NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk State returns to William "Dick" Price Stadium on Saturday afternoon for the 61st Battle of the Bay, hosting Hampton at 4 p.m. in the Spartans' first home game in three weeks.
The rivalry arrives with something tangible attached. Norfolk State leads the all-time series 30-29-1. Hampton has won the last two meetings. A third straight Pirates win would square the series at 30 wins apiece for the first time since the early 2000s.
Saturday is also Greek Night at Dick Price.
About the Spartans
Norfolk State (1-2) closes a stretch of two straight games against in-state FBS opponents and comes home looking for footing.
The Spartans were beaten 59-3 at No. 25 Virginia on Friday night, held to 55 rushing yards and turning the ball over three times in a game Virginia led 28-3 at halftime before emptying its bench. It followed a 31-10 loss at Old Dominion in which Norfolk State stayed within a score into the third quarter. The two opponents were two of the most challenging on the schedule: Old Dominion won 10 games and the Cure Bowl last season, while Virginia, out of the ACC, was ranked 25th nationally by kickoff. Norfolk State drew both on the road, in back-to-back weeks.
The opener remains the clearest picture of what this team can produce. The 56-0 win over Winston-Salem State on Aug. 29 delivered the program's first shutout since 2019, its first 50-point game since 2021 and its first 300-yard rushing performance since 2023. Saturday is the first time since that night the Spartans face an opponent from their own subdivision, and the first time in three weeks they do it at home. Saturday is the reset: an FCS opponent, a home crowd, and a rivalry game the Spartans have lost two years running.
Deljay Bailey remains at quarterback. Jalyn Daniels has led the Spartans on the ground in each of the first three games. The defense has been the more consistent unit through three weeks, headlined by the takeaway-driven fourth quarter against Winston-Salem State and the two interceptions Josiah Davis has already produced.
Season leaders through three games
Davis has been the most productive playmaker on the back end, with two interceptions in three games. Wonodi has given the Spartans consistent field position in the return game, averaging better than 25 punt return yards per outing. Peery has handled both placekicking and punting duties, connecting on two field goals.
By the numbers (FCS national ranks through Sept. 12)
| Category |
Rank |
Value |
| Passing Yards Allowed |
10th |
153.3 |
| Total Defense |
12th |
297.0 |
| Time of Possession |
15th |
33:45 |
| First Downs Allowed |
T-30th |
51 |
| Rushing Offense |
40th |
162.3 |
| Rushing Defense |
40th |
143.7 |
| Scoring Offense |
T-64th |
23.0 |
| Passing Offense |
103rd |
137.7 |
Norfolk State has controlled the clock as well as almost anyone in the FCS, holding the ball for nearly 34 minutes a game — a figure anchored by the 37:10 the Spartans possessed in the opener.
What Coach Vick Is Saying
On whether last year's loss changes how this week feels: "I'll be honest — being a former player, if they beat you the year before, it's always a reason to feel like you've got to get it back. I'm not going to sugarcoat that. The only way to stop all the talking is to go out and get the result. We're not going to make excuses about what happened last year. We know why we lost that game."
On the idea that the Spartans are now back in their weight class: "I don't like that at all. I'm competitive and I love to compete. Regardless of who's in front of you, you trust your teaching, you trust your technique, you trust everything about your football being. We don't bow down to anybody. The playing field is level, and we expect to dominate that playing field."
On what he took from the two FBS games: "It's going to do a lot for the character of our football team. I think they grew from it. I watched them actually play better against Virginia than we did against Old Dominion, even though the score didn't reflect it. A lot of the mistakes we made were self-inflicted, but there are positives moving forward."
On Hampton: "They've got players — very skilled, very talented. I know they're searching for their identity, just like we're searching for ours. What scares me is that they find their identity before we find ours inside this 60-minute game. We're going to do everything in our power to make sure we're ready."
On what the game means to the region: "It's a luxury for everyone in the 757 to be able to witness a game like this. I'm glad it hasn't lost its prominence. I pray we get thousands and thousands of fans in the stadium on both sides. Hopefully everybody enjoys it — but we've got business to handle."
On the standard for Saturday: "It's going to be four quarters of physical football. We play physical, we play relentless, down in and down out. And when things don't go our way, we find a way to make them go our way."
From the Locker Room
Wide receiver Brevin Caldwell, who caught a touchdown in the season opener, met with media alongside Vick this week.
On walking into his first Battle of the Bay: "It's a historic rivalry, so there's always an emotional charge that comes with it. Coming from Johnson C. Smith, every time we played Livingstone, that was a historic rivalry, so I know what to expect from this atmosphere. It's going to be emotionally charged. We're going to get their best."
On what the two FBS games taught the team: "Adversity is the biggest thing. Being able to get punched and respond. And being able to compete. Competition is the name of the game. The biggest thing was going to see what teams of that nature are capable of, then translating that and being able to play at that level all the time."
On Hampton arriving in a similar spot: "We're a very hungry team as well, and their schedule has been similar to ours. Like Coach Vick mentioned, we're in the same boat. Who's going to find their identity first?"
On the receiver room: "There's a ton of talent in that room. We have pretty much every skill set you could want. We've got guys who make contested grabs, guys who run routes, guys who catch tough balls in traffic, a ton of guys who can make plays after the ball is in their hands. It's just about putting it all together at this point, and I'm excited to put that on display."
On the message this week: "The biggest theme going into this game is not helping this team beat us. Cutting down on penalties, cutting down on mental errors. Being a mentally and physically sharp team."
Fifth-year offensive lineman Tyler Leinberger, who played for Hampton before transferring to Norfolk State, also spoke.
On having played this game from both sidelines: "I played in the Battle of the Bay each of the last two years, my junior year at Hampton, and last year for Norfolk State. The energy is super fun to play in. I know some of the guys over there, and that helps with the competitiveness. But I want to stay level and not play emotional. It doesn't matter who we're playing. We want to play our best ball every weekend."
On his former teammates in Hampton's offensive line room: "A lot of the guys I played with have left, but a few of the offensive linemen are still there. I have a lot of love for them, they're good guys, but I still want to beat them."
On last year's loss: "It was frustrating, but you learn from your mistakes. I just want to play a lot cleaner than we did last year. All the penalties and the turnovers, that can be fixed. Go in there with a straight head and make sure we're all doing the right things."
On being home: "We've got a pretty big stadium. Hopefully we can fill that thing out. It's nice to be home, to play in front of our crowd and our students. I'm excited about that."
On where the program stands three games in: "We put in a good offseason. We've got some new guys, great players, great guys. The focus has been, we don't want to be a losing team anymore. We want to win. We've got to take that extra step to win these games."
About the Pirates
Hampton (1-2) opens a new era under Van Malone, hired in December after seven seasons at Kansas State, where he served as assistant head coach, pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach. The Wildcats went 53-34 and reached five bowl games during his tenure, including the Sugar Bowl following the 2022 season. Malone brings 23 years of college coaching experience, 18 of them at the Power Four level.
The Pirates opened the Malone era with a 45-0 shutout of Virginia University of Lynchburg on Aug. 29, then hit the two hardest weeks on their schedule. Hampton lost 62-0 at Maryland on Sept. 5 in the program's first-ever meeting with a Power Four opponent, then fell 31-3 to Bryant in its CAA opener on Sept. 12. The Pirates have been outscored 93-3 in those two games.
Hampton was picked to finish last in the 13-team CAA preseason poll. Three Pirates earned preseason All-CAA recognition: offensive lineman Omari Allen, defensive lineman Korede Sogbesan and kicker Brett Starling, a Hampton native out of Kecoughtan High.
The program went 2-10 in 2025 and 0-8 in CAA play. One of those two wins was the Battle of the Bay.
Series History
Saturday is the 61st meeting between Norfolk State and Hampton. The Spartans lead 30-29-1.
The series began on Oct. 19, 1963, with a 42-0 Norfolk State win in Hampton, and has been played nearly every year since. Norfolk State's longest run in the rivalry is six straight from 1969 to 1974; Hampton's is five straight from 2002 to 2006. The most lopsided results belong to each side — Hampton 60-0 in 1992, Norfolk State 52-0 in 1970.
Recent meetings
| Date |
Site |
Result |
| Oct. 4, 2025 |
Hampton |
Hampton 41, NSU 34 |
| Sept. 14, 2024 |
Norfolk |
Hampton 37, NSU 7 |
| Sept. 9, 2023 |
Hampton |
NSU 31, Hampton 23 |
| Sept. 17, 2022 |
Norfolk |
Hampton 17, NSU 7 |
| Oct. 2, 2021 |
Hampton |
NSU 47, Hampton 44 (OT) |
The two schools sit roughly 15 miles apart, their campuses linked by the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. They were MEAC rivals until Hampton left for the Big South in 2018; the Pirates joined the CAA in 2022. The game has been non-conference ever since, and has kept drawing anyway — the 2022 meeting at Dick Price Stadium drew 15,439.
Familiar Faces
A Spartan who has played both sides. Fifth-year offensive lineman Tyler Leinberger spent his early career at Hampton before transferring to Norfolk State, and he has played in each of the last two Battles of the Bay for opposite teams, in blue as a junior, in green and gold last season.
Several of his former teammates are still in Hampton's offensive line room, including Omari Allen, Damaurius Stewart and center Emery D'Urso.
The 757 pipeline. Beyond Leinberger, the rosters share no players or coaches. What connects them is the ground both programs recruit. A dozen Pirates come out of Hampton Roads, several of them from schools Norfolk State recruits every year:
| Player |
Pos. |
Class |
Hometown / High School |
| Brett Starling |
K |
Sr. |
Hampton / Kecoughtan |
| Isaiah Smith |
WR |
5th |
Hampton / Bethel |
| Emery D'Urso |
OL |
Jr. |
Hampton / Phoebus |
| Khaioz Watford |
TE |
Jr. |
Hampton / Hampton High |
| Nijay Gay |
DB |
So. |
Hampton / Phoebus |
| Jordan Rayner |
DE |
So. |
Chesapeake / Oscar Smith |
| Noah Colón |
WR |
So. |
Virginia Beach / Ocean Lakes |
| Joshua Lawson |
LB |
Fr. |
Yorktown / Grafton |
| Terris Bowen III |
S |
Fr. |
Newport News / Woodside |
| Amari Pryear |
RB |
Fr. |
Hampton / Bethel |
| Joshua Hawley |
QB |
Fr. |
Virginia Beach / Kempsville |
The head coach. Michael Vick grew up inside this rivalry. A Newport News native, he was recruited by both schools and attended games at both as a kid, and he took part in Hampton University's Big Brothers program.
"I always dreamt of being on the field one day as a kid, when the field just looks bigger and the guys look huge," Vick said this week. "The atmosphere is what you dream of."
He also traces a Norfolk State connection back to this game. Vick said the first time he met an NFL player was at a Hampton University game, and that player was Bruce Smith — the Norfolk native and Hall of Fame defensive end who, Vick said, was instrumental in his decision to take the job at Norfolk State.
"Now I get a chance to live it and be a part of it," he said. "It's a full circle moment in my life."
How to Follow
Buy Tickets Now!
Tickets are on sale now through Norfolk State's official ticketing site. This is the Spartans' first home game since the season opener and the highest-demand date on the home schedule.
Important — 2026 gameday campus entry policy: All fans must have a ticket in hand before entering campus. For a rivalry crowd, buying in advance is the difference between walking in and waiting at the perimeter.
The NSU Ticket Office is open Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fans should review the Spartans Fan Guide for stadium, parking, transportation and tailgating information, and plan extra time for a 4 p.m. kickoff on Greek Night.
Up Next
Norfolk State goes back on the road to face Chicago State on Saturday, Sept. 26 at SeatGeek Stadium, with a 7 p.m. Eastern kickoff.
