Alabama A&M University made headlines earlier this year when it agreed to return to the Magic City Classic.
But instead of signing a contract with the Alabama Sports Commission, the Bulldogs decided to go their own way with regards to the game day experience at Magic City and all the school’s football games.
In a recent interview with Fox54 Sports’ Morrell “Mo” Carter, AAMU athletic director Dr. Paul Bryant explained the reasoning behind the school’s change of plans.
“Coming into the job, one of the things we wanted to do was to make sure we get exactly what we deserve and what’s rightfully ours,” Bryant said. “We looked at the contract, and it just wasn’t what we wanted. We read through, saw some of the particulars, and said, ‘Let’s come back to the table and reimagine how this Classic can look.’”
AAMU has installed a task force comprised of board members and school administrators that will plan and execute game day operations for the years the Bulldogs are the host school at the Magic City Classic as well as overall game day operations for every AAMU home game and Classic they host.
Part of Bryant’s concerns surrounds the take-home, which comes from the MSC Parade and merchandise sales going mostly to the Alabama Sports Commission. After reviewing the contract with school general counsel Rochelle Conley, Bryant felt there was another way for AAMU to go.
“Those are the assessments we’re making right now,” he said. “What the dollar amount [from our operations] will be? We don’t know, but we’re assessing everything so that we get our just due.”
The AAMU task force game day ops will make their debut Saturday, Sept. 2, when the Bulldogs host Lane College of the SIAC in not just the football home opener, but the Louis Crews Classic. It will be an early chance to see how an Alabama A&M-run event will be conducted.
“We want to have everything – concerts, car shows, kid-friendly events, step shows, and of course, the game,” Bryant explained. “It’s a classic, and we want to treat it as such.”
