![2019 State Fair Classic 06 (Grambling on offense)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/2019_State_Fair_Classic_06_%28Grambling_on_offense%29.jpg)
The State Fair Classic (formerly known as the
Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic, for sponsorship purposes) is an annual
college football game between the
Grambling State University
Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Herita ...
Tigers
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...
and the
Prairie View A&M University Panthers
Panther may refer to:
Large cats
*Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis''
**''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards.
***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...
of the
Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The game is played on a neutral site at the
Cotton Bowl in
Fair Park
Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex in Dallas, Texas, United States, located immediately east of downtown. The area is registered as a Dallas Landmark and National Historic Landmark; many of the buildings were constructed for th ...
,
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
during the
State Fair of Texas
The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II as well as 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ...
. The game often occurs the weekend before the
Red River Showdown
The Oklahoma–Texas football rivalry is a college football rivalry game between border rivals Oklahoma and Texas. The two teams first played each other in 1900, and the rivalry has been renewed annually and uninterrupted since 1929 for a to ...
game; the
Heart of Dallas Classic
The Heart of Dallas Classic was a planned annual college football game played on the opening weekend of the State Fair of Texas at the historic Cotton Bowl in Fair Park, Dallas, Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a stat ...
took place on the first weekend of the 2013 fair, and the State Fair Football Showdown took place on the third weekends of the 2018 and 2019 fairs, featuring SWAC competitors
Southern and
Texas Southern
Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...
.
History
Background
The State Fair Classic, held annually at the Cotton Bowl, began in 1925 featuring the
Wiley College
Wiley College is a private historically black college in Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it is one of the oldest predominantly black col ...
Wildcats and
Langston University
Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state. Though located in a rural setting east of Guthrie, Langston also serves an urban mis ...
Lions. The first game was played on Monday, October 19, 1925 and resulted in a 0–0 tie with neither team scoring before a crowd of 5,000. Both teams met four consecutive years in Dallas before Prairie View replaced Langston in 1929. The contest always took place on "Negro Day" at the State Fair of Texas and would feature the city's black high school football championship in the afternoon followed by the much-anticipated college game at night. An early concept of "Monday Night Football" could also be attributed to the Texas State Fair Classic and
Louisiana's own State Fair Classic, as the contests took place on Monday nights from the 1920s into the 1960s.
Wiley wasn't the only college to play PVAMU in the State Fair Classic during that era, as the Panthers battled
Tennessee State
Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...
in 1956 and then Texas Southern until 1959.
Bishop College
Bishop College was a historically black college, founded in Marshall, Texas, United States, in 1881 by the Baptist Home Mission Society. It was intended to serve students in east Texas, where the majority of the black population lived at the t ...
relocated to Dallas in 1961, eventually taking Wiley's place in the annual contest, in the 43rd annual classic in 1967. From that point, Prairie View A&M maintained a presence in the Cotton Bowl with match-ups against Bishop and others over the years before moving its annual rivalry game against Grambling to the Cotton Bowl stadium in 1985 (the Panthers' series with Grambling had also previously been hosted by the
State Fair
A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...
of
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
before returning to on-campus venues in 1962).
With the disbanding of the Prairie View football program in 1990, the State Fair Classic featured Grambling and
Elizabeth City State. Even though Prairie View brought football back in 1991, that year Grambling played
North Carolina A&T
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...
, so it was not until 1992 that the classic would see the PVAMU–GSU showdown once again. Since then, this has been the annual match-up held at the State Fair Classic. Upon the revival of this pairing, Grambling won every game until this changed with the 2009 edition—and the game subsequent to this has been very competitive, with Prairie View winning 9 out of 14 contests between then and 2022. At one point, it was even considered "likely" that Grambling would have to be replaced by Langston for the classic's 2015 edition.
Other events associated with the classic
The classic is accompanied by a pre-game concert featuring a celebrity artist, press conference/fellowship luncheon, pep rallies, alumni fundraising functions, golf tournament, jazz show, comedy show, tailgating, and two battles of the bands. The first battle features high school bands in the Dallas area and the last is between the "
World Famed Tiger Marching Band
GSU Tiger Marching Band, also known as the Tiger Marching Band is Grambling State University's marching band. It is often billed as the "World Famed Tiger Marching Band". The band was formed by Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones in 1926.
Highlights
* In ...
" of Grambling and the "Marching Storm" of Prairie View.
Economic impact
The classic has an annual estimated economic impact of $8.5 million for the City of Dallas. The official 2017 game attendance was 55,231 which solidified the event as one of the largest HBCU football classics in the nation and the largest
NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...
game in Texas. Both schools have a significant portion of their alumni base in the
Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.
Evolving name
Early contests appear to have been informally referred to as the Negro Day game to differentiate it from the state fair's other game, the Red River Showdown. Otherwise, the game is documented as having been called the "State Fair Classic" since at least 1945
and was known exclusively as such through the 1989 season. In 1990, it was renamed the
Al Lipscomb State Fair Classic after the former Dallas city councilman. After attracting a title sponsor for 1995, it was rechristened as the Southwest Airlines Al Lipscomb State Fair Classic. Starting with the 2000 season, Lipscomb's name was no longer associated with the game, because he had been convicted of 65 counts of conspiracy and bribery. Promotions with Southwest Airlines listed as the title sponsor ceased after the 2017 game.
Game results
See also
*
Labor Day Classic
The Labor Day Classic is an annual American football "classic" which features Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M University, two of Texas' largest historically black universities on Labor Day weekend. It is played at the BBVA Comp ...
*
Red River State Fair Classic
*
List of black college football classics
*
Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)
*
Sports in Dallas The city of Dallas and the Dallas metropolitan division is home to teams in six major sports: the Dallas Cowboys (National Football League), Dallas Mavericks (National Basketball Association), Texas Rangers (Major League Baseball), Dallas Stars ...
References
External links
Official Site
{{Southwestern Athletic Conference football rivalry navbox
Grambling State Tigers football
Prairie View A&M Panthers football
American football in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
Black college football classics
State Fair of Texas