Grambling State University Athletics

HISTORY OF THE STATE FAIR CLASSIC
 

The State Fair Classic is an annual college football game between the Grambling State University Tigers and the Prairie View A&M University Panthers. 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 Oklahoma–Texas Red River Showdown game.
 
The 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. Both teams met four consecutive years in Dallas before Prairie View replaced Langston in 1929. 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.
 
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 A&M 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 1985 (the Panthers' series with Grambling State 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 State and Elizabeth City State. Even though Prairie View brought football back in 1991, that year Grambling State 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.
 

STATE FAIR CLASSIC OFFICIAL WEBSITE

 

STATE FAIR CLASSIC RESULTS

 

DATE	LOCATION	GRAMBLING STATE	OPPONENT	WINNER
October 5, 1985	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 27	Prairie View A&M 7	GRAMBLING STATE
October 4, 1986	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 19	Prairie View A&M 24	PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
October 3, 1987	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 28	Prairie View A&M 7	GRAMBLING STATE
October 1, 1988	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 40	Prairie View A&M 14	GRAMBLING STATE
September 30, 1989	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 49	Prairie View A&M 0	GRAMBLING STATE
September 29, 1990	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 67	Elizabeth City State 3	GRAMBLING STATE
September 28, 1991	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 12	North Carolina A&T State 28	NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE
October 3, 1992	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 63	Prairie View A&M 3	GRAMBLING STATE
October 2, 1991	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 49	Prairie View A&M 0	GRAMBLING STATE
October 1, 1994	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 66	Prairie View A&M 0	GRAMBLING STATE
September 30, 1995	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 64	Prairie View A&M 0	GRAMBLING STATE
September 28, 1996	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 54	Prairie View A&M 12	GRAMBLING STATE
October 4, 1997	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 33	Prairie View A&M 6	GRAMBLING STATE
October 3, 1998	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 55	Prairie View A&M 40	GRAMBLING STATE
October 2, 1999	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 47	Prairie View A&M 19	GRAMBLING STATE
September 30, 2000	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 47	Prairie View A&M 7	GRAMBLING STATE
September 29, 2001	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 40	Prairie View A&M 6	GRAMBLING STATE
October 5, 2002	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 35	Prairie View A&M 13	GRAMBLING STATE
October 4, 2003	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 65	Prairie View A&M 7	GRAMBLING STATE
October 2, 2004	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 53	Prairie View A&M 32	GRAMBLING STATE
October 1, 2005	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 50	Prairie View A&M 7	GRAMBLING STATE
September 30, 2006	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 53	Prairie View A&M 7	GRAMBLING STATE
September 29, 2007	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 17	Prairie View A&M 14	GRAMBLING STATE
October 4, 2008	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 40	Prairie View A&M 16	GRAMBLING STATE
October 3, 2009	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 32	Prairie View A&M 35	PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
September 25, 2010	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 34	Prairie View A&M 17	GRAMBLING STATE
October 1, 2011	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 23	Prairie View A&M 31	PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
October 6, 2012	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 14	Prairie View A&M 31	PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
October 5, 2013	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 3	Prairie View A&M 31	PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
September 27, 2014	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 26	Prairie View A&M 20	GRAMBLING STATE
September 26, 2015	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 70	Prairie View A&M 54	GRAMBLING STATE
October 1, 2016	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 36	Prairie View A&M 16	GRAMBLING STATE
October 7, 2017	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 34	Prairie View A&M 21	GRAMBLING STATE
September 29, 2018	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 16	Prairie View A&M 22	PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
September 28, 2019	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 36	Prairie View A&M 42	PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
March 13, 2021	Arlington, Texas - Globe Life Park	Grambling State 10	Prairie View A&M 17	PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
September 25, 2021	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 10	Prairie View A&M 24	PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
October 1, 2022	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 14	Prairie View A&M 34	PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
September 30, 2023	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 35	Prairie View A&M 20	GRAMBLING STATE
September 28, 2024	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 34	Prairie View A&M 36 (5OT)	PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
September 27, 2025	Dallas, Texas - The Cotton Bowl	Grambling State 13	Prairie View A&M 28	PRAIRIE VIEW A&M