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Read the press release here.

Chicago Football Classic Back At Soldier Field For 20th Year

 The football game is Sept. 30 at Soldier Field.
The football game is Sept. 30 at Soldier Field.
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Chicago Football Classic

CHICAGO — The Chicago Football Classic celebrates 20 years next month and for the first time both the Chicago City Council's Black and Latino caucuses are jointly supporting the annual event.

"It's an honor to bring two great communities, the African American and Latino communities, together for this Chicago tradition that focuses on education, empowerment and opportunity," said Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th).

The mission of The Chicago Football Classic is to make African American high school and college students aware of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. They game highlights the opportunities that HBCUs can provide black students.

The football game is Sept. 30 at Soldier Field. [Provided/Chicago Football Classic]

Organizers say that Hispanic students have started to recognize the benefits of attending HBCUs and have been enrolling in record numbers. The Chicago Football Classic announced the participation of the Latino caucus for the first time this year at a news conference at Solider Field last week.

Two of the city's top Hispanic high school bands, Kelly High School and the Back of the Yards College Preparatory High School, will compete in the “Battle of the High School Bands.” It's a Classic pre-game event at Soldier Field on the south lawn.

The Classic kicks off Sept. 30 at 3:30 p.m. at Soldier Field. The Grambling State University Tigers will play against the Clark Atlanta University Panthers.

Tickets range from $18 to $45 and can be purchased at Midway Wholesalers, Riteway-Huggins Construction and through Ticketmaster. Also, beginning Friday, $5 discounted tickets will be available at all Walgreens locations.

The 2017 Chicago Football Classic is sponsored by Sherman Dodge Chrysler Jeep of Skokie, BMO Harris Bank, NBC5, Comcast and Telemundo.