Bayou Classic: The Mecca of Black College Football

Just got back from the 35th Bayou Classic and I need at least a day to recover. We drove from Dallas to my sister’s house in Beaumont, Texas Thanksgiving night (five hours). We got up early Friday morning for another 3 hours on the road. The check-in line at the Hilton was LOOOOOONG. There were a few Southernites in the crowd but it was plain to see this was a Grambling place. My sister made reservations for 2 rooms and with that many people you know there has to be some mistakes. They only had us down for one room. They finally found another room but it was for Friday only.

We settled in and then went to lunch at one of New Orleans landmark eating places Mothers. It was crowded but the food was great. We went back to the hotel and mingled for a few minutes then headed for the Battle of the Bands and step show. We decided to walk the approximately eight blocks instead of sitting in the traffic. It only took about 45 minutes (stopping at all the vendor booths – there was almost as much Obama stuff as there was Grambling and Southern stuff).

The step show was awesome. The Battle of the Bands was a little disappointing. I was expecting the bands to march on the field; instead they played while standing in place. They alternated songs and between the two played all the current hits. Southern played the loudest because they have a larger band and they have more brass instruments, but you can hear all the instruments when Grambling played and they had more variety. Southern played more to the younger crowd, while Grambling played it all - some old school and even a gospel song. They alternate each year on the home team, but Southern is always the home team with the bigger crowd (they are only about an hour from home while Grambling is about four hours away).

We then spent a couple hours on Bourbon Street and went back to the hotel. Saturday we went to the Grambling Alumni Breakfast and moved to the Marriot Courtyard. They should call it homecoming because you see people you haven’t seen in years. We decided to take a taxi since it was raining. While we were waiting in the lobby my cousin was checking in (homecoming). At the game I met friends that I haven't seen in over 20 years.

Oh yeah, they did play a game. Southern took (or should I say was given a 14 point lead – that home field thing was blatant). But the G-men ran off 29 unanswered points and won 29-14 to clinch a spot in the Southwestern Athletic Conference title game against Jackson State in Birmingham, Alabama on December 13. And Grambling won the halftime show also with Southern committing the marching band sin of placing their horns on the ground to dance.

Grambling State University

Continuing on with the list of historically Black colleges and universities here is what is commonly known as “the Black Norte Dame”.

Grambling State University is a public, coeducational university, which is among the Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. Located in Grambling, Louisiana, Grambling State was founded in 1901 and accredited in 1949. The GSU motto is “Where Everybody Is Somebody”.

Grambling State University emerged from the desire of Black farmers in rural north Louisiana who wanted to educate other Blacks in the northern and western parts of the state. In 1896, the North Louisiana Colored Agriculture Relief Association was formed to organize and operate a school. After opening a small school west of what is now the town of Grambling, the Association requested assistance from Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Charles P. Adams, sent to aid the group in organizing an industrial school, became its founder and first president. Under Adams’ leadership, the Colored Industrial and Agricultural School opened on November 1, 1901. Four years later, the school moved to its present location and was renamed the North Louisiana Agricultural and Industrial School. By 1928, the school was able to offer two-year professional certificates and diplomas after becoming a state junior college. The school was renamed Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute.

In 1936, the program was reorganized to emphasize rural education. It became known as "The Louisiana Plan" or "A Venture in Rural Teacher Education." Professional teaching certificates were awarded when a third year was added in 1936, and the first baccalaureate degree was awarded in 1944 in elementary education. The institution’s name was changed to Grambling College in 1946 in honor of a White sawmill owner, P.G. Grambling, who donated a parcel of land for the school. Thereafter, the college prepared secondary teachers and added curricula in sciences, liberal arts and business. With these programs in effect, the school was transformed from a single purpose institution of teacher education into a multipurpose college. In 1949, the college was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). In 1974, the addition of graduate programs in early childhood and elementary education gave the school a new status and a new name – Grambling State University.

From 1977 to 2000, the university grew and prospered. Several new academic programs were incorporated and new facilities were added to the 384-acre campus, including a business and computer science building, school of nursing, student services building, new stadium, stadium support facility and an intramural sports center. In a renewed emphasis of its commitment toward modernized university facilities, student housing and sustained scholarship support, Grambling State University kicked off a Comprehensive Capital Campaign, November 24, 2007 with the goal of raising $30 million over the next five to seven years. GSU students were among the first to contribute to the campaign with their contribution of a $1 million scholarship endowment to forge sustained financial support for academic programs. Their endowment was made by a $500,000 contribution which will be matched dollar for dollar and used for need based scholarships.

