The Turkey Day Classic is a college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 game, traditionally held annually on Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving (United States)

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...

. It is played between Alabama State University

Alabama State University

Alabama State University, founded 1867, is a historically black university located in Montgomery, Alabama. ASU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.- History :...

 and Tuskegee University

Tuskegee University

Tuskegee University is a private, historically black university located in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...

, two historically black colleges and universities

Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....

. The game is played at the home of Alabama State, in the Cramton Bowl stadium in Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...

. ESPNU

ESPNU

ESPNU is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced by, affiliated with and owned by parent network ESPN. ESPNU originates out of ESPN Regional Television's ESPNU (often referred to as The U) is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced...

 holds broadcast rights to the game. 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

Bayou Classic

The State Farm Bayou Classic is the annual college football game between the Grambling State University Tigers and the Southern University Jaguars, first held under that name in 1974 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, although the series itself actually began in 1936...

, held two days later.

The game falls in 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 such like. Many classics feature activities and events like golfing, pageants, and tailgaiting. Alabama State hosts a parade and combines its homecoming with the Turkey Day Classic.

History

The first Turkey Day Classic, played in 1924, was the first classic ever played. Tuskegee gives up the playoffs, losing its bid for the NCAA Division II National Football Championship

NCAA Division II national football championship

The NCAA Division II National Football Championship began in 1973. Prior to 1973, four regional bowl games were played in order to provide postseason action for what was then called the NCAA College Division and a poll determined the final champion....

, each year because the Division II playoffs conflict with the Turkey Day Classic. Alabama State remains eligible for the Southwestern Athletic Conference

Southwestern Athletic Conference

The Southwestern Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black universities in the Southern United States...

 championship, since the conference does not participate in the NCAA Division I Football Championship both to accommodate them and the two teams in the Bayou Classic.

Alabama State and Tuskegee first played each other in 1901, making this game the oldest black college football classic.