State Farm Bayou Classic XXVII Continues Tradition Of Community Building And Black College Football

Dec. 13, 2010 - PRLog -- (New Orleans, LA) -- The 37th Annual State Farm Bayou Classic®  held November 26-27 in New Orleans continued the decades-long tradition of community outreach and college football featuring the Tigers of Grambling State University and the Jaguars of Southern University. Grambling State University now leads the series 19 to 18, having won Saturday’s game 38 to 17. The weekend is expected to have pumped nearly $60 million into the economy, attracting fans from all over the nation to the “Super Bowl” of African-American sporting events, held each year at the Louisiana Superdome.

Photos of the weekend can be viewed here: http://www.fstopphotography.net/Bayou/

KaBOOM! Playground Build The State Farm Bayou Classic was more than just a game. The weekend kicked-off on Friday with the fifth consecutive KaBOOM! playground build at the Intercultural Charter School. In six hours, 266 volunteers including New Orleans native and Actor Wendell Pierce from HBO’s Treme and The Wire, assembled a complete playground consisting of an adventure tube, rock blocks, horizontal loop ladder, crater arch, a twist and shout slide, outdoor classroom and much more.

Super Job and HBCU College Fair
The job and college fair attracted the most-qualified candidates in event history, who impressed both local and national employers. Many high school students in attendance learned about Historically Black Colleges and Universities and were granted waived application fees. Next year, organizers look forward to welcoming even more applicants, employers and educational institutes.

Greek Step Show and Battle of the Bands
The battle of the bands and Greek step show is always a highlight of the weekend. This year, it attracted over 21,000 students, fans and members of fraternities and sororities from each of the black Greek organizations. Both Southern University and Grambling State’s marching bands blew fans away on Friday with soul-infused renditions of today’s popular hits. The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Alpha Tau Chapter of Southern University and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Delta Sigma Chapter of Grambling State University won their respective competitions.

Health Fair and Fan Festival
On Saturday, fans filled the Louisiana Superdome’s Champions Square for a day of concerts, health screenings, vending and great food. Sponsored by the Louisiana AIDS/HIV Program and The Black Barbershop Health Outreach Project, the health fair provided free AIDS/HIV testing to over 260 people, cholesterol and high blood pressure screenings.

The Fan Fest concert was sponsored by WYLD 98.5 and Q 93.3 and included a surprise performance by Lil Wayne and Young Money, also Marsha Ambrosius, Jeremih, Lloyd, Mystical, Sunshine Anderson and more.

The weekend also included a coaches’ luncheon, which honored Grambling State University Alumnus and retired Canadian League player Elfrid Payton and Southern University alumnus and former pro-bowler, Richard “Tombstone” Jackson.

The State Farm Bayou Classic was organized and managed by The Bickerstaff Group, sponsored by State Farm, MillerCoors, Kellogg’s, The Source Magazine, The Coca-Cola Company, United States Marine Corps and broadcasted live on NBC Sports.

Special thanks to New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, New Orleans Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and NBC.

For more information, contact The Bickerstaff Group at 202-363-2375 or visit www.statefarmbayouclassic.com