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State Fair Classic showdown
rises to occasion By Amber Billops
From Wiley Wildcats and Langston Lions to Grambling State Tigers and the Prairie View A&M Panthers, the State Fair Classic has grown tremendously. “We’ve had some up and down years with 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and COVID, but this year is going to be one of our best attended games since pre-Katrina, which was 64,000 people,” said founder of ALW Entertainment, Al Wash. The classic began in 1925 featuring Wiley Wildcats and Langston Lions. Both teams met four consecutive years in Dallas before Prairie View
replaced Langston in 1929. Wiley wasn’t the only college to play Prairie View in the State Fair. The Panthers battled Tennessee State in 1958 and Texas Southern in 1959. After relocating to Dallas in 1961, Bishop College eventually took Wiley’s place in the annual contest in the 43rd classic in 1967. It wasn’t until 1992 that the classic would see the annual PVAMU-GSU showdown. Since 1992, the State Fair Classic is held annually at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas between the Tigers and Panthers of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.