North Carolina A&T–South Carolina State football rivalry respective campuses to Charlotte, North Carolina, where it became known as the Carolinas Classic. During the classic's run, South Carolina State would win the first three contests, while the A&T would win the latter half. In 2002, the contest was moved to Atlanta's Georgia Dome and billed as the Peach State Classic. South Carolina State would win the game 26–9, increasing their command over the series to 21–13. The following year, the annual game would return to Charlotte. In 2003, South Carolina State spoiled the MEAC champion Aggies undefeated conference record when they handed A&T their only MEAC loss of
North Carolina–South Carolina football rivalry also announced that the teams agreed to meet in Charlotte in 2023. Being close geographically, both teams compete for recruits on an annual basis. North Carolina has pulled players such as Robert Quinn and Quinshad Davis out of South Carolina in recent years. South Carolina has done the same by recruiting Larenz Bryant and Connor Mitch from North Carolina. Proximity also plays a role because in some areas of the two states there are significant populations of fans for each team. For example, Charlotte, North Carolina is closer to Columbia than Chapel Hill. Location can lead to ". . .families