Alabama Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, voiced his concern when he found out that state lawmakers proposed the idea to cut funding for the annual Magic City Classic football game and several other signature items. The HBCU football clash between Alabama State and Alabama A&M takes place annually at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
While the popular HBCU classic showcases a pivotal battle for statewide bragging rights on the gridiron, it also draws record crowds, celebrates the tradition of both programs and creates a massive economic impact for the community.
In 2024, city leaders in Birmingham projected that the game and its festivities would generate more than $20 million in economic impact for the city, according to WBRC-TV. Even more, the game — one that was played on Oct. 26 — was the 10th busiest day of the year in the Magic City.
“If anybody thinks that’s going to happen [cutting funding] and I’m not going to be at this mic from this moment until we leave, you can forget it,” Smitherman said, per AL.com. “I will be right here.”
The state’s proposed $3.7 billion budget included $200,000 for next year’s MCC. However, when the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee approved the General Fund budget on Tuesday, it axed out the funding for the annual classic. Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville — one of the chairmen of the state’s House Ways and Means General Fund Committee — said the proposed move to cut events like the MCC was part of Alabama’s initiative to prioritize “budgeting” and “get back to funding state agencies.”
“As you saw when [Gov. Kay Ivey’s] budget came over, all of the one-time appropriations was removed from the budget,” Reynolds said, per AL.com.
Smitherman and Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, convened with Reynolds and the state’s additional General Fund chairman, Sen. Greg Albrittion, R-Atmore, to discuss the proposed budget. When Smitherman took the senate floor later Tuesday afternoon, the veteran lawmaker said the Magic City Classic issue, along with others, would be reviewed.
Changes to the Budget
Singleton also confirmed to AL.com that changes would take place to the budget. However, he was not given a timeline on when they would come to fruition. State lawmakers have 12 meeting days left in its annual session, one that runs until May.
According to the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau Board, nearly 70,000 fans attended the Magic City Classic in 2024, keeping its tradition of being one of the most-attended HBCU football games of the year. If funding for MCC is cut off, it would limit the overall impact of the annual event, which Smitherman labeled as part of the state’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
As a result, Smitherman said he would exercise the Senate’s filibuster rules to shed light on the importance of this event as well as proposed cuts to other related items in the budget. “… If it [cutting funding] does [happen], it will happen with the most resistance using our rules and procedures that I can use in this body,” Smitherman said.