For many Teche-Area residents, the annual Bayou Classic between Grambling State University and Southern University is more than just a football game, it is a treasured event full of friendships, school pride, and community.

The Bayou Classic has been around in its current form since 1974, and has become the largest HBCU Classic in America. The Bayou Classic encompasses a week of events, including a parade, the Battle of the Bands and Greek Show, and job fair, which have attracted over 60,000 fans in recent years.

The annual game in New Orleans features the state’s two prominent HBCU football teams, the Southern University Jaguars and the Grambling State University Tigers. While students and alumni of the two schools are usually able to put their allegiances behind them, during the Bayou Classic battle lines are drawn, with a year’s worth of bragging rights on the line.

It’s all in good fun, though, as fans of both schools come together to have parades, reunite with classmates, and renew the sense of community that comes with attending an HBCU.

Gloria Andrews, Southern University Class of 1977, says that for her and her family, attending the Bayou Classic is a yearly tradition.

“I’ve been going to Bayou Classic since 1972 and it’s grown each year and it’s always better every year,” she said. “The crowds are larger, the atmosphere is so beautiful. Everyone is so happy and excited; you get to see people that you went to school with.”

Andrews said she attends every Bayou Classic she can, though she did skip the most recent one due to the pandemic that saw the game moved from the Superdome to Independence Stadium in Shreveport in April. She has fond memories of traveling to Houston following Hurricane Katrina, which forced the Classic out of the Superdome.

“I can remember when Katrina hit and we had to go to Houston, Texas,” she said. “They weren’t ready for us. We showed up in RVs. They didn’t think that many people would show up.”

The tradition that comes with attending the event each year is part of what makes it so enticing for people like Andrews, but she says that the impact of the Bayou Classic extends past current students and alumni.

“It’s a Southern-Grambling thing, but it reaches young people from all over,” she added. “It’s awesome to watch the game, but what people wait for is the Battle of the Bands. So many actors and celebrities come out too, but everybody’s eyes are on the bands.

“It reaches young kids and lets them know, ‘I can do that too.’

“I advise any student, if you’re going to college, I’d advise you to go to an HBCU, at least for

the first year. When you go to a school like that, it’s like a part of home. They look out for you, they try to encourage you, because it’s your own people, you can identify with that.”

For Robert Pinckney, a former Grambling defensive tackle and a long-time football and basketball coach in New Iberia, the Bayou Classic was a memorable time in his playing career, even playing a part in why he choose to attend Grambling at all.

“My takeaway from it as a player, we played in a lot of Classics, and the Bayou Classic was one of the premier (ones),” he said.

Pinckney said he enjoys the game, but chooses not to attend in-person. “I only attended the Classic one year after I played in it,” he said. “For me, it’s a lot of traffic.”

Originally from New Jersey, Pickney moved to New Iberia when he was in high school.

“My dad married a young lady from New Iberia, so I came and lived with my dad. I was trying to decide where to go (to college), and I remember sitting down one day and catching a glimpse of the news talking about the Bayou Classic. I remember them interviewing Eddie Robinson and I remember saying ‘Wow, I’d like to play for him.’”

After his playing career ended, Pickney returned to New Iberia, where he made a name for himself coaching football and basketball at New Iberia Senior High School.

When asked about whether he still partakes in the rivalry between the two teams, Pinckney said “It gives you a year where you can trash talk if your particular team wins. If Grambling wins, I’m on social media talking trash, and if Southern wins, I don’t even get on social media.”

Regardless of which team you support or which teams wins this year, the Bayou Classic is guaranteed to be a great time.

The 48th Bayou Classic will be played on Saturday at the Caesar’s Superdome. Kickoff will be at 4 p.m. on NBCSN and the annual halftime show will feature performances from Grambling State University’s “World Famed” Tiger Marching Band and Southern University’s Human Jukebox.