First Take ‘back on the road’ with Molly Qerim, Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe lined up for three live shows

ESPN’S First Take will host three special live shows at historically Black colleges and universities this upcoming fall.

ESPN’s official PR account announced the news about the upcoming shows on its Instagram story on Wednesday.

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instagram/@espnpr

The story was captioned , “The @firsttake team featuring @stephenasmith & @mollyqerim is back on the road for 3 #HBCU visits this fall!”

First Take will visit the first HBCU on September 20 where it will broadcast from Howard University in Washington D.C .

Howard University’s football team will play against Hampton University the day after the show visits.

The game will be the fourth annual “Battle for the Real HU” clash.

On October 11, Smith and Qerim will broadcast the sports debate talk show from Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee .

NFL legend Eddie George is set to join the First Take cast during their visit to the college .

He has served as Tennessee State’s head football coach since 2021.

First Take’s final special live broadcast from an HBCU will take place on November 8 from Clark Atlanta University at Morehouse College in Atlanta , Georgia .

The weekend after First Take visits on November 8, Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta will face each other in a rivalry game at B.T. Harvey Stadium in Atlanta.

This isn’t the first time Smith and Qerim have brought the hit ESPN show to HBCUs.

The show broadcasted from Smith’s alma mater Winston-Salem State University back in 2023.

It also visited First Take co-hosts Shannon Sharpe’s former college, Savannah State University, the same year.

Comedian Kevin Hart and movie producer Will Packer also joined First Take when they broadcasted a live show from HBCU, Florida A&M back in 2021.

HBCUs date back to the 19th century – offering students from the African-American community an opportunity to participate in higher education.

Stephen A. Smith's journey through media

STEPHEN A. Smith is now the face of ESPN and an executive producer on First Take having initially started working for the company back in 2003.

Smith has held various roles with the network, including hosting radio shows, SportsCenter contributions, and appearing on NBA Countdown.

He was a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1994 to 2010.

His began as an NBA writer before becoming a general sports columnist.

Before that, Smith worked as a reporter with Winston-Salem Journal, the Greensboro News, and the New York Daily News.

Most of the institutions were founded in the wake of emancipation with the great majority of educational facilities disqualifying or limiting black student enrollment amid segregation.

After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, and sex – HBCUs have continued to offer students education at the highest level.

There are currently 107 HBCUs across the United States , enrolling more than 228,000 students.

Around half of these HBCUs operate as private schools, while the other half are public institutions.

First Take frequently broadcasts live specials all around the country.

Earlier this month Smith halted his summer vacation and appeared on a special First Take.

The show took place live at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago .

Smith shared a special list for the crowd and viewers at home of his top five sports cities in America.

“You know something since I was here at the NABJ, I decided to do a special Stephen’s A list just for y’all, the top five cities in the United States,” Smith said.

Smith then rattled off his rankings revealing the reason for each.

The First Take host list from five to one included, Houston , Philadelphia , New York City , Chicago, and Boston .

The 56-year-old lead analyst on First Take caught flack from his list on social media after he failed to name Los Angeles .

“Bruh how do you rank Houston over Los Angeles??” questioned one fan.

“Coastal and big city bias,” claimed a second.

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