While HBCU football’s newest bowl game gets all the headlines, one of it’s biggest games is undergoing a big change. The Bayou Classic between Southern and Grambling will not be played on NBC Sports Network and not NBC, this year.
Jaguar Fans We are EXCITED to be MOVING @BayouClassic74 to @NBCSportsNet & a NEW KICKOFF TIME 4pm– Roman Banks (@CoachBanks_SU) August 3, 2015
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsThis a big change, as viewers must have cable to watch the game.
Last season’s Bayou Classic, the 40th edition of the rivalry game, drew a rating of .7, according to Sports Media Watch. The game has failed to garner a rating above 1 since 2006.
Conversely, the Nation’s Football Classic in Washington, D.C. will get a TV boost.
The Nation’s Football Classic will air live on ESPNU on September 18. Gametime for the Friday matchup between Howard and Hampton is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Both the Nation’s Classic and the Bayou Classic ranked on our list of must-see 2015 classics.
I recognize that I am referring to two different networks, but do you believe that the moving of the Bayou Classic from NBC to NBC Sports Network has any correlation with the Celebration Bowl being aired nationally on a major network (ABC)? Despite the statistics that you mentioned, I see only one (1) nationally televised HBCU football game on a major network, that being the Celebration Bowl, as if two nationally televised HBCU football games on major networks is too many.