Marion hosts HBCU Pigskin Showdown on Saturday, photo gallery

Marion played host on Saturday to the second HBCU Pigskin Showdown all-star matchup that pitted talented football players from HBCU schools around the country to show off for NFL scouts.

Hundreds filled the stands at Marion Military Institute’s field and braved the chilly temperatures to cheer on the athletes who were selected by a scouting staff to attend the all-star game and showcase their skills in front of NFL, CFL and USFL scouts. They also participated in four pro-style practice sessions during the week and took a civil rights tour in Selma that included marching over the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Friday.

The second-annual game featured players on teams named Selma and Marion that aired live on NBC Sports channels and Peacock streaming service. The Marion team won the tournament 21-20.

MMI President Co. David Mollahan, Pigskin co-founder Bryant Grove, Marion Mayor Dexter Hinton and Selma Mayor James Perkins Jr. welcomed fans and players to the game.

Hinton said it is fitting to have the HBCU tournament in Marion, the home of Lincoln Normal School that was founded just two years after the Civil War to educate freed slaves and later moved to Montgomery and became Alabama State University.

“We are building on the foundation that is already existing here,” Hinton said in an interview right before kickoff. “And we are bringing to the Black Belt something for the citizens to come out and enjoy.”

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Perkins said it was a great way for the Black Belt to be spotlighted on a national stage.

“It’s huge that it was nationally televised – it’s going to do nothing but grow and expand from here,” Perkins said. “We’re hoping it brings more and more fans and really catches fire.”

The showdown could outgrow MMI’s stadium and move to Selma’s Memorial Stadium in the future, he said. Selma’s stadium was originally going to play host, but Perkins said it wasn’t ready to reopen after it sustained damages during a hurricane in 2020. 

Many of the fans were family members of the players who were vying for a spot in the pros. Kanita Harper, mother of running back KeyShawn Harper of Jackson State, brought a sign telling the pro scouts to draft him, highlighting his strengths of speed, book smarts and good sportsmanship.

Cheerleaders from RC Hatch High School in Marion jazzed up the crowd and the Edna Karr High School band from New Orleans played in the stands and at halftime.

Learn more about players who competed here.