Following the first university president Charles P. Adams, in 1936, the school’s longest serving and most noted president, Dr. Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones, became the second president who served until 1977.

Currently, the GSU Department of Athletics sponsors men's intercollegiate football and baseball along with men's and women's basketball, track & field, softball, golf, soccer, tennis, bowling and volleyball. GSU is best known for its world famous football and marching band programs. At the time of his retirement in 1997, Coach Eddie Robinson held the NCAA record for most career wins as a head coach in college football. During his stellar 57-year career Coach Rob sent over 100 G-Men to the National Football League (NFL) and many more to the Canadian Football League (CFL) causing the school to gain a national reputation. After Robinson’s retirement in 1997, former GSU standout and NFL Super Bowl XXII MVP Doug Williams took over the reins of the University's football program. Grambling has won thirteen Black college national championships, more than any other HBCU school. The Tigers sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (I-AA for football) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The school colors are Black and Gold. Grambling State plays its arch rival Southern University in the annual "Bayou Classic," in New Orleans over Thanksgiving weekend at the Louisiana Superdome and broadcast nationally on NBC.

Composer Sam Spence wrote an instrumental piece for NFL Films entitled "Ramblin' Man from Gramblin,'" acknowledging both the University as well as the Bob Seger song "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man".

Since the arrival of the late great Conrad Hutchinson in 1952, the Tiger Marching Band has performed all around the world, from Tokyo, Japan to Monrovia, Liberia; in movies, TV commercials, TV shows, numerous Super Bowls, NBA games, albums, etc.

• Since the early 1960s the “famed band from Tiger Land” has performed in nearly every major stadium in the U.S.
• Performed at Super Bowl I.
• Performed at the inauguration of Liberian President William Tolbert.
• Performed at the U.S.’s bicentennial celebration in Washington, D.C.
• President Bill Clinton performed with the band for a halftime show in Grambling, Louisiana and gave Grambling State's Marching Band the undisputed title of "The Best Band in the Land!"
• The Tiger Marching Band has an average of 250 students with a grade points average of 3.00 or more each year.
• The Tiger Marching Band — along with GSU's female dance troupe, "The Orchesis Dance Company" — was featured in a nationally televised commercial as part of Procter & Gamble's "Tampax Was There" marketing campaign.
• In 1998, the band was featured in Super Bowl XXXII, alongside Boyz II Men, Martha Reeves, and Smokey Robinson.
• The band appeared in "Marching Band/Coke Is It," an award-winning commercial developed for Coca-Cola USA.
• The band also performed in the Hollywood films Grambling's White Tiger (1981), and Drumline (2002).
• In the 118th Tournament of Roses Parade, Grambling State's marching band was the marching band in the Star Wars Spectacular, in which all members were wearing Imperial officer uniforms.
• The band was in the inaugural parade for President George W. Bush.

In 2006, Grambling State was the setting for the Black Entertainment Television network docudrama "Season of the Tiger," which chronicled the daily lives of members of the football team and marching band throughout the 2005 season.

Notable alumni include Willis Reed, NBA Hall of Famer; Erica Abi Wright (better know by her stage name Erykah Badu); Doug Williams, NFL Super Bowl XXII MVP; Ronnie Coleman, 8 time Mr. Olympia winner; actress Natalie Desselle-Reid; and a list of who’s who in the NFL including Hall of Famers Buck Buchanan and Willie Davis.

Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)

Each week we will highlight an HBCU school and we begin with:
Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University

Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, also known as Alabama A&M University or AAMU, is a public, coeducational school located in Normal, Huntsville. It was established in 1875. AAMU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. Dr. Beverly Edmond is the interim president. The school has an enrollment of 6,047 of which 1,000 are postgraduates.

