carolina A&T

OVC-Big South Football Association*

*The CAA and Ohio Valley are not “HBCU conferences”

Stan Becton joined NCAA.com in 2021 and has since served as a college football, FCS football, track and field, cross country and HBCU beat reporter. He has covered numerous NCAA championship events, including the FCS Championship, DI Track & Field Championships and Men’s Frozen Four. Additionally, he has covered the College Football Playoff and HBCU sporting events like the Celebration Bowl, MEAC/SWAC Challenge and Legacy Classic. Stan graduated from Carnegie Mellon University, earning a degree in Professional Writing and playing football as a five-year letterman. You can follow him on Twitter @stan_becton.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions.