State Fair Classic

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State Fair Classic
StadiumCotton Bowl in Fair Park
LocationDallas, Texas
Operated1925–2019, 2021-present
Sponsors
Southwest Airlines (1995–2017)
Former names
State Fair Classic (1945[1]–1989)
Al Lipscomb State Fair Classic (1990–1994)
Southwest Airlines Al Lipscomb State Fair Classic (1995–1999)
Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic (2000–2017)
2022 matchup
Prairie View A&M Panthers 34,
Grambling State Tigers 14
2023 matchup
Grambling State Tigers vs. Prairie View A&M Panthers (2023)
150km
100miles
none
Cotton Bowl
Grambling State
.
Prairie View A&M
Map
Locations of Grambling State and Prairie View A&M
In-game action during the 2019 State Fair Classic

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 Tigers and the Prairie View A&M University Panthers of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The game is played on a neutral site at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park, Dallas, Texas during the State Fair of Texas. The game often occurs the weekend before the Red River Showdown game; the Heart of Dallas Classic 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.[2]

History[edit]

Background[edit]

The State Fair Classic, held annually at the Cotton Bowl, began in 1925 featuring the Wiley College Wildcats and Langston University 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.[3] Both teams met four consecutive years in Dallas before Prairie View replaced Langston in 1929.[4] 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 in 1956 and then Texas Southern until 1959.

Bishop College 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 of Louisiana 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, 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.[5]

Other events associated with the classic[edit]

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" of Grambling and the "Marching Storm" of Prairie View.[6]

Economic impact[edit]

The classic has an annual estimated economic impact of $8.5 million for the City of Dallas.[7] 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 game in Texas.[8] Both schools have a significant portion of their alumni base in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

Evolving name[edit]

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[1] 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.[9] Promotions with Southwest Airlines listed as the title sponsor ceased after the 2017 game.[10][11]

Game results[edit]

Date Winning team Losing team Location
October 19, 1925 Langston 0 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX
October 19, 1926 Langston 13 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX
October 17, 1927 Langston 27 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX
October 15, 1928 Langston 7 Wiley 7 Dallas, TX
October 21, 1929 Prairie View 0 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX
October 20, 1930 Wiley 17 Prairie View 13 Dallas, TX
October 19, 1931 Prairie View 20 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX
October 17, 1932 Wiley 13 Prairie View 0 Dallas, TX
October 16, 1933 Wiley 6 Prairie View 0 Dallas, TX
October 15, 1934 Prairie View 13 Wiley 12 Dallas, TX
October 19, 1935 Prairie View 0 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX
October 19, 1936 Wiley 7 Prairie View 0 Dallas, TX
October 18, 1937 Prairie View 13 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX
October 17, 1938 Prairie View 6 Wiley 6 Dallas, TX
October 16, 1939 Wiley 13 Prairie View 6 Dallas, TX
October 14, 1940 Prairie View 18 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX
October 13, 1941 Prairie View 32 Wiley 7 Dallas, TX
October 19, 1942 Prairie View 6 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX[12]
October 16, 1943[13] Prairie View 0 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX
October 14, 1944 Wiley 28 Prairie View 0 Dallas, TX
October 15, 1945 Wiley 35 Prairie View 7 Dallas, TX[14]
October 14, 1946 Wiley 19 Prairie View 0 Dallas, TX
October 13, 1947 Prairie View A&M 12 Wiley 6 Dallas, TX
October 18, 1948 Prairie View A&M 19 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX
October 17, 1949 Prairie View A&M 27 Wiley 7 Dallas, TX
October 16, 1950 Prairie View A&M 47 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX
October 13, 1951 Prairie View A&M 38 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX[15]
October 13, 1952 Prairie View A&M 53 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX
October 19, 1953 Prairie View A&M 32 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX
October 18, 1954 Prairie View A&M 19 Wiley 6 Dallas, TX
October 17, 1955 Prairie View A&M 34 Wiley 7 Dallas, TX
October 15, 1956 Tennessee State 45 Prairie View A&M 0 Dallas, TX
October 14, 1957 Prairie View A&M 7 Texas Southern 6 Dallas, TX
October 13, 1958 Prairie View A&M 26 Texas Southern 19 Dallas, TX
October 19, 1959 Prairie View A&M 34 Texas Southern 15 Dallas, TX
October 17, 1960 Prairie View A&M 36 Wiley 15 Dallas, TX
October 16, 1961 Prairie View A&M 48 Wiley 13 Dallas, TX
October 15, 1962 Prairie View A&M 26 Wiley 17 Dallas, TX
October 14, 1963 Prairie View A&M 27 Wiley 10 Dallas, TX
October 19, 1964 Prairie View A&M 39 Wiley 13 Dallas, TX
October 18, 1965 Prairie View A&M 16 Wiley 7 Dallas, TX
October 17, 1966 Prairie View A&M 21 Wiley 0 Dallas, TX
October 16, 1967 Prairie View A&M 31 Bishop 7 Dallas, TX
October 19, 1968 Bishop 13 Prairie View A&M 10
October 18, 1969 Bishop 36 Prairie View A&M 21 Dallas, TX
October 24, 1970 Prairie View A&M 29 Bishop 26 Dallas, TX
October 16, 1971 Tennessee State 42 Prairie View A&M 20[16] Dallas, TX[17]
October 21, 1972 Prairie View A&M 14 Bishop 10 Dallas, TX[18]
October 20, 1973 Prairie View A&M 25 Bishop 3 Dallas, TX
October 26, 1974 Bishop 21 Prairie View A&M 14 Dallas, TX
October 25, 1975 Prairie View A&M 14 Bishop 13 Dallas, TX
October 23, 1976 Prairie View A&M 22 Bishop 14 Dallas, TX[19]
October 22, 1977 Prairie View A&M 39 Bishop 7 Dallas, TX[20]
October 21, 1978 Bishop 35 Prairie View A&M 34 Dallas, TX
October 6, 1979 Bishop 33 Prairie View A&M 16 Dallas, TX
October 11, 1980 Bishop 12 Prairie View A&M 0 Dallas, TX
October 10, 1981 Bishop 40 Prairie View A&M 0 Dallas, TX
October 9, 1982 Prairie View A&M 24 Bishop 13 Dallas, TX[21]
October 8, 1983 Bishop 32 Prairie View A&M 20 Prairie View, TX
October 6, 1984 Bishop 34 Prairie View A&M 8 Dallas, TX
October 5, 1985 Grambling State 27 Prairie View A&M 7 Dallas, TX
October 4, 1986 Prairie View A&M 24 Grambling State 19 Dallas, TX
October 3, 1987 Grambling State 28 Prairie View A&M 7 Dallas, TX
October 1, 1988 Grambling State 40 Prairie View A&M 14 Dallas, TX
September 30, 1989 Grambling State 49 Prairie View A&M 0 Dallas, TX
September 29, 1990 Grambling State 67 Elizabeth City State 3 Dallas, TX
September 28, 1991 North Carolina A&T 28 Grambling State 12 Dallas, TX
October 3, 1992 Grambling State 63 Prairie View A&M 3 Dallas, TX
October 2, 1993 Grambling State 49 Prairie View A&M 0 Dallas, TX
October 1, 1994 Grambling State 66 Prairie View A&M 0 Dallas, TX
September 30, 1995 Grambling State 64 Prairie View A&M 0 Dallas, TX
September 28, 1996 Grambling State 54 Prairie View A&M 12 Dallas, TX
October 4, 1997 Grambling State 33 Prairie View A&M 6 Dallas, TX
October 3, 1998 Grambling State 55 Prairie View A&M 40 Dallas, TX
October 2, 1999 Grambling State 47 Prairie View A&M 19 Dallas, TX
September 30, 2000 Grambling State 47 Prairie View A&M 7 Dallas, TX
September 29, 2001 Grambling State 40 Prairie View A&M 6 Dallas, TX
October 5, 2002 Grambling State 35 Prairie View A&M 13 Dallas, TX
October 4, 2003 Grambling State 65 Prairie View A&M 7 Dallas, TX
October 2, 2004 Grambling State 53 Prairie View A&M 32 Dallas, TX
October 1, 2005 Grambling State 50 Prairie View A&M 7 Dallas, TX
September 30, 2006 Grambling State 53 Prairie View A&M 7 Dallas, TX
September 29, 2007 Grambling State 17 Prairie View A&M 14 Dallas, TX
October 4, 2008 Grambling State 40 Prairie View A&M 16 Dallas, TX
October 3, 2009 Prairie View A&M 35 Grambling State 32 Dallas, TX
September 25, 2010 Grambling State 34 Prairie View A&M 17 Dallas, TX
October 1, 2011 Prairie View A&M 31 Grambling State 23 Dallas, TX
October 6, 2012 Prairie View A&M 31 Grambling State 14 Dallas, TX
October 5, 2013 Prairie View A&M 31 Grambling State 3 Dallas, TX
September 27, 2014 Grambling State 26 Prairie View A&M 20 Dallas, TX
September 26, 2015 Grambling State 70 Prairie View A&M 54 Dallas, TX
October 1, 2016 Grambling State 36 Prairie View A&M 16 Dallas, TX
October 7, 2017 Grambling State 34 Prairie View A&M 21 Dallas, TX
September 29, 2018 Prairie View A&M 22 Grambling State 16 Dallas, TX
September 28, 2019 Prairie View A&M 42 Grambling State 36 Dallas, TX
March 13, 2021 Prairie View A&M 17 Grambling State 10 Arlington, TX
September 25, 2021 Prairie View A&M 24 Grambling State 10 Dallas, TX
October 1, 2022 Prairie View A&M 34 Grambling State 14 Dallas, TX
September 30, 2023 Grambling State 35 Prairie View A&M 20 Dallas, TX

