History will be made when the Ole Miss Rebels and Alcorn State Braves face off on the gridiron in 2028.
The two schools announced that the Rebels will host the Braves on September 9, 2028. It will be the first time in program history that the Ole Miss football program has played a historically black college and university (HBCU).
“This is a matchup we’ve been working on for quite some time, and I want to thank Alcorn State A.D. Derek Horne, a good friend and great Rebel, for helping make this happen,” Ole Miss vice chancellor for intercollegiate athletics Keith Carter said. “To play an HBCU from our state is something we’ve been wanting to do for quite some time, and hopefully, this will open the door for meetings with HBCU institutions in the future. We look forward to this contest and know it will be exciting for our fans at Ole Miss, as well as the fans at Alcorn State.”
Horne, who played four years for the Ole Miss basketball team, spent 15 years in the Rebel athletic department as both an assistant athletic director and senior associate athletic director before eventually becoming the Alcorn State athletic director.
“I am very happy to develop this relationship and opportunity with my dear friend Keith Carter,” he said. “We’re looking forward to this contest and to other continued opportunities—not only with Ole Miss but also sister institutions within this state of Mississippi.”
Alcorn State has played in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) title game in four of the last six years and is coming off a Celebration Bowl appearance in 2020, while Ole Miss finished with an underwhelming 4-8 2019 campaign.
