Turkey Day Classic

The Turkey Day Classic is a college football game, traditionally held annually on Thanksgiving Day.[1] Originally, it was played between Alabama State University and Tuskegee University, two historically black universities.[2] The game was originally played in Montgomery, Alabama's Cramton Bowl, but relocated to Alabama State's new Hornet Stadium in 2012.[3][4] The game is one of two black college football classics to be associated with Thanksgiving weekend; the other is the younger, but more widely known, Bayou Classic, held two days later. The game was no longer played because Alabama State University got tired of getting embarrassed by Tuskegee University, so ASU decided to start playing Tuskegee University on Labor Day Weekend. Not many people were coming to ASU's football games during the years that the school didnt play Tuskegee University, so ASU begged Tuskegee University to come back on the schedule. Because Tuskegee University agreed to play ASU again,folks started coming to ASUs games, but only the Labor Day Classic

Turkey Day Classic
Turkey Day Classic
Hornet Homecoming
StadiumHornet Stadium
LocationMontgomery, Alabama
Operated1924–present
2019 matchup
Prairie View A&M 20, Alabama State 17
2021 matchup
Alabama State vs. TBA

The game fell into a category of classics that feature two rival teams playing each year. The activities surrounding the game take place over several weeks in the downtown of Montgomery, and include parades, parties, and the like.[5] Many classics feature activities and events like golfing, pageants, and tailgating. Alabama State hosts a parade and combines its homecoming with the Turkey Day Classic.[6]

History

The 1924 game was the first in the series and it is considered the first black college football classic.[7] Tuskegee refused tournament slots for the NCAA Division II National Football Championship because the Division II playoffs conflict with the Turkey Day Classic; the Golden Tigers program did this even in successful seasons where it has qualified and earned high playoff seeding. From 1998 to 2009, Tuskegee participated in the Pioneer Bowl, representing its conference nine times in the 11 Pioneer Bowls in that span and winning eight.[8] Similarly, Alabama State and other Southwestern Athletic Conference members opt out of contention for the NCAA Division I Football Championship; this accommodates the Turkey Day Classic, the Bayou Classic in New Orleans, any weather-related reschedulings (such as the 2017 Labor Day Classic) and, during the game's existence, the SWAC Championship Game. SWAC members instead contend for the Celebration Bowl.

Beginning in 2013, Tuskegee withdrew from the contest due to playoff considerations beginning that year. Tuskegee's opting into the playoffs forced the cancellation of the Pioneer Bowl, but the Turkey Day Classic continued, with Stillman College serving as the opponent.

In 2014, Alabama State announced it was officially discontinuing the Turkey Day Classic in order to give itself the option of participating in the Division I championship, should it qualify. For two years, the college held its homecoming on the penultimate Saturday of November; that is, the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Stillman College remained the Hornets' opponent for 2014.[9]

In August 2015, it was announced that the Alabama State-Tuskegee rivalry was to resume in 2017, with these games being held in early September and nicknamed the Labor Day Classic (ambiguously, since another black college football rivalry and Canadian college and professional football Labour Day games also use the name). For the 2015 season, Miles College participated in the November Hornet Homecoming.[10]

In March 2016, it was announced that the Turkey Day Classic would return to its traditional date of Thanksgiving Day, with Miles College returning as Alabama State's opponent.[11] For the 2017 Turkey Day Classic, Alabama State was originally scheduled to host Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, a team it had never faced before, but Cheyney backed out of the contest two weeks beforehand and suspended its football program indefinitely[12] due to the school's ongoing financial problems.[13] Edward Waters College, an NAIA squad whom Alabama State had played once before in its history, agreed to take Cheyney's place on short notice.

The 2018 Turkey Day Classic will be contested by a conference rival, Mississippi Valley State University; that university, which won the 1971 contest, had been the only team other than Tuskegee or Alabama State to win the Turkey Day Classic in its history. The move was made in an effort to boost falling attendance and attention for the event, which had failed to sell out the games against other D-II and NAIA opponents.[14] (The strategy was unsuccessful, as attendance continued to fall, and the game went untelevised, as ESPN, the game's previous telecaster, declined to carry the game on any of its outlets.)

The 2019 game featured Prairie View A&M, another division rival, as the Hornets' Thanksgiving Day opponent; the Panthers became the second team other than Tuskegee or Alabama State to win with its 20–17 win over the Hornets.

