Deion Sanders and Jackson State University are being sued by organizers of Southern Heritage Classic, according to Action News 5, after the coach’s recent critical comments about the Tigers’ 2022 game in Memphis’ Liberty Bowl against Tennessee State. The company that manages the Southern Heritage Classic filed suit this week in Memphis against Jackson State and the Southwestern Athletic Conference after JSU said it wanted to sever ties and end the remaining two years on the contract for the game.
The suit also named the Defendant Board of Trustees of the “State Institutions of Higher Learning as the constitutional governing body of the Mississippi state institutions of higher learning, which includes defendant JSU.”
Earlier this spring, Jackson said on a podcast that the game “was a hustle” and JSU would be making more money by finding better scheduling opportunities.The current Southern Heritage Classic is a five-year term through the 2024 for both schools.
According to FootballScoop, JSU said in a letter this week “confidential legal correspondence between Jackson State University and Summitt Management Corporation was leaked, which did not reflect the ongoing communication between the parties.”
It has been an eventful offseason for Sanders, who recently had two toes removed following complications from foot surgery. In February, Sanders revealed he has previously interviewed for several Power Five head-coaching jobs.
