- FCS FOOTBALL -

NC A&T: Tennessee State, Princeton added to future football schedules

Aggies have most non-conference slots filled through 2028; rivalry with NCCU set through 2030

Published

June 26, 2024

Tennessee State and Princeton will join teams like NC Central, UNC, NC State, UCF, Norfolk State and Furman on future NC A&T football schedules.

North Carolina A&T has been busy building out future non-conference football schedules this spring.

The Aggies recently added a home-and-home series with fellow HBCU Tennessee State from the Big South/OVC Football Association. The Greensboro school also announced another home-and-home with Princeton, which competes in the Ivy League.

A&T has filled nearly all of its non-league openings through 2028 and has at least one non-conference opponent set through 2031. The Aggies’ series with former MEAC arch-rival North Carolina Central remains an annual affair through 2030, including a match-up in Charlotte to start the 2027 season.

The first meeting with Tennessee State will be in Nashville next August. The return game will be in September 2028.

—> YOU ALSO MAY LIKE: NC A&T football restocks roster with 22 signees

—> YOU ALSO MAY LIKE: 10-Year Rewind – A&T tops among FCS teams since 2014

A&T and Tennessee State have played more than 20 times, though not since the 2010 meeting in the Circle City Classic in Indianapolis. The two schools are the only HBCUs at the Division I FCS level not competing in an HBCU conference. A&T left the MEAC for the Big South in 2021 and then joined the Colonial Athletic Association last year.

In 1999, NC A&T upset then-No. 1 Tennessee State 24-10 in the opening round of the FCS playoffs. It was the Tigers’ only loss of the season.

The Aggies have never faced Princeton on the gridiron. Those games are set for Oct. 12, 2030 (at A&T) and Oct. 11, 2031 (at Princeton).

North Carolina A&T will play at least one FBS opponent through 2028 — visiting Wake Forest to start this season Aug. 29. The Aggies are at UCF in 2025, at Georgia State in 2026, at NC State in 2027 and at North Carolina in 2028.

A&T will make a trip into SEC Country to face the Georgia Bulldogs on Sept. 7, 2030.

Other non-conference opponents this season include Winston-Salem State (D2), North Carolina Central and South Carolina State. Furman will join Tennessee State, NC Central and UCF in ’25 non-conference action. A two-game series with former MEAC partner Norfolk State will be played in 2026 and 2027.

NC A&T Future Non-Conference Opponents

2025: at Tennessee State (Aug. 30), at UCF (Sept. 6), Furman (Sept. 13), North Carolina Central (Sept. 20)
2026: at Georgia State (Sept. 5), at North Carolina Central (Sept. 12), Norfolk State (Sept. 19)
2027: vs. North Carolina Central, in Charlotte (Aug. 28), at NC State (Sept. 11), at Norfolk State (Sept. 18)
2028: at North Carolina Central (Sept. 2), Tennessee State (Sept. 9), at North Carolina (Sept. 16)
2029: North Carolina Central (Sept. 1)
2030: at North Carolina Central (Aug. 31), at Georgia (Sept. 7), Princeton (Oct. 12)
2031: at Princeton (Oct. 11)