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Bayou Classic
The Bayou Classic is an annual college football classic rivalry game between the Grambling State University Tigers and the Southern University Jaguars, first held under that name in 1974 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, although the series itself actually began in 1932. A trophy is awarded to the winning school.
Since 1974 the game has been held the Saturday after Thanksgiving Day, at the Superdome. Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, organizers moved the 2005 event from the Superdome to Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, where many of New Orleans' evacuees were living. This was the only time that the Bayou Classic was held outside of Louisiana. The 2006 Bayou Classic returned to the Superdome.
It is the best known annual game and rivalry in historically black college or university (HBCU) football and was nationally televised in the U.S. by NBC from 1991 to 2014. Beginning in 2015, it aired on the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN); after NBCSN shut down at the end of 2021, the Bayou Classic returned to NBC. The Bayou Classic was the only National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision game to be shown regularly on broadcast television. Fans have been known to refer to it as the "Black Super Bowl", although that name is not used in any official capacity by either school due to the National Football League's restrictions on the use of the "Super Bowl" name. Both schools typically forgo FCS playoff eligibility to participate in the Bayou Classic. The game is one of two black college football classics to be associated with Thanksgiving weekend (the other is the older Turkey Day Classic).
The game had State Farm Insurance as its title sponsor from 1996 to 2011.
Of the many activities held in conjunction with the game, the most anticipated and well-attended is the two-part Battle of the Bands, where both universities' marching bands—Grambling's "World Famed" Tiger Marching Band and Southern's Human Jukebox—perform. Following the Greek show, the two renowned bands stage elaborately choreographed performances on the Friday night before the game. The final part is held during the football game's halftime show. There is no official judge for the band battle.
Since 1992, members of Grambling's Army ROTC, Southern's Army ROTC, and the Navy ROTC run with the game ball from Southern's campus in the Scotlandville area of Baton Rouge to the Caesars Superdome in the New Orleans Central Business District for the annual "Bayou Classic Motivation Run." The event happens the day before the game begins and is an approximately 100 mile run that takes between seven and ten hours to complete. ROTC members take turns running with the ball while a police escort trails them along the way.[citation needed]
Other activities usually include a press conference, black business showcase, golf tournament, coaches luncheon, a concert/fan festival, tailgating, fashion show, pep rally, alumni functions, a Louisiana high school battle of the bands, college recruitment fair, a Bayou Classic Parade, and a job fair for graduating students of both institutions. An annual Grambling vs. Southern "Miss Bayou Classic" beauty pageant was also held from 1976 to 2002.
The Bayou Classic is a major source of revenue ($50 million) to the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. 250,000 visitors descend upon New Orleans over the course of the events leading up to the game, and the national television audience has attracted between four and five million viewers. The success of the game has inspired the promotion of numerous other HBCU classics. Historically, the stadium attendance had averaged between 50,000 and 70,000 annually which makes it one of the highest attended Division I FCS matchups every season. Hurricane Katrina brought some challenges, first with a one-year move to Houston, then with a slight drop-off in attendance upon the classic's return to New Orleans—all while the Florida Classic and Magic City Classic gained significantly in prominence over that same time period. Though the Bayou Classic also lost its title sponsor in 2011 and GSU faced numerous issues during its 2013 season, officials in 2014 rejected suggestions to remove GSU as a participant and instead resolved to quickly rejuvenate the classic. Attendance has now climbed significantly each year since 2011 and is again near pre-Katrina levels. The game also remains nationally televised, although NBC did briefly move the game broadcast over to its old sister sports-only network between the years of 2015 and 2021.
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Bayou Classic
The Bayou Classic is an annual college football classic rivalry game between the Grambling State University Tigers and the Southern University Jaguars, first held under that name in 1974 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, although the series itself actually began in 1932. A trophy is awarded to the winning school.
Since 1974 the game has been held the Saturday after Thanksgiving Day, at the Superdome. Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, organizers moved the 2005 event from the Superdome to Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, where many of New Orleans' evacuees were living. This was the only time that the Bayou Classic was held outside of Louisiana. The 2006 Bayou Classic returned to the Superdome.
It is the best known annual game and rivalry in historically black college or university (HBCU) football and was nationally televised in the U.S. by NBC from 1991 to 2014. Beginning in 2015, it aired on the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN); after NBCSN shut down at the end of 2021, the Bayou Classic returned to NBC. The Bayou Classic was the only National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision game to be shown regularly on broadcast television. Fans have been known to refer to it as the "Black Super Bowl", although that name is not used in any official capacity by either school due to the National Football League's restrictions on the use of the "Super Bowl" name. Both schools typically forgo FCS playoff eligibility to participate in the Bayou Classic. The game is one of two black college football classics to be associated with Thanksgiving weekend (the other is the older Turkey Day Classic).
The game had State Farm Insurance as its title sponsor from 1996 to 2011.
Of the many activities held in conjunction with the game, the most anticipated and well-attended is the two-part Battle of the Bands, where both universities' marching bands—Grambling's "World Famed" Tiger Marching Band and Southern's Human Jukebox—perform. Following the Greek show, the two renowned bands stage elaborately choreographed performances on the Friday night before the game. The final part is held during the football game's halftime show. There is no official judge for the band battle.
Since 1992, members of Grambling's Army ROTC, Southern's Army ROTC, and the Navy ROTC run with the game ball from Southern's campus in the Scotlandville area of Baton Rouge to the Caesars Superdome in the New Orleans Central Business District for the annual "Bayou Classic Motivation Run." The event happens the day before the game begins and is an approximately 100 mile run that takes between seven and ten hours to complete. ROTC members take turns running with the ball while a police escort trails them along the way.[citation needed]
Other activities usually include a press conference, black business showcase, golf tournament, coaches luncheon, a concert/fan festival, tailgating, fashion show, pep rally, alumni functions, a Louisiana high school battle of the bands, college recruitment fair, a Bayou Classic Parade, and a job fair for graduating students of both institutions. An annual Grambling vs. Southern "Miss Bayou Classic" beauty pageant was also held from 1976 to 2002.
The Bayou Classic is a major source of revenue ($50 million) to the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. 250,000 visitors descend upon New Orleans over the course of the events leading up to the game, and the national television audience has attracted between four and five million viewers. The success of the game has inspired the promotion of numerous other HBCU classics. Historically, the stadium attendance had averaged between 50,000 and 70,000 annually which makes it one of the highest attended Division I FCS matchups every season. Hurricane Katrina brought some challenges, first with a one-year move to Houston, then with a slight drop-off in attendance upon the classic's return to New Orleans—all while the Florida Classic and Magic City Classic gained significantly in prominence over that same time period. Though the Bayou Classic also lost its title sponsor in 2011 and GSU faced numerous issues during its 2013 season, officials in 2014 rejected suggestions to remove GSU as a participant and instead resolved to quickly rejuvenate the classic. Attendance has now climbed significantly each year since 2011 and is again near pre-Katrina levels. The game also remains nationally televised, although NBC did briefly move the game broadcast over to its old sister sports-only network between the years of 2015 and 2021.
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