School History:
1873: Alabama State Legislature pass bill for establishment of the "Colored Normal School at Huntsville"; to be devoted to the education of Black teachers.
1875: William Hooper Councill founded Alabama A&M University. May 1, school at Huntsville opened with 61 pupils, and two teachers.
1881: Moved to first school-owned property on West Clinton Street.
1882: Shop courses introduced into curriculum (e.g., carpentry, printing, mattress-making, horticulture, sewing, etc.)
1885: Name changed to State Normal and Industrial School of Huntsville.
1890: Students numbered 300; teachers, 11. School site became known as Normal, Alabama. Students were called "Normalites."
1891: the present site of 182.73 acres was purchased. The school expanded to include agriculture and home economics; Palmer and Seay Halls were built with student labor.
1893: First night school was held. First alumni meeting held.
1894: Trade education diplomas authorized. First trade certificates were awarded.
1896: Name changed to The State Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes.
1901: First honorary degree awarded.
1903: Blues great W.C. Handy resigns as band director.
1909: School's motto, "Service is Sovereignty," introduced;
1910: American football began.
1912: First baseball game.
1927: Joseph Fanning Drake becomes president and institutes a massive building program.
1939: State Board of Education gives authority to offer course work on the senior college level.
1949: Name changed to Alabama A&M College.
1963: AAMU becomes fully accredited. Intercollegiate soccer began.
1969: Name changed to Alabama A&M University.
1977: Volleyball for women began.
1981: Desegregation case began.
1985: AAMU signs memorandum of understanding with Kansas State University/USAID.
1986: Former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm addressed "Women's Week" activities. University announced approval of Ph.D. program in physics. Department of Mathematics received NASA research grant.
1992: First AAMU Athletic Hall of Fame induction held.
1994: First Black American Ph.D. recipients in physics.
1995: Master of Social Work Program accepts first students.
1996: Football returns to campus at the new $10 Million Louis Crews Stadium.
1997: Patrick Grayson makes USA Today All-USA Academic First Team. Filmmaker Spike Lee visits. AAMU joins Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
1999: AAMU Research Institute started.
2001: AAMU’s fundraising efforts earn it the distinction of lead institution in the Tom Joyner Foundation/HBCU program.
2003: New School of Engineering and Technology Building opens for classes in January. Fourth doctoral program in Reading/Literacy announced. AAMU researchers study volcanic ash in Montserrat. Normalite Ruben Studdard named “American Idol.”
2005: The men's basketball team won its first SWAC regular season and tournament Championship.
2006: The football team won its first SWAC Championship.
2007: The Alabama A&M University Choir became the first HBCU Choir to be invited to attend the American Choral Festival in Germany
On January 2, 2006 the Alabama A&M University marching band, known as the Marching Maroon and White-Showband of the South, marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade. In May 2008, the Alabama A&M University Choir was slated to participate in the American Choral Music Festival in Leipzig, Germany.
Alabama A&M University is the licensee for National Public Radio affiliate station WJAB-FM 90.9, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week on campus.

The first library on the campus was built with funds from the Carnegie Foundation in 1904 for $12,000, and was named for its benefactor, Andrew Carnegie. In the 1940s, it was remodeled at a cost of $70,000. The library was two stories tall, and with a little over 4,000 square feet; it served several purposes and housed the offices of the President, Business Manager and Treasurer, Home and Farm Demonstration Agents, the U.S. Post Office at Normal, and on the second floor, living quarters for male faculty.
In 1931, Lucille A. Love, a graduate of the Library School at Hampton Institute, became the first professional librarian.
In 1947, the library was enlarged 5,000 square feet, which reflected the college's growth. So rapid was the college's student growth that they even outgrew the nearly 10,000 square foot library, and in 1962, a new Reference Annex was added. In January 1968, a new 60,000 square foot library was completed and occupied and was named in honor of Dr. Drake. It was designed to house 300,000 volumes and 1,000 students.
In 1972, the Educational Media Center and the Library merged to form the Learning Resources Center, which incorporates interactive and multi-media.
In 2002 the competition of the latest renovation saw the [LRC] become a 75,000 square-foot structure now housing over 400,000 volumes, digital research sources and other student oriented services.

