On September 2, 2017, Howard football reached a milestone by defeating their first FBS opponent in program history.

The Bison defeated the UNLV Rebels 43–40 in Sam Boyd Stadium.

[3][4] See Note A The Bison have appeared in four bowl games, with a current record of 1–3.

The two schools call their intense rivalry Battle of "The Real HU".

[11][12][13] Another of Howard's historic rivals is Morehouse College, more popularly known as the Howard/"Spel-House" rivalry due to Morehouse's close association with the all-women's HBCU Spelman College.