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Wiley Eleven to Meet Prairie View in Dallas". Marshall (Tx). News Messenger (p. 8). October 10, 1945 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Luke Johnson (October 8, 2016). "'This is a major deal': Southern to play Texas Southern in 2018–19 Texas State Fair Football Showdown". theadvocate.com. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
  3. ^ The Chicago Defender "Wiley and Langston Battle Hard, But Neither Scores" 31 October 1925 page 9
  4. ^ The Chicago Defender "Wiley and Prairie View Ready" 19 October 1929 page 9
  5. ^ Kenn Rashad (July 3, 2014). "Langston likely to replace Grambling in 2015 State Fair Classic". hbcusports.com. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  6. ^ "EVENTS « the Face off Sept 27". swastatefairclassic.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Grambling heads into Saturday's State Fair Classic with two important weapons | Dallas Morning News". www.dallasnews.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Grambling State University Athletics - Football vs Prairie View A&M on 10/07/2017". GSUTigers.com. Retrieved 2017-10-07.
  9. ^ "Lipscomb's name dropped from game". amarillo.com. September 21, 2000. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  10. ^ "Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic". do214.com. 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  11. ^ "Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic". Dallas Sports Commission. 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  12. ^ "Wiley to Resume Football Rivalry With Prairie View". Marshall (Tex.) News Messenger (sec. I, p. 8). October 11, 1942 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Wiley Wildcats Meet Prairie View Normal". Waco (Tex.) News–Tribune (p. 9). October 14, 1943.
  14. ^ "Prairie View, Wiley In Cotton Bowl Tomorrow". Marshall (Tex.) News Messenger (sec. B, p. 6). October 14, 1945 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Wiley To Play In Cotton Bowl Monday Night". Marshall (Tex.) News Messenger (p. 7). October 12, 1951 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "TSU Rambles, 42–20". Nashville Tennessean (sec. C, p. 1). October 17, 1971 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Cotton Bowl Battle: Prairie View Tests TSU". Nashville Tennessean (p. 21). October 16, 1971 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Prairie View Rally Beats Bishop 14–10". Fort Worth Star-Telegram (sec. B, p. 11). October 22, 1972 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Prairie View tips Bishop". Fort Worth Star-Telegram (sec. G, p. 6). October 24, 1976 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "PV wins, 39–7". San Antonio Express-News (sec. S, p. 4). October 23, 1977 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Bishop tumbled by Prairie View". Fort Worth Star-Telegram (sec. B, p. 10). October 10, 1982 – via Newspapers.com.

External links[edit]