Famous Alumni
Howard Ballard - former National Football League right tackle for the Buffalo Bills; 2 time Pro-Bowler; 4 time Super Bowler.
Cleon Jones - former Major League Baseball player
Brick Haley - Defensive line coach for the Chicago Bears.
John Stallworth - National Football League Hall Of Famer & former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and four time Pro-Bowler
Ruben Studdard - American Idol winner
Barry Wagner - Arena Football League wide receiver for the San Jose SaberCats & Orlando Predators; set many Alabama A&M school football records
Robert Mathis - current National Football League Defensive End

Quarterback Steve McNair retires after 13 seasons

Steve McNair worked hard during the off-season and arrived at minicamp ready to assume his role as the starting quarterback. His body had other plans. Ending a 13-year career, McNair announced his retirement Thursday. Some of his highlights include being selected co-MVP in 2003, leading the Tennessee Titans to the Super Bowl and orchestrating the most successful regular season in Baltimore Ravens history. He received a standing ovation from his teammates after revealing his decision, then contained his emotions during a hastily arranged news conference. "In your mind, you feel like you can play, that you can still compete”, he said. “But when your mind and your body are not in accord, it’s not going to work in the National Football League.” The 35-year-old McNair guided the Ravens to a franchise-best 13-3 record in 2006, his first season in Baltimore. But he injured his groin during the season opener, developed back and shoulder injuries and played in only six games last season and never regained the form that enabled him to earn a berth in four Pro Bowls. He threw only two touchdown passes, was intercepted four times and lost seven fumbles before being placed on injured reserve in December, ending his most frustrating season in the NFL.

Steve McNair began his career in 1995 with the Houston Oilers, who eventually became the Tennessee Titans. He led the team to four playoff appearances, including the Super Bowl after the 1999 season. He was chosen co-MVP of the league in 2003, sharing the award with Peyton Manning, after throwing for 3,215 yards and 24 touchdowns with only seven interceptions. The highlight of his career might be a five-game stretch at the end of the 2002 season in which the quarterback was banged up so much he could not practice. Yet, he started all five games and led the Titans to wins to finish 11-5 and reach the AFC championship game for the second time in four seasons.

He underwent surgery on his non-throwing shoulder in December and spent much of the past three months getting ready for his 14th NFL season. But McNair had an inkling that all the running and weightlifting might be for naught. "My mind was telling me, ’Yes,’ and my body was like, ’No, what are you doing?’ I came up with (the idea of retiring) two or three days ago, but it’s been lingering ever since December."

Eddie George, who played running back behind McNair in Houston and Tennessee, said, "You name the injury and Steve had it and he still showed up. Not only did he show up, but he showed up and played extremely well. In his MVP year he played most of the year hurt. It is a testament to his willingness to win and how he sacrificed his body for the team." Tennessee’s Jeff Fisher, his coach for most of his career, echoed George’s comments, noting that McNair never wanted anyone to know how badly he was hurt. Baltimore Linebacker Ray Lewis, who had many memorable duels with McNair before the two became teammates, said, "There is no greater warrior or player with a bigger heart than Steve McNair. "He came into this game and gave it everything he had. He now can walk away with his head held high."

Steve McNair retires as one of the most versatile quarterbacks in NFL history. He's just one of three quarterbacks to amass over 30,000 yards passing and more than 3,000 yards rushing. The other two were Fran Tarkenton and Steve Young.

Nick named Air McNair, he was originally drafted by the Houston Oilers third overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. He played college football at Alcorn State University a historically Black university which competes in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), arguably the toughest Black conference in the U. S. which includes nationally known schools such as Grambling State, Jackson State, and Southern Universities. Many major colleges recruited McNair to play defensive back, but Alcorn was one of the few institutions that recruited him to play quarterback. In his senior season (1994), he amassed incredible statistics - throwing for 4,863 yards with 44 touchdowns (thus the nick name Air McNair) and rushing for 936 yards. His 2,387 rushing yards from 1997-2001 made him one of three quarterbacks in NFL history to rush for more than 2,350 yards in a five-season span. Mike Vick had 3,570 from 2002-2006; Randall Cunningham had 3,232 from 1986-1990.

Steve McNair grew up with his mother and four brothers in the rural farming community of Mt. Olive, Mississippi. He married his wife Mechelle in 1997 and has four sons. His cousin, Brandon McDonald, is a cornerback and punt returner for the Cleveland Browns. McNair hosts an annual football camp for children at his alma mater Alcorn State and teaches kids sportsmanship, good role models, and football.