Sunday Night Highlight – 50th Anniversary of the Bayou Classic
The Southern Jaguars and the Grambling State Tigers delivered a classic cliff-hanger to mark the 50th anniversary of the Bayou Classic football game, with the Jaguars holding on to win 27-22. Momentum surged back and forth throughout the four-hour contest until the decision rested in the hands of the Jaguars defense, which responded with a memorable goal-line stand in the final two minutes to preserve a thrilling victory Saturday afternoon at the Caesars Superdome. You can see highlights of the football game here.
First held under the name “Bayou Classic” in 1974 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, the series itself actually began in 1932. It is the best-known annual game and rivalry in historically black college or university (HBCU) football and is the only NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision game to be shown regularly on broadcast television. Of the many activities held in conjunction with the Bayou Classic, the most well-known and well-attended is the Battle of the Bands, where both universities’ marching bands—Grambling’s “World Famed” Tiger Marching Band and Southern’s Human Jukebox—perform for 65,000 alumni and fans. The Bayou Classic draws more than 200,000 people to New Orleans each year, and has an estimated $50 million economic impact on the city.
You can see the Grambling State University “World Famed” Tiger Marching Band here.
You can see the Southern University “Human Jukebox” Marching Band here.
