Grambling, LA — The Grambling State Department of Athletics announces the return of one of Black College Football’s greatest rivalries to Shreveport, LA in a two year agreement in which the Tigers will take on the Braves of Alcorn State in the Port City Classic.
Both games will be played Labor Day weekend in 2011 and 2012 at Independence Stadium in Shreveport and will mark the season opener for both programs.
Grambling, ended the 2010 campaign with a 9-2, 8-1 SWAC record and a second place finish in the Southwestern Athletic Conference western division. The Braves, however, finished 5-6, 4-5 SWAC and third in the SWAC’s eastern division.
The 2011 Port City Classic will be “A Family Affair” of sorts as it pits cousins against each other with the return of Doug Williams to the helm of the G-Men against former Tiger Head Coach Melvin Spears now in his first season leading the Braves.
In Williams’s first stint with the Tigers, 1998-2004, he posted a 52-18 record while leading the team to three straight NCAA Division I-AA National Black College and SWAC Championships. Spears posted a 20-14 record in his three years as Grambling head coach and in 2005 led the Tigers to their 21st SWAC title in school history and a Sheridan Broadcasting Network co-national championship.
Grambling and Alcorn last played in Shreveport in 1991 when the Tigers fell 27-22. The G-Men defeated the Braves 38-28 last season in Grambling. In the overall series Grambling holds a 39-17-1 record and have won the last three games against the Braves.
