Those starting times represent more than a return to an old WSSU football tradition. “The goal is to put 10K in Bowman Gray,” Burns told HBCU Gameday during freshman move-in on Aug. 8. Burns said he studied attendance from previous WSSU night games before setting the early 2026 schedule. Homecoming has already shown that WSSU fans can approach the stadium’s capacity for the right event. The question is whether night football, a new head coach and a stronger season-ticket base can lift the rest of the home schedule.