Southern AD: Bayou Classic will not be played in New Orleans this year

Southern University Athletic Director Roman Banks said Friday during an SU Board of Supervisors meeting that the Bayou Classic football game between Southern and Grambling State will not be played in New Orleans in 2020 and possibly not in 2021.

NEW: @SouthernU_BR’s Athletic Director says @BayouClassic74 will NOT BE IN NEW ORLEANS in 2020 or possibly 2021. Roman Banks said yesterday there will be a #BayouClassic this year. Just not in NOLA; could be at Southern, Independence Stadium in Shreveport or Tiger stadium @wdsu pic.twitter.com/FpAc8CRM1a

— Christina Watkins (@CWatkinsWDSU) June 13, 2020

The reasoning behind the move to take the game out of the city and Superdome appeared to be the coronavirus pandemic as Banks explained it.

Banks mentioned an on-campus option, LSU’s Tiger Stadium and Shreveport’s Independence Stadium as possible sites for the 47th annual Thanksgiving weekend classic SWAC matchup this fall scheduled for Saturday, November 28.

In an interview with The Baton Rouge Advocate in April, Banks said other events surrounding the game such as the annual Battle of the Bands would not be held if the game site was changed.

However, the New Orleans Advocate reported Saturday that the final decision on where this year’s Bayou Classic will be held and if it will even be relocated from the Crescent City has not been officially decided yet.