The Bayou Classic- why no basketball

quote:

---

I just watched the Vice Sports show on it. It was pretty solid. In short, that game is huge financially for both schools. This begs the question, why not have the schools play a basketball game in the Smoothie King Center. The season is underway and it could be their opener. Hell, for halftime there could be more "entertainment" from both schools (dance troupes etc.). The bottom line is there is money to be made by cash strapped schools. Just a thought.

---

I don't even think SWAC fans care about basketball. Maybe I'm wrong.

During the early years of the Bayou Classic, there was a basketball game played on Friday night at the Superdome. My memory has faded since then, but I can't recall if SU and Grambling even played one another. I will need to research it, but I believe they each may have played back to back games against teams such as then USL or some other state school. The games were never big crowd draws and eventually were discontinued.

More interest over the years has gone to the "Battle of the Bands" / sorority-fraternity step show, which has drawn as many as 25,000 to the Superdome on that Friday night. I doubt with those type of attendance figures that there will be much of a push to re-introduce SU/Grambling basketball during that weekend.

Good observation by the OP.

You're trying to make too much sense Ballscaster. That would be an excellent idea for that timeframe, if marketed properly. It would help if both Southern and Grambling fill their currently vacant AD positions. :-(

Southern has had a little more success lately with basketball, they've just been crippled by the administration letting them down with crappy record keeping. There are enough decent high school programs around Baton Rouge and Lafayette to provide a recruiting base.

Grambling basketball is the pits. Deadspin did something a couple of years ago about how they were the worst college basketball team around.