As with many sports in the United States in 2020, no Turkey Day Classic was scheduled that year, since Alabama State's conference, the SWAC, opted not to play their fall 2020 season as a preemptive measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Game results
Date Winning team Losing team Location
November 15, 1924 Tuskegee28Alabama State7 Montgomery, AL
1925 Tuskegee14Alabama State0 Montgomery, AL
November 6, 1926 Tuskegee14Alabama State7 Montgomery, AL
December 3, 1927 Alabama State0Tuskegee0 Montgomery, AL
November 24, 1928 Alabama State6Tuskegee6 Montgomery, AL
November 23, 1929 Tuskegee20Alabama State0 Montgomery, AL
November 22, 1930 Tuskegee32Alabama State0 Montgomery, AL
November 21, 1931 Tuskegee32Alabama State7 Montgomery, AL
November 24, 1932 Tuskegee7Alabama State0 Montgomery, AL
November 30, 1933 Tuskegee14Alabama State7 Montgomery, AL
November 29, 1934 Alabama State6Tuskegee2 Montgomery, AL
November 28, 1935 Alabama State3Tuskegee0 Montgomery, AL
November 26, 1936 Tuskegee6Alabama State0 Montgomery, AL
November 25, 1937 Tuskegee14Alabama State0 Montgomery, AL
November 24, 1938 Alabama State26Tuskegee0 Montgomery, AL
November 30, 1939 Tuskegee6Alabama State0 Montgomery, AL
November 28, 1940 Alabama State31Tuskegee12 Montgomery, AL
November 20, 1941 Tuskegee33Alabama State6 Montgomery, AL
November 23, 1942 Tuskegee25Alabama State0 Montgomery, AL
November 25, 1943 Tuskegee19Alabama State13 Montgomery, AL
1944 Tuskegee32Alabama State12 Montgomery, AL
1945 Tuskegee26Alabama State0 Montgomery, AL
November 28, 1946 Tuskegee26Alabama State14 Montgomery, AL
November 27, 1947 Alabama State26Tuskegee26 Montgomery, AL
November 25, 1948 Tuskegee15Alabama State0 Tuskegee, AL
November 24, 1949 Tuskegee20Alabama State19 Montgomery, AL
November 23, 1950 Tuskegee15Alabama State0 Montgomery, AL
November 22, 1951 Tuskegee26Alabama State13 Montgomery, AL
November 27, 1952 Alabama State28Tuskegee13 Montgomery, AL
November 26, 1953 Alabama State6Tuskegee2 Montgomery, AL
November 25, 1954 Alabama State23Tuskegee2 Montgomery, AL
November 24, 1955 Alabama State19Tuskegee13 Montgomery, AL
November 22, 1956 Tuskegee19Alabama State13 Montgomery, AL
1957 Alabama State13Tuskegee7 Montgomery, AL
November 27, 1958 Tuskegee24Alabama State20 Montgomery, AL
November 26, 1959 Alabama State22Tuskegee20 Montgomery, AL
November 24, 1960 Tuskegee12Alabama State8 Montgomery, AL
November 23, 1961 Tuskegee19Alabama State8 Montgomery, AL
November 22, 1962 Tuskegee42Alabama State0 Montgomery, AL
November 28, 1963 Tuskegee3Alabama State0 Montgomery, AL
November 26, 1964 Alabama State19Tuskegee11 Montgomery, AL
November 25, 1965 Alabama State20Tuskegee12 Montgomery, AL
November 24, 1966 Alabama State35Tuskegee14 Montgomery, AL
November 23, 1967 Tuskegee21Alabama State8 Montgomery, AL
November 28, 1968 Tuskegee23Alabama State21 Montgomery, AL
November 27, 1969 Tuskegee28Alabama State14 Montgomery, AL
November 25, 1970 Tuskegee34Alabama State20 Montgomery, AL
November 28, 1971 Mississippi Valley State10Alabama State7 Montgomery, AL
December 2, 1972 Tuskegee10Alabama State0 Montgomery, AL
December 1, 1973 Tuskegee22Alabama State15 Montgomery, AL
December 7, 1974 Tuskegee28Alabama State7 Montgomery, AL
November 27, 1975 Alabama State37Tuskegee21 Montgomery, AL
November 25, 1976 Alabama State29Tuskegee14 Montgomery, AL
November 22, 1977 Alabama State13Tuskegee7 Montgomery, AL
November 25, 1978 Alabama State15Tuskegee0 Montgomery, AL
November 22, 1979 Alabama State20Tuskegee6 Montgomery, AL
November 27, 1980 Alabama State14Tuskegee7 Montgomery, AL
November 26, 1981 Tuskegee14Alabama State3 Montgomery, AL
November 25, 1982 Tuskegee14Alabama State13 Tuskegee, AL
November 24, 1983 Alabama State13Tuskegee3 Montgomery, AL
November 22, 1984 Alabama State31Tuskegee8 Montgomery, AL
November 28, 1985 Alabama State21Tuskegee0 Montgomery, AL
November 27, 1986 Alabama State21Clark Atlanta6 Montgomery, AL
November 26, 1987 Alabama State21Johnson C. Smith3 Montgomery, AL
November 24, 1988 Alabama State17Tuskegee0 Montgomery, AL
November 23, 1989 Alabama State26Tuskegee20 Montgomery, AL
November 22, 1990 Alabama State49Tuskegee7 Montgomery, AL
November 28, 1991 Alabama State62Johnson C. Smith6 Montgomery, AL
November 26, 1992 Alabama State17Fayetteville State14 Montgomery, AL
November 25, 1993 Alabama State31Tuskegee30 Montgomery, AL
November 24, 1994 Alabama State37Tuskegee35 Montgomery, AL
November 24, 1995 Alabama State58Tuskegee20 Montgomery, AL
November 28, 1996 Tuskegee21Alabama State14 Montgomery, AL
November 27, 1997 Tuskegee21Alabama State16 Montgomery, AL
November 26, 1998 Alabama State27Tuskegee7 Montgomery, AL
November 25, 1999 Tuskegee37Alabama State34 Montgomery, AL
November 23, 2000 Tuskegee28Alabama State27 Montgomery, AL
November 22, 2001 Tuskegee31Alabama State27 Montgomery, AL
November 28, 2002 Tuskegee25Alabama State20 Montgomery, AL
November 27, 2003 Alabama State48Tuskegee28 Montgomery, AL
November 25, 2004 Tuskegee27Alabama State17 Montgomery, AL
November 24, 2005 Tuskegee28Alabama State27 Montgomery, AL
November 23, 2006 Tuskegee17Alabama State10 Montgomery, AL
November 22, 2007 Tuskegee64Alabama State58 Montgomery, AL
November 27, 2008 Alabama State17Tuskegee13 Montgomery, AL
November 26, 2009 Tuskegee21Alabama State0 Montgomery, AL
November 25, 2010 Tuskegee17Alabama State10 Montgomery, AL
November 24, 2011 Alabama State30Tuskegee21 Montgomery, AL
November 22, 2012 Tuskegee27Alabama State25 Montgomery, AL
November 28, 2013 Alabama State41Stillman28 Montgomery, AL
November 22, 2014 Alabama State30Stillman27 Montgomery, AL
November 21, 2015 Alabama State26Miles College7 Montgomery, AL
November 24, 2016 Alabama State53Miles College20 Montgomery, AL
November 23, 2017 Alabama State37Edward Waters College3 Montgomery, AL
November 22, 2018 Alabama State31*Mississippi Valley State24 Montgomery, AL
November 28, 2019 Prairie View A&M20Alabama State17 Montgomery, AL

