Bayou Classic: The Grambling-Southern Football Rivalry

by Thomas Aiello

Overview

The annual clash in New Orleans between the Grambling State University Tigers and the Southern University Jaguars represents the fiercest and most anticipated in-state football rivalry in Louisiana. The most significant national game to feature historically black colleges and universities is more than a contest; the Bayou Classic is a lavish event, featuring celebrities, a fan festival, and a halftime "Battle of the Bands" that offers an intensity equal to that of the gridiron. "To appreciate the rivalry," Coach Eddie Robinson once noted, "you have to realize Grambling and Southern fans are close friends, as well as relatives." In Bayou Classic, Thomas Aiello chronicles the history of the game and explores the two schools' broader significance to Louisiana, to sports, and to the black community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807145937
Publisher:	Louisiana State University Press
Publication date:	09/15/2010
Series:	Southern Literary Studies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Thomas Aiello, an assistant professor of history at Valdosta State University, is the editor of Dan Burley's Jive and David Lawson's Paul Morphy: The Pride and Sorrow of Chess.