WSSU adds Week Zero game, announces North Carolina A&T tickets

Winston-Salem State (WSSU) football will play a Week Zero game for the first time this fall, and it has tickets for sale for the Sept. 7 game at North Carolina A&T.

WSSU will travel to CIAA foe Bluefield State for a Week Zero matchup on August 31. The game was announced by Etienne Thomas, WSSU Director of Athletics announced the game on Wednesday during an alumni town hall meeting.

The two programs met last year as Bluefield State made its return to the CIAA in 2023. WSSU won that game 30-0 in Bowman Gray Stadium. Week Zero is a new concept for NCAA Division II schools.

WSSU will then head to Greensboro on Sept. 7 where it will face long-time rival North Carolina A&T in Truist Stadium. Thomas announced that WSSU will have a ticket allotment of 350 tickets which it will sell at $50 each, allowing a maximum profit of $17,500 in addition to the guarantee from the FCS program. The tickets will first be made available to members of the school’s “1000 Horns” support group.

The game will mark the first matchup between the Triad’s two HBCU football programs since 2010. WSSU won that game 27-21 at what was then-known as Aggie Stadium, beating North Carolina A&T for the third time in fifth tries as the series resumed.

The following weekend, the Rams kick off their home opener on September 14th as Ohio Dominican comes to Bowman Gray Stadium in the return game of a home-in-home series.

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) play begins on September 21st as WSSU travels to Ettrick, Virginia to take on the Trojans of Virginia State before returning home on September 28th to host Bowie State University. The final CIAA North game will take place at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia on October 5.

CIAA Southern Division play kicks off on October 12th as WSSU hosts Shaw University.

WSSU will travel to Livingstone (October 19) in its final road game of the season. It was scheduled to take on Saint Augustine’s University on Nov. 2, but SAU is not playing football this fall.

The last two home games for the Rams will be Johnson C. Smith on October 26 and Fayetteville State for ‘Our Forever Red’ homecoming on November 9th.

The CIAA championships will be on November 16, 2024, in Salem, Virginia.

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