Chester County's Lincoln University will play football in Philadelphia for the first time in 16 years when the Lions face Virginia Union University at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday, October 31.

The Halloween matchup pits a Lincoln squad coming off an 0-10 season against the CIAA's preseason favorite, and it lands on the same field where 47,266 fans watched the HBCU Battle of the Legends last October. No kickoff time or ticket information has been announced.

Lions head coach Frank Turner revealed the game at the CIAA's media day in July, according to VISTA.Today. Both schools compete at the NCAA Division II level in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

A steep climb

Virginia Union finished 9-3 in 2025 and reached the Division II football championship tournament for a fourth consecutive season, according to the NCAA. Panthers running back Curtis Allen won the 2025 Harlon Hill Trophy after rushing for 2,409 yards and 30 touchdowns, becoming the first winner in CIAA and DII HBCU history.

Lincoln, meanwhile, went winless last season. The Lions have beaten Virginia Union just once in 17 all-time meetings.

HBCU football's growing Philly footprint

The October 31 game will be the second straight year Lincoln Financial Field has hosted HBCU football. In October 2025, Delaware State coach DeSean Jackson led the Hornets past Norfolk State and coach Michael Vick, 27-20, in the Battle of the Legends.

"Man, it feels awesome," Jackson said at his postgame press conference after that win. "Walking out there, smelling that grass, it went through my veins. It felt like I was about to play again."

Chester County roots

Lincoln University sits near Oxford in Chester County and holds a singular place in American history. Founded in 1854, it became the nation's first degree-granting HBCU, counting Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and poet Langston Hughes among its alumni.