Dallas welcomes Prairie View A&M, Grambling State football to State Fair of Texas

Rides, food tents and many other attractions remain dormant as workers finish preparing for the State Fair of Texas, which opens Friday. There was plenty of fanfare inside the Cotton Bowl on Monday morning, however, as city and fair representatives welcomed the athletic directors and head football coaches of Prairie View A&M and Grambling State at a news conference ahead of their annual showdown in Saturday’s State Fair Classic.

First contested between two historically Black colleges and universities in 1925, Prairie View and Grambling have faced off in all but two seasons since 1985. Known for its halftime “battle of the bands” and pregame concert — Cee Lo Green and R&B singer Chrisette Michele this year — the game features two programs that claim 20 Black college national championships and 40 Southwestern Athletic Conference titles between them.

With former Dallas County treasurer and Cowboys stadium announcer Bill Melton playing the role of MC, the party was quickly underway with dueling performances from both schools’ cheer squads. Both coaches, Prairie View’s Bubba McDowell and Grambling State’s Hue Jackson, exchanged good-natured barbs and led chants among a small crowd of school representatives and fans, who playfully cheered and booed throughout the proceedings.

Grambling State athletic director Dr. Trayvean Scott thanked several organizations, including the Dallas Sports Commission and Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins, for “the opportunity to exhibit Black excellence.”

“These are two great institutions,” he said. “Obviously, one’s better than the other.”

Prairie View has won the last five meetings, including a 34-14 victory last October.

City council member Adam Bazaldua (District 7) acknowledged that the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma, played the Saturday following the State Fair Classic, typically dominates the headlines.

“But this one, I think, is much closer to home here in the city of Dallas,” Bazaldua said.

He and every speaker thanked ALW Entertainment founder Al Wash, who has helped promote the game for 45 years after befriending College Football Hall of Famer Eddie Robinson, Grambling’s head coach for over 50 years. Wash said he expects a crowd of about 65,000 on Saturday after almost 54,000 came to last year’s game.

Jackson, the former Cleveland Browns head coach who is in his second year at Grambling, said he’d remember last year’s game for the rest of his life.

He also noted the event’s importance to recruiting, both for his program and Grambling’s general student population. Several of his players hail from the Dallas area, including Keilon Elder (Duncanville), Codie Hornsby (Skyline), Touray Green (Allen), Markeis Sykes (Lancaster) and Lane Lewis (Allen).

There’s even more D-FW representation on Prairie View’s roster, including Stacy Brown (Duncanville), Trazon Connley (Duncanville), Braylon Monroe (Mesquite Horn), Jackson Bailey (Red Oak), Donald Thompson, III (Crowley), Arrington Taylor (South Oak Cliff), Chans Jones (Bishop Dunne), Caden Bowers (North Mesquite), Ellis Rogers (Garland), Jamal Marshall (Kennedale) and Kace Williams (Carter).

“Dallas is our second-largest alumni base and donor base for us,” Prairie View athletic director Anton Goff said, “so any time we’re able to come up to the Dallas area is a plus for us.”

Both athletic directors and coaches also praised Colorado coach and former Cowboys star Deion Sanders for bringing attention to HBCUs and providing a blueprint for success during his three years at Jackson State.

Grambling’s Jackson said HBCUs should capitalize on the momentum by embracing the other big phenomenon sweeping college football — conference realignment.

“It’s time for us to look and see, ‘What can we do to come together and provide and create a conference that no one’s ever seen before?’ ” he said. “Why not? Everybody else is doing it.”

For now, Saturday should provide enough of a spectacle.

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