Football 8/30/2025 10:04:00 AM TSU Sports Information
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• The 2025 season kicks off Saturday evening in Downtown Houston as the Texas Southern Tigers prepare to face longtime rival Prairie View A&M in the 40th edition of the Labor Day Classic. The Panthers have won 15 of the past 19 Labor Day Classic contests since 2004. Overall, PVAMU has won 17 of the past 21 contests since 2004. For the first time since 2015, TSU enters the contest looking to post its first winning streak over the Panthers since winning 14 straight from 1989-03.
• Saturday's contest will feature live audio on KTSU 90.9 FM and will be shown live on SWAC TV.
• The Labor Day Classic has rotated between both schools since it became a home-and-home affair in 2011. Since 1985, the game has been played at Delmar Stadium, Robertson Stadium, the Astrodome, NRG Stadium, Rice Stadium, Panther Stadium and Shell Energy Stadium.
• For the second straight year, the classic will feature a new face on the sidelines as PVAMU head coach Tremaine Jackson makes his PVAMU head coaching debut.
• Familiarity won't be an issue as PVAMU head coach Tremaine Jackson is a former student-athlete (2002-03) and coach at TSU (2008-11). The PVAMU coaching staff features two former TSU student-athletes in Trent Earley and Darrell Colbert and former TSU coaches in Darren Garrigan and Colbert.
• TSU had three players earn preseason All-SWAC Second Team honors in Trent Leary (WR), Damarcus Thompson (DE) and Jeremy Ramirez (P).
• After several years of offseason changes to the coaching staff, the Tigers finally had stability this offseason with no changes.
• Prairie View A&M has yet to lose inside Shell Energy Stadium since the series shifted to Downtown Houston in 2013. The 2023 edition saw PVAMU snatch a win from TSU in overtime as PVAMU is 6-0 all-time.
• TSU was picked to finish fourth in the SWAC during the annual SWAC Preseason Poll. TSU returns four offensive starters and two on defense.
• Injuries took a major toll for TSU last year as several key players return after season-ending injuries suffered during the Labor Day Classic in linebacker Jacob Williams and quarterback KJ Cooper. Two years ago, Williams was TSU's first 100-plus tackler since 2004 while Cooper led TSU to a Labor Day Classic win in 2024.
• Cris Dishman is the 18th head coach in the history of Texas Southern Football. Dishman inherits a tough task as the program has only had 28 winning seasons in 78 years of existence and hasn't recorded a winning season since 2000.
• The winner of the TSU-Prairie View A&M contest receives the traveling Nicks-Durley Trophy. Named after legendary head coaches at both schools, the trophy finally returned to Houston in 2024 after a nine-year stay on the PVAMU campus. TSU holds a 21-18 margin in the classic series (dating back to 1985).
• The first Labor Day Classic MVP, Darrel Colbert, is now the Director of Football Operations for Texas Southern.
• The winner of the Labor Day Classic receives the traveling Nicks-Durley Trophy. Named after legendary head coaches at both schools, the trophy has remained on the PVAMU campus since 2014. TSU holds a 20-13 margin in the classic series (dating back to 1985) while Prairie View has won the past four games. TSU's last win came in 2014.
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Source: https://tsusports.com/news/2025/8/3...025-season-saturday-in-labor-day-classic.aspx