Local tradition returns for black colleges

Sandra Phillips did not attend either North Carolina A&T; or Prairie View A&M; universities, nor is she a big-time college football fan.

But when Phillips heard those schools’ football teams were playing in this year’s Angel City Classic at the Coliseum -- kickoff is Saturday at 2:30 p.m. -- she made it a priority to call her son and ask him to buy tickets.

“That’s because it’s more than just a game,” said Phillips, who graduated from Los Angeles Fremont High in 1957 and remembers when historically black colleges and universities annually played games in Southern California in the late 1960s and early ‘70s.

“I used to go when Grambling and Southern came to town to play,” she recalled. “I always enjoyed everything about the event. It’s about competition featuring the top black universities in the country. I just love that feeling.”

Los Angeles has a rich history of rolling out the red carpet for schools such as Florida A&M;, Tennessee State and Alcorn A&M; -- now Alcorn State -- playing in games billed as “The Soul Bowl” and “Freedom Classic.”

In 1969, a crowd of more than 62,000 came to the Coliseum to watch Alcorn A&M; claim the title of black college national champion with a victory over Grambling, even though it was the first game of the season.

In 1970, Tennessee State -- led by flamboyant quarterback “Jefferson Street” Joe Gilliam Jr. -- excited a Coliseum crowd of 50,000 with its high-scoring offense against Alcorn A&M.;

Back then, black colleges didn’t only play each other when they traveled west. Grambling and Southern both played road games against Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Los Angeles in the early 1970s that attracted fans from all over the West Coast.

However, by the early 1980s, games featuring black college teams began to lose their luster around Southern California. Hampered by increased travel expenses and tighter budgets, black college football -- save for a few isolated attempts -- faded around Los Angeles until John Fleming stepped in two years ago.

Through his company, Educational Events LLC, Fleming created the Angel City Classic, which made its debut last year when Morehouse played Alcorn State at the Coliseum.

“There had not been a game featuring HBCUs in Los Angeles for over a decade, which caused a huge gap for people in the community,” Fleming said. “With all of the HBCUs located in the South and East, our idea was to bring the schools to L.A.

“We want people to see what black colleges and universities have to offer.”

With USC having a bye this week, this year’s event received a boost of support from Trojans Athletic Director Mike Garrett and football Coach Pete Carroll, whose non-profit group “A Better L.A.” created a partnership with Angel City Classic.

Fleming said he was surprised by Carroll’s willingness to play an active role in the game.

“We had left phone messages for each other for a while when finally Pete said, ‘We need to sit down and talk,’ ” Fleming said. “When I show up for the meeting, thinking it was going to be just a get-to-know meeting, Pete has a room filled with community leaders and just asks, ‘What can I do to help?’ That meant a lot.”

Said Carroll: “The concept of it was to elevate the awareness of the kids in this big area right here of alternative schools they could go to that maybe they never had an awareness of. [Fleming] orchestrated a football game to do it. I just loved the idea of it so I told him, ‘It’s football, the Coliseum is right here.’ It happens to be a week when we had some time to help.”

With a goal of creating educational and cultural opportunities for minority youth, especially among African American males, the Angel City Classic is a variety of events surrounding the football game.

Tonight at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Farmers Insurance is sponsoring a scholarship gala. Then, on Saturday, a college and career expo will open at 9 a.m. outside the Coliseum. At 10 a.m., there will be a youth football game, which will be followed by a high school band competition. At noon, there will be a drum line and step show.

As for the football game, North Carolina A&T; (0-1) has lost 17 consecutive games. Prairie View A&M; won its opener last week, 34-14, over Texas Southern.

But for Phillips and others, the highlight of the weekend will be the “battle of the bands” at halftime of the football game.

“When those teams would come to town, I always would go to the parades and wherever the bands were playing,” Phillips said. “They always have the best bands.”

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lonnie.white@latimes.com