When Deion Sanders went public recently with what Sanders declared was Jackson State’s intention to sever its contract for the Southern Heritage Classic, hosted annually in Memphis’ Liberty Bowl, Sanders might have done more than open up the Tigers’ football schedule.
The Tigers’ affirmation that they intended to play in the 2022 version of the game against Tennessee State but then end the pact with two years remaining did not sit well with organizers of the classic.
And to that end Monday, Summitt Management Corporation filed suit in Memphis – Shelby County Chancery Court -- against JSU and the program’s host league, the Southwestern Athletic Conference, according to documents obtained by FootballScoop. The suit also named the Defendant Board of Trustees of the “State Institutions of Higher Learning as the constitutional governing body of the Mississippi state institutions of higher learning, which includes defendant JSU.”
The suit was filed specifically with Judge Gadson W. Perry.
JSU had formally delivered notice to SMC Feb. 1 of this year to inform the Memphis-based company of its intention to end its participation in the rivalry contest that has, according to both parties, supplied millions in revenue through its history of pitting Jackson State against Tennessee State. JSU officials cited the SWAC as being the driving reason for its separation from the event.
“JSU’s governing athletic conference (SWAC) has entered into an agreement in which JSU’s (sic) will participate in events that conflict with the Southern Heritage Classic. Therefore, this correspondence shall serve as notice of JSU’s termination of its participation in the Southern Heritage Classic and the Agreement between the parties.” The letter was signed by Edward O. Watson, identified as General Counsel for JSU.
However, just two weeks ago, Sanders hailed JSU’s decision to divest from the Classic as one driven by the school’s own scheduling desires to find more lucrative opportunities.
“It’s a hustle,” Sanders said on the Pardon My Take podcast, when asked about the event, though Sanders did not specifically name the Classic. “We’re losing money, tremendously. This particular classic that you’re talking about, first of all, why would two colleges need a promoter? You’re two colleges and you have A.D.s, why would you need a promoter, that’s No. 1.
“Secondly, I think the fee was like over 30 years, $6 million. That’s peanuts. So by the time you take seven buses for the band, four buses for the players, couple (buses) for people, assistants, hotel accommodations, food, you’re out of that. That $180-200 grand, you’re out of that. So you didn’t make nothing. You really came up there on a blank trip. We gotta stop that foolishness. The first thing we need to take care of as HBCUs is the business aspect of everything, and that’s something we’re changing right now. We’re taking care of business.”
In the suit, SMC indicates it is suing the involved parties for damages and provides multiple pieces of documentation, including the aforementioned letter from JSU officials to SMC that served notice of its intent to halt its participation in the Classic, which has been contested more than 30 times.
As previously noted, SMC – the management company in charge of the annual event that has consistently drawn large crowds in Memphis -- said that the event has distributed $6 million apiece to each school’s football team and band through the 31 years of the contest; they likewise said the schools – Tennessee State has annually been the JSU opposition – would receive a guaranteed payout of $350,000 plus an additional $2 per ticket sold from each school’s individual box office.
JSU on Monday in a letter said “confidential legal correspondence between Jackson State University and Summitt Management Corporation was leaked, which did not reflect the ongoing communication between the parties.”
However, any such alleged “leak” would have occurred after Sanders’ Feb. 28 appearance on the PMT podcast.
The contract to the Classic, a copy of which FootballScoop examined, showed it was signed Sept. 10, 2019, and agreed to a five-year term that extended through 2024. SMC incurred all expenses to operate the Classic, items that included security personnel for the event, all stadium staff, all advertising, food for the President’s suite and media, as well as the cost to rent Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.