Bayou Classic

Collegebowl
name =Bayou Classic
full_name =State Farm Bayou Classic
nickname =
defunct =
logo =

image_size =
caption =
stadium =Louisiana Superdome
previous_stadiums =Tulane Stadium
Reliant Stadium
location =New Orleans, Louisiana
previous_locations =Houston, Texas (2005)
years = 1974 - Present
previous_tie-ins =
conference_tie-ins =
payout =
sponsors = State Farm Insurance
former_names =
prev_matchup_year = 2007
prev_matchup_season= 2007
prev_matchup_teams = Southern vs. Grambling
prev_matchup_score = 18-16
next_matchup_year = 2008
next_matchup_season= 2008
next_matchup_teams = Grambling vs. Southern
next_matchup_date = November 29The State Farm Bayou Classic is the annual college football game between the Grambling State University Tigers and the Southern University Jaguars, first held in 1974 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. Since 1978 the game has been held the final Saturday in November at the Louisiana Superdome. A Waterford crystal trophy is awarded to the winning school. The game has had State Farm Insurance as its primary sponsor since 1996. 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 first time ever that the Bayou Classic was held outside of Louisiana. The 2006 Bayou Classic returned to the Superdome in New Orleans.

It is the best known game and rivalry in historically black college football and is televised in the USA by NBC. The Bayou Classic is one of a number of NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) games to be shown nationally on broadcast television. Both schools typically forego Division I-AA playoff elegibility to participate in the Bayou Classic.

Other activities

Of the many festivities held in conjunction with the game, the most well-known and well-attended is the Battle of the Bands, where both schools' marching bands (the Grambling State University Tiger Marching Band and the Southern University Marching Band, also known as the Human Jukebox) stage elaborately choreographed performances before the game, at halftime and following the game.

Impact

The success of the Bayou Classic is a major source of tourism revenue to the city of New Orleans, and has inspired the promotion of numerous other HBCU rivalries as "Classics", often played at neutral sites in distant cities.

eries history

Southern leads the series 18-16, and claims the longest winning streak, 8 games from 1993-2000. Southern also leads the all-time series with Grambling, 29 to 26.cite web |url=http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_iaa/southwestern/grambling_state/opponents_records.php?teamid=3031 |title=Grambling vs. Southern series history |accessdate=2007-10-27 |work=College Football Data Warehouse]

Game statistics

"Grambling victories are shaded in ██ gold, and Southern victories are shaded ██ blue."

References

External links

* [http://www.statefarmbayouclassic.com/ www.statefarmbayouclassic.com] -- Official web site
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_1_59/ai_110361368 "Ebony" Magazine article about the game]