Next year.

That’s how monumental the 2000 opener – against each other – will be.

A two-year contract has been signed for the 2000 and 2001 seasons and everyone in attendance, from the two athletic directors to the two coaches to the game sponsor to the radio man to the sportswriter, agreed it’s about time.

Livingstone, which played the first-ever black college football game, started its program in 1892. Catawba began its program in 1907. Despite being just a mile apart, there has been just one encounter, a 37-0 Catawba victory in 1971. And until a couple of years ago, no one really ever asked why.

‘‘Our predecessors didn’t want to try because something could go wrong,’’ said Catawba AD Dennis Davidson.

But that was yesterday, as Livingstone AD Clifton Huff pointed out.

‘‘We never looked at it negatively,’’ he said, pointing toward Davidson. ‘‘When do you take a chance? It’s not a chance. You have young people mature enough to know right from wrong and good from bad.

‘‘It’s going to be a fun football game on a Saturday.’’

More than anything, though, no one cared about a matchup because the teams never were good at the same time.

The clamor for the game hit an all-time high in 1997, when both teams became national powers in Division II. Livingstone won the CIAA title. Catawba won the South Atlantic Conference title. Salisbury was the only city in America that boasted two teams in the Top 20.

It was that season that I drove Livingstone quarterback Parnell Wilder over to Catawba for a photo with Kevin Brown, the Indian signal-caller. They were already good friends, having called each other after Saturday games. All they talked about was a Livingstone-Catawba matchup and how great it would be.

Now, we can find out for ourselves.

Huff and Davidson actually talked about making the game a reality back in 1996. Both are former sports information directors who know how to promote. And in every aspect, from fan appeal, to travel expenses to dollar signs, they felt it made sense.

‘‘We were in a situation where both teams were doing well in their conferences,’’ said Huff. ‘‘There was always something buzzing in the communities and we saw no reason why we shouldn’t play. From the Livingstone standpoint, to play a game outside the conference in our home city, it’s an excellent attraction.’’

The cries for a matchup grew louder last season when Catawba played the CIAA’s Winston-Salem State while Livingstone played the SAC’s Lenoir-Rhyne. The schools also competed in every other sport.

‘‘Football is the last frontier,’’ smiled Huff.

And it will be a ‘‘star war.’’ Catawba coach David Bennett and Livingstone coach Greg Richardson are two unbelievable recruiters who bring in Division II kids boasting Division I talent. It also helps that Bennett and Richardson have been good friends for a long time.

‘‘It’s an exciting situation for our community,’’ said Richardson, who takes over this season for the departed Rudy Abrams. ‘‘Hopefully (the game) will carry on for a much longer time after me and Dave get out of coaching.’’

‘‘We’re glad that Greg Richardson got the opportunity at Livingstone,’’ said the playful Bennett, who hugged his buddy several times yesterday. ‘‘But it’s not good for Catawba and all of Livingstone’s opponents. He recruited all those great players over there.’’

Both coaches have tried to downplay next year’s game to their underclassmen but they know they can’t do it. The players know each other too well and the bantering has already begun.

‘‘When they read this in the paper, it will get it going pretty good,’’ said Bennett. ‘‘A lot of people (other than players) want us to play each other.’’

One of those is Ricardo Bailey, who owns the Lincoln-Mercury-Mazda dealership in Salisbury and is the official sponsor for the game. Bailey is on the Catawba Chiefs Advisory club and the Livingstone advisory committee. A former player at Bowling Green State, he has wondered about the omission on the schedule for all six years he has been in Salisbury.

‘‘I recall I brought it up a couple of times and people looked at me like I was crazy,” said Bailey, who looks fit enough to suit up and beat the defense around the corner to the end zone. ‘‘I thought it was a natural. When I heard they were going to play, I jumped at the opportunity.’’

It was easy to get Bailey involved but the AD’s had a harder time with the coaches.

‘‘We had to convince them,’’ said Davidson. ‘‘They have tough enough conference schedules. It’s a big commitment on their part. This isn’t like basketball where you can lose a game early.’’

Bennett had just one question when he heard the series was set.

‘‘Where are we going to play it? It is going to be tough holding everybody.’’

Catawba is the site for both years simply because Livingstone’s facilities can’t hold the large numbers, although a renovation project should take care of the fan overflow.

‘‘My president doesn’t think this city will be able to hold them all,’’ said Huff. ‘‘The expectation for the game is that it will bring in 10-12,000. But this is a college game and it should be played on one of our campuses.’’

Names have been tossed around. The Salisbury Kickoff Classic? The One-Mile Classic? The Millennium Classic?

Anyone have a better name?

The game also needs a symbol. For instance, Kannapolis and Concord play to keep a bell for a year. UNC Charlotte and Davidson play for a hornet’s nest. What could the symbol be in this game?

‘‘Maybe his half of the check,’’ Huff chuckled, nodding toward Davidson.

It’s obvious that now is the perfect time to play this game. Both teams are highly-regarded. Each athletics director realizes what this game can mean to his city and school. And the coaches are close friends.

Maybe too close.

‘‘David and I have known each other for a long time,’’ said Richardson. ‘‘Just to compete against Dave will be fun. But it’s not necessarily something to enjoy because one of us is going to lose – unless we tie.’’

With a grin, Richardson added, ‘‘And we might try to arrange that.’’