Ole Miss football made a historic announcement regarding its future schedule on Thursday.

For the first time in program history, Ole Miss will host Alcorn State on Sept. 9, 2028. It will be the first-ever historically black college and university (HBCU) and current Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opponent that Ole Miss has faced on the football field.

“This is a matchup that we’ve been working on for quite some time, and I want to thank Alcorn State A.D. Derek Horne, a good friend and great Rebel, for helping make this happen,” said Ole Miss vice chancellor for intercollegiate athletics Keith Carter. “To play an HBCU from our state is something we’ve been wanting to do for quite some time, and hopefully this will open the door for other meetings with HBCU institutions in the future. We look forward to this contest and know it will be exciting for our fans at Ole Miss as well as the fans at Alcorn State.”

During his time as a member of the Ole Miss basketball team, Horne was a four-year letterwinner from 1983-86. He also spent 15 years in the Ole Miss athletic department as both an assistant athletic director and senior associate athletic director.

Horne was hired by Alcorn State in August of 2014 as its Director of Intercollegiate Athletics.

“I’m very happy to develop this relationship and opportunity with my dear friend Keith Carter,” Horne said. “We’re looking forward to this contest and to other continued opportunities, not only with Ole Miss but also sister institutions within the state of Mississippi.”

On the football field, Alcorn State has won back-t0-back SWAC Championships and has played in the title game in four of the last six years. This season, the Braves will be looking to win nine or more games for the third straight year.

“I’m very happy for the state of Mississippi to see this meeting take place,” said Rebel head coach Lane Kiffin. “I appreciate the hard work of Keith and the Alcorn State administration to make this game happen, and we hope this is the first of many future relationships with HBCU institutions.”

Alcorn State is the first non-conference opponent that has been announced for the 2028 season.