Aaron Frye grew up in the Birmingham area, played at Clay-Chalkville High School and now plays quarterback for Alabama State University. On Saturday, Oct. 31, the freshman returns to the city for the 85th Magic City Classic against Alabama A&M.
His older brother, Ashton Frye, plays quarterback at Grambling State in Louisiana. Two sons of one Birmingham household are running offenses at two historically Black universities, and their parents split the fall between two stadiums to watch both.
“Football does not define who they are,” their mother, Quiwintre Frye, said, as the New York Amsterdam News reported. “It’s a part of who they are, but it does not define who they are.” She is executive director of STRIVE Birmingham. Their father, Gerard Frye, is a master electrician and an operations executive in the electrical industry.
The Classic is one of the biggest dates on the HBCU calendar. It is played at Legion Field, where the two Alabama schools have met for decades, and organizers around the game build a week of events around it: a parade, a Battle of the Bands, tailgates and scholarship breakfasts. A sellout crowd is the norm for the game.
Alabama State comes in with the edge in recent years. The Hornets beat Alabama A&M 56-13 on Oct. 25, 2025, their fourth straight win in the series. Alabama A&M’s coach, Sam Shade, called last year’s meeting “a special game, not just a game, but a special week.”
Alabama State will try to make it five straight on Saturday, with a Birmingham-raised freshman at quarterback.
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