Indiana Black Expo is restructuring its annual Circle City Classic, ending the organization’s longstanding practice of hosting a paid HBCU football matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium while preserving the surrounding slate of community events, IBE President and CEO Alice Watson said in an interview this week.
Watson said the change is a “pivot,” not a cancellation, and that the decision follows more than a decade of internal review tied to falling attendance and rising costs to bring competitive Historically Black College and University football programs to Indianapolis.
The Classic, launched in 1984, was one of the first HBCU classics in the Midwest and at its peak drew more than 50,000 fans to the Hoosier Dome and later the RCA Dome. Watson said attendance has declined steadily since roughly 2013, averaging about 20,000 in recent years inside a venue with a seating capacity exceeding 70,000.
According to Watson, IBE convened a feasibility committee beginning in 2013 and 2014 to assess the event’s long-term viability. She said committee members included Mickey Maurer, Milt Thompson and Chris Gahl, and that the group also consulted original Classic organizers, including Joe Slash and the late Bill Mays. The committee’s consensus at the time, Watson said, was to continue the event while adjusting expectations.
Watson said two trends ultimately drove this year’s decision. The first is the proliferation of HBCU classics nationally, which she estimated has grown to roughly 27 events across the country, with some host cities covering the full cost of teams and operations. The second is the rising price of securing two competitive HBCU programs, which Watson said has trended toward roughly $600,000 and continues to climb.
She attributed part of the cost increase to NCAA travel rules that require teams to fly rather than bus to games, and to the growing market value of HBCU marching bands, which now perform at NFL games and command higher appearance fees. Watson also noted that in 2024, Tennessee State University was paid approximately $1 million to play the University of Notre Dame, a figure she said reflects the current market for high-profile HBCU matchups.
Watson said IBE, as a nonprofit, has been absorbing losses on the football component of the Classic, in some years exceeding $500,000, using discretionary funds.
Under the restructured format, IBE will retain the Classic’s ancillary programming, including the parade, Education Day, the college and career fair, Talent Day and the coronation. Watson said those elements are central to the organization’s youth and post-secondary mission and can continue without the financial exposure of staging the football game.
The restructuring comes as IBE navigates what Watson described as a significant decline in corporate and state support following the rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion programs nationally. She said the organization has lost between $700,000 and $1 million in funding and is adjusting its programming model accordingly.
IBE’s Summer Celebration is scheduled to take place in Indianapolis later this summer.
