State Fair Classic

State Fair Classic
	Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic
Stadium	Cotton Bowl in Fair Park
Location	Dallas, Texas
Operated	1925–present
Sponsors
	Southwest Airlines
2015 matchup
	Grambling State Tigers vs. Prairie View A&M Panthers (70-54)
2016 matchup
	Grambling State Tigers vs. Prairie View A&M Panthers (10/01/2016)

The State Fair Classic (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. 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 Texas–OU Red River Rivalry game at the same stadium.

State Fair Classic history

The annual State Fair Classic, held annually at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, 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.^[1] Both teams met four consecutive years in Dallas before Prairie View replaced Langston in 1929.^[2] The contest always took place on “Negro Day” at the State Fair of Texas and would feature the city black high school football championship in the afternoon followed by the much-anticipated college game at night. An ealy concept of “Monday Night Football” could also be attributed to the State Fair Classic as the contest took place on Monday nights well into the 1960s.

Wiley wasn’t the only college to play PV in the State Fair Classic during that era as the Panthers battled Tennessee State in 1958 and Texas Southern in 1959.

After relocating to Dallas in 1961, Bishop College eventually took Wiley’s place in the annual contest in the 43rd annual classic in 1967. From that point, Prairie View maintained a presence in the Cotton Bowl with match-ups against Bishop, East Texas State University (A&M Commerce), Southern and others over the years before moving its annual rivalry game against Grambling State to the Cotton Bowl Stadium in the mid-80s.

With the disbanding of the Prairie View A&M football program in 1990, the State Fair Classic featured Grambling State 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 matchup 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 four out of five contests between then and 2013.

The classic is accompanied by a press conference, alumni functions, concerts, 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 A&M.^[3]

The classic has an annual estimated economic impact of $8.5 million for the City of Dallas.^[4] The stadium attendance generally ranges between 35,000 and 50,000 annually. However, the official 2015 game attendance was 51,328.^[5]

Game results

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 A&M	0	Wiley	0	Dallas, TX
October 20, 1930	Wiley	17	Prairie View A&M	13	Dallas, TX
October 19, 1931	Prairie View A&M	20	Wiley	0	Dallas, TX
October 17, 1932	Wiley	13	Prairie View A&M	0	Dallas, TX
October 16, 1933	Wiley	6	Prairie View A&M	0	Dallas, TX
October 15, 1934	Prairie View A&M	13	Wiley	12	Dallas, TX
October 19, 1935	Prairie View A&M	0	Wiley	0	Dallas, TX
October 19, 1936	Wiley	7	Prairie View A&M	0	Dallas, TX
October 18, 1937	Prairie View A&M	13	Wiley	0	Dallas, TX
October 17, 1938	Prairie View A&M	6	Wiley	6	Dallas, TX
October 16, 1939	Wiley	13	Prairie View A&M	6	Dallas, TX
October 14, 1940	Prairie View A&M	18	Wiley	0	Dallas, TX
October 13, 1941	Prairie View A&M	32	Wiley	7	Dallas, TX
October 19, 1942	Prairie View A&M	6	Wiley	0	Prairie View, TX
1943	Prairie View A&M	0	Wiley	0	Dallas, TX
October 14, 1944	Wiley	28	Prairie View A&M	0	Dallas, TX
October 15, 1945	Wiley	35	Prairie View A&M	7	Marshall, TX
October 14, 1946	Wiley	19	Prairie View A&M	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	Marshall, TX
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 21, 1972	Prairie View A&M	14	Bishop	10	Prairie View, TX
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	?
September 10, 1977	East Texas State	38	Prairie View A&M	10	Dallas, TX
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	Prairie View, TX
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

References

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External links

↑ The Chicago Defender "Wiley and Langston Battle Hard, But Neither Scores" 31 October 1925 page 9
↑ The Chicago Defender "Wiley and Prairie View Ready" 19 October 1929 page 9
↑ http://swastatefairclassic.com/?page_id=13
↑ http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/other-colleges/20140922-grambling-heads-into-saturday-s-state-fair-classic-with-two-important-weapons.ece
↑ http://pvpanthers.com/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=2569

[1] The Chicago Defender "Wiley and Langston Battle Hard, But Neither Scores" 31 October 1925 page 9

[2] The Chicago Defender "Wiley and Prairie View Ready" 19 October 1929 page 9

[3] ttp://swastatefairclassic.com/?page_id=13

[4] ttp://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/other-colleges/20140922-grambling-heads-into-saturday-s-state-fair-classic-with-two-important-weapons.ece

[5] ttp://pvpanthers.com/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=2569

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v t e Grambling State Tigers football
Venues	Grambling Stadium (?–1981) Eddie Robinson Stadium (1983–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Bayou Classic (Southern) State Fair Classic (Prairie View A&M)
Culture & lore	Tiger Marching Band Grambling's White Tiger
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
National Championship seasons in bold

v t e Prairie View A&M Panthers football
Venues	Edward L. Blackshear Field (1960–present)
Bowls & rivalries	State Fair Classic (Grambling State)
Culture & lore	Marching Bands Brawl
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Southwestern Athletic Conference football rivalries
Conference	Bayou Classic (Grambling State–Southern) Boombox Classic (Jackson State–Southern) Magic City Classic (Alabama A&M–Alabama State) State Fair Classic (Grambling State–Prairie View A&M)
Non-conference	Southern Heritage Classic (Jackson State–Tennessee State) Turkey Day Classic (Alabama State–Tuskegee)

State Fair Classic

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