BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Fans headed to Legion Field in Birmingham for this Saturday’s 85th Magic City Classic, set for Oct. 31, will find recycling bins set up next to the trash cans in the stands and across the tailgate lots.
The rivalry between Alabama A&M and Alabama State, the state’s two biggest HBCUs, has been played every year since 1945 and is billed as the biggest HBCU classic in the country. The day opens with the Magic City Classic Parade at 8 a.m., followed by a tailgate party from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and kickoff at 2:30 p.m.
Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED and the Osprey Initiative are teaming up again on game-day recycling. The two first brought bins to the Classic in 2024 and gathered upward of 14,000 cans and plastic bottles. The goal for 2026 is to top that haul.
Fans can help by dropping bottles and cans in the marked bins and keeping food scraps and other trash out of them. After the game, Osprey crews will pick up the bins, hand-sort the aluminum and No. 1 plastic from everything else and track how much of each material was collected to plan future events.
The game also doubles as a homecoming for one Alabama State player. Aaron Frye, a first-year quarterback for the Hornets, developed as a player in the Birmingham area and played in high school at Clay-Chalkville. His brother, Ashton Frye, is also a college quarterback, at Grambling State.
Legion Field sits at 400 Graymont Ave. W. Each fall the Classic pulls in crowds in the tens of thousands, from alumni and students to whole families who travel in from around Alabama and other states.
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Filed under: Birmingham AL Events News
