{{Short description|American college football rivalry}} {{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox sports rivalry | wide = yes | name = River Bell Classic | image = | image_size = | caption = | team1 = Nicholls Colonels | team1logo = Nicholls State Colonels wordmark.svg | team2 = Southeastern Louisiana Lions | team2logo = SLU Lions.png | sport = Football | firstmeeting = September 30, 1972<br />{{nowrap|Southeastern Louisiana 31, Nicholls State 9}} | mostrecent = November 20, 2025<br />Southeastern Louisiana 38, Nicholls 26 | nextmeeting = November 19, 2026 | total = 36 | series = Southeastern Louisiana, 19–17 | largestvictory = Southeastern Louisiana, 62–3 (2014) | longeststreak = Nicholls State, 7 (1981–2006) | longestunbeatenstreak = | currentstreak = Southeastern Louisiana, 2 (2024–present) | currentunbeatenstreak = | trophy = River Bell Trophy | trophy series = | stadiums = }} {{OSM Location map | coord = {{coord|30.124|-90.621}} | zoom = 8 | width = 295 | height = 250 | caption = Locations of Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana | mark1 = Green pog.svg | label1 = Southeastern Louisiana | mark-coord1 = {{coord|30.511|-90.467}} | label-pos1 = top | label-color1 = black | mark2 = Red pog.svg | label2 = Nicholls | mark-coord2 = {{coord|29.786|-90.804}} | label-pos2 = top | label-color2 = black }}
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'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Southeastern battles back, nips Nicholls 21–17 in River Bell Classic |date=November 16, 2017 |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/sports/article_10da8b46-cb3e-11e7-83e8-bbc1acecbaf1.html |access-date=October 8, 2018 |publisher=The New Orleans Advocate}}</ref><ref name="note1">{{Cite web |title=Bragging Rights |url=http://www.myneworleans.com/core/pagetools.php?pageid=17661&url=%2FLouisiana-Life%2FSeptember-October-2012%2FBragging-Rