The River Bell Classic is the annual football game between Nicholls State University and Southeastern Louisiana University with the winner being presented with the River Bell Trophy.[1][2][3] The two schools are 94 miles apart. The game played between the rivals[4] began in 1972 and was played annually until 1985 when Southeastern Louisiana dropped its football program.[5][6] It resumed 20 years later in 2005 when football was reinstated by the university.[4]
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| First meeting | September 30, 1972 Southeastern Louisiana 31, Nicholls State 9 |
| Latest meeting | November 16, 2023 Nicholls 21, Southeastern Louisiana 16 |
| Next meeting | November 21, 2024 |
| Trophy | River Bell Trophy |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 34 |
| All-time series | Tied, 17–17 |
| Largest victory | Southeastern Louisiana, 62–3 (2014) |
| Longest win streak | Nicholls State, 7 (1981–2006) |
| Current win streak | Nicholls, 1 (2023–present) |
The River Bell Trophy, which was redesigned for the 2012 contest, is a wooden trophy which has a ship's bell under an arch which reads "River Bell Classic".[4][7] On each side of the bell are the teams' athletic logos with Nicholls on the left and Southeastern Louisiana on the right. Underneath the bell is a plaque surrounded by the yearly victors on each side of the plaque. The trophy was conceived by the Phi Chapter Alumni Association of Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity at Southeastern Louisiana.
Game results
| Nicholls victories | Southeastern Louisiana victories |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | November 19, 2009 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 45–30 | ||||
| 20 | November 18, 2010 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls State | 27–25 | ||||
| 21 | November 17, 2011 | Hammond, LA | Southeastern Louisiana | 31–14 | ||||
| 22 | November 15, 2012 | Thibodaux, LA | Southeastern Louisiana | 35–16 | ||||
| 23 | November 21, 2013 | Hammond, LA | Southeastern Louisiana | 52–27 | ||||
| 24 | November 20, 2014 | Thibodaux, LA | Southeastern Louisiana | 62–3 | ||||
| 25 | November 19, 2015 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 27–24 | ||||
| 26 | November 17, 2016 | Thibodaux, LA | Southeastern Louisiana | 44–42 | ||||
| 27 | November 16, 2017 | Hammond, LA | Southeastern Louisiana | 21–17 | ||||
| 28 | November 15, 2018 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls | 44–0 | ||||
| 29 | November 21, 2019 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls | 28–27 | ||||
| 30 | April 10, 2021 | Thibodaux, LA | Southeastern Louisiana | 52–45 | ||||
| 31 | October 9, 2021 | Thibodaux, LA | Southeastern Louisiana | 58–48 | ||||
| 32 | November 18, 2021 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls | 45–42 | ||||
| 33 | November 17, 2022 | Thibodaux, LA | Southeastern Louisiana | 40–17 | ||||
| 34 | November 16, 2023 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls | 21–16 | ||||
| Series: Tied 17–17 | ||||||||