(*) Game was decided in overtime

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See also

References
  1. Timmermann, Tom (2009-09-26), "Tuskegee Opens Long Road Trip at Gateway Classic", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, archived from the original on 2009-09-28, retrieved 2009-10-22
  2. Cunningham, Jonathon (2006-11-16), "Big Classic: Orlando's About to Go off the Chain", Orlando Weekly, retrieved 2009-10-22
  3. "There's Plenty in the Area to See and Do", Montgomery Advertiser, 2009-10-22, retrieved 2009-10-22
  4. Willingham, Leo (2008-11-18), "Tuskegee Still No. 1, Big Classic Weekend", The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, retrieved 2009-10-22
  5. Nettles, Adrienne (2009-11-23), "Turkey Day Classic Festivities March into Downtown", Montgomery Advertiser, retrieved 2009-11-24
  6. Watkins, Gabrielle; Moore, Leslie; Stewart, Ashley (2009-11-22), "Thanksgiving Holiday Traditions", The Famuan, archived from the original on 2011-07-16, retrieved 2009-11-24
  7. Barnidge, Noell (2006-10-11), "Classics an Integral Part of Black College Football", Savannah Morning News, archived from the original on 2007-12-08, retrieved 2009-10-22
  8. Perrin, Mike (2008-11-01), "Pioneer Bowl Suspended for 2008; Nowhere for Tuskegee to Go", The Birmingham News, retrieved 2009-10-22
  9. Birdsong, Nick (March 4, 2014). Turkey Day Classic won't be held on Thanksgiving. AL.com. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  10. Alabama State, Tuskegee to renew football rivalry in 2017
  11. ASU's Turkey Day Classic 2016 returns to Thanksgiving Day
  12. http://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/03/cheyney_university_drops_ncaa.html
  13. http://www.phillytrib.com/news/cheyney-pulls-out-of-turkey-day-classic-due-to-finances/article_1e929dfd-0784-5e54-8550-e69f784eca60.html
  14. https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/alabama-state/2018/03/27/alabama-state-hornets-face-mississippi-valley-state-turkey-day-classic/462437002/
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