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About the Bayou Classic
In 2025, Celebrating its 52nd year, the Bayou Classic continues to uphold its legacy as a symbol of excellence and camaraderie within the HBCU community. Year after year, fans gather in New Orleans over Thanksgiving weekend to witness the thrilling football matchup between Southern University and Grambling State University, accompanied by the electrifying Battle of the Bands & Greek Show and the highly anticipated halftime show featuring two of the greatest marching bands in the nation. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.mybayouclassic.com. And follow Bayou Classic on Facebook at @MyBayouClassic and on Instagram at @bayouclassic74.
History of the Bayou Classic
Southern University first played Grambling State in football in 1930, when the latter was known as the Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute. It was not until 1958 that Grambling joined the Jaguars in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and the two teams started to play on a yearly basis. The prominence of both teams greatly increased in the 1960s and early '70s, with the rise of coach Eddie Robinson's Tiger teams, featuring such Grambling legends as Charlie Joiner, Doug Williams and Buck Buchanan, and Southern's success featuring such stars as Harold Carmichael and Mel Blount. The Bayou Classic was first held at Tulane Stadium in 1974, before moving to the brand-new Louisiana Superdome the following year. The dome has held the Bayou Classic every year since, except for 2005 when it was moved to Houston after Hurricane Katrina, and 2021, when a rescheduled Bayou Classic conflicted with renovations to the stadium.
No Bayou Classic weekend is complete without the legendary Battle of the Bands, between Grambling's World Famed Tiger Marching Band, and Southern's Human Jukebox. The Friday night spectacular features hundreds of marchers on each side performing alongside Grambling's Orchesis dance line and the Fabulous Dancing Dolls of Southern. In 2015, the Waterford crystal trophy which had been awarded to the Bayou Classic winner since the late '80s was retired and donated to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture by both universities. Due to the postponement of the 2020 NCAA Division I FCS season, the first-ever springtime Bayou Classic game was scheduled for April 17, 2021, in Shreveport.
I haven't been to Bayou Classic in about 15 years, so it felt amazing to be back in New Orleans participating in HBCU football...dance...cheer...band...at its best!!
The seating in the reconfigured lower level of the superdome leaves much to be desired. The seating was much better last year.
Garmbling and Southern both played well, Southern just had some bad luck on the field
It was something different. I am comparing this classic to famu and bcc. Personally I enjoy the famu better. N.O. was different from the norm. We were able to sight see and talk to some of the locals. They didnt let us in the stadium untill an 1hr before the game start.
Very boring and will not be attending again. The classic is not what it use to be. The bands are not allowed to play, the gates do not open up until an hour before the game. If this was a LSU or Saints game, the doors would have been open 3-4 hours before kickoff. I wish we as Black Consumers would realize that New Orleans is peeing on our heads and telling us it is raining and doesn't appreciate the revenue we bring to them during the Thanksgiving Weekend. This use to be one of the most outstanding games/events regardless if SU or GSU had a winning record. So much has been taken from this game and weekend that it is ridiculous. The Atlanta Football Classic was 150% times better than the classic this year and past years. The city of Atlanta and its Hotels/Hospitality was outstanding. Again, New Orleans doesn't appreciate the Bayou Classic and I'll never attend this event and stay in new orleans again.
The weekend of bayou classic is amazing. Starting off with the battle of the bands just set the stage. Southern university band was awesome!!!! The Greek show was very good as well. Grambling showed up but there was no comparison. The game was good too even though SU lost. I would recommend everyone experience the bayou classic at least once in their life.
I enjoyed th event, the concession lines where long as usual, but I enjoyed the game.
I had a really good time at the Bayou Claasic. It's the one time of the year where I can go to New Orleans and feel likeI I'm in the French Riviera, it's like I have a out of body experience. It makes me feel like I'm a celebrity amongst the crowd. I'm so glad God has blessed me to be able to go every year.
The Bayou Classic was a good football game. Both teams were competive and the bands were great.
I had the best experience at the Bayou Classic! oh my gosh...my seats were amazing! The game, well lets open the beat box....psh..psh..man the Tigers laid the Jags to rest. Now I like a Jag on 4 wheels. just saying. The bands were awesome! As for the overall experience, lets just say I can't wait til next year! Thanks Ticketmaster for the great, (understatement) seats! Thanks Mercedes-Benz Superdome for the ultimate platform.. and thanks to myself for having the foresight to buy my tickets early! Somebody scream!
Had a great experience...both the game and half time show was great.
Loved the Alpha's step show. The bands were exciting particularly the dancing of the Grambling drum major.
Amazing, this was the 36th year, for the classic, both teams with 18 wins each, and Grambling came away with its 19th win, will SU we look forward to next year.
The game was exciting to watch and the atmosphere was great! Everyone in my section was well behaved and exhibited good sportsmanship. The dome itself was clean with nice climate control. The Ushers were very helpful. I hope to attend this event next year.
Excellent seats. We were right at half field! Great view of everything!
Always great. I love the classic. The battle was epic
We got slaughtered!!! I could have saved some money and watched the game on TV, but I still love Southern. Die hard fan.
This was a wonderful experience. I recommend for u to go down to the bigest showdown besides a Saints game. The tickets were fantastic for priceand view was mind blowing
The game was not as exciting as in the past, however the bands were "on time".
I was initially upset that that I asked for the best available seats and we were placed in section 649 Row 20. There was one row behind us at the top of Nose Bleed. My wife said that we will not sit here. I was imbarassed and ashamed. The story gets a whole lot better from there. The people at the SuperDome were very accomodating when we complained and upgraded our seats to 50 yard line and we were sitting with the players families. i don't want to go into a long diatribe, we jsut very pleased with our experince and their desire to make it good for us!!!!!