Magic City Classic

The Magic City Classic is an annual American football "classic" that features Alabama A&M University and Alabama State University, the two largest historically black universities in the state. It is played at Legion Field in Birmingham, which is nicknamed the "Magic City". The classic has become one of the highest attended Division I FCS (formerly Division I-AA) games in the nation and the largest event in Birmingham, with a nearly $25 million economic impact on the area. The stadium attendance averages over 60,000 annually.^[1][2]

Magic City Classic

Alabama A&M Bulldogs Alabama State Hornets
First meeting	October 31, 1924 Alabama State 30, Alabama A&M 0
Latest meeting	October 25, 2025 Alabama State 56, Alabama A&M 13
Next meeting	2026
Stadiums	Legion Field
Trophy	Magic City Classic Trophy
Statistics
Meetings total	90
All-time series	Alabama A&M leads, 44–43–3
Largest victory	Alabama State, 56–0 (1931)
Current win streak	Alabama State, 4 (2022–present)

120km
75miles

Legion Field

Alabama State

Alabama A&M

   

Locations of Alabama A&M and Alabama State

The first game between the two schools was played in 1924. It has been an uninterrupted, annual tradition since 1945 and has been played at Legion Field since 1940.

The classic is the largest HBCU event in the nation attracting nearly 200,000 participants.^[3] The Alabama A&M Bulldogs narrowly lead the series with a record of 44–43–3 all-time (as of 2025).

Other activities

Many festivities are held in conjunction with the game, including a pep rally, comedy show, scholarship breakfast, concert/festival, soirees, tailgating, block parties, alumni gatherings, 2-hour parade, and a popular "Battle of the Bands" between AAMU's Marching Maroon and White Band and ASU's Mighty Marching Hornets. Festivities begin the week of Saturday's game.

In recent years, the classic has attracted numerous African-American celebrities, public figures, and elected officials to Birmingham.

History

Alabama A&M victories

Alabama State victories

Tie games

Forfeit

No. Date Winner Score 1 1924 Alabama State 30–0 2 1925 Alabama State 7–0 3 1929 Alabama State 32–0 4 1930 Alabama State 46–6 5 1931 Alabama State 56–0 6 1932 Alabama State 18–0 7 1940 Alabama State 24–6 8 1941 Alabama State 21–13 9 1942 Alabama A&M 20–6 10 1945 Alabama State 20–7 11 1946 Alabama State 15–14 12 1947 Alabama State 12–6 13 1948 Alabama A&M 14–8 14 1949 Tie 13–13 15 1950 Alabama State 16–12 16 1951 Alabama A&M 27–6 17 1952 Alabama A&M 38–13 18 1953 Alabama A&M 13–7 19 1954 Alabama State 23–7 20 1955 Alabama A&M 13–6 21 1956 Tie 0–0 22 1957 Alabama State 13–7 23 1958 Alabama State 20–8 24 1959 Alabama State 22–0 25 1960 Alabama A&M 22–20 26 1961 Alabama A&M 32–12 27 1962 Alabama A&M 54–6 28 1963 Alabama A&M 32–14 29 1964 Alabama A&M 30–0 30 1965 Alabama A&M 34–0 31 1966 Alabama A&M 36–19 32 1967 Alabama State 13–7 33 1968 Alabama State 27–21 34 1969 Alabama State 26–6 35 1970 Alabama A&M 26–18 36 1971 Alabama State 12–6 37 1972 Alabama A&M 8–7 38 1973 Alabama A&M 10–7 39 1974 Alabama A&M 14–7 40 1975 Alabama A&M 29–22 41 1976 Alabama A&M 17–15 42 1977 Alabama State 14–7 43 1978 Alabama A&M 22–7 44 1979 Alabama State 17–14 45 1980 Alabama State 20–17 46 1981 Alabama A&M 13–3 No. Date Winner Score 47 1982 Tie 13–13 48 1983 Alabama A&M 27–14 49 1984 Alabama A&M 28–12 50 1985 Alabama A&M 7–6 51 1986 Alabama A&M 20–10 52 1987 Alabama State 17–14 53 1988 Alabama State 7–0 54 1989 Alabama A&M 17–10 55 1990 Alabama State 24–20 56 1991 Alabama State 59–13 57 1992 Alabama State 14–11 58 1993 Alabama State 7–0 59 1994 Alabama State 26–0 60 1995 Alabama State 37–20 61 1996 Alabama A&M 20–3 62 1997 Alabama State 20–13 63 1998 Alabama State 34–28 64 1999 Alabama A&M 15–10 65 2000 Alabama A&M 34–27 66 2001 Alabama State† 35–0 67 2002 Alabama A&M 23–20 68 2003 Alabama A&M 20–17 69 2004 Alabama State 24–20 70 2005 Alabama A&M 31–28 71 2006 Alabama A&M 21–13 72 2007 Alabama A&M 13–9 73 2008 Alabama A&M 17–16 74 2009 Alabama A&M 21–7 75 2010 Alabama State 31–10 76 2011 Alabama A&M 20–19 77 2012 Alabama State 31–13 78 2013 Alabama State 31–7 79 2014 Alabama A&M 37–36 80 2015 Alabama State 35–20 81 2016 Alabama A&M 42–41 82 2017 Alabama State 21–16 83 2018 Alabama A&M 27–10 84 2019 Alabama A&M 43–413OT 85 2020 Alabama A&M 38–14 86 2021 Alabama A&M 42–28 87 2022 Alabama State 24–17 88 2023 Alabama State 31–16 89 2024 Alabama State 27–19 90 2025 Alabama State 56–13 Series: Alabama A&M leads 44–43–3 † Alabama State later forfeited the 2001 game as part of an NCAA penalty for violations committed.[4]

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games
• List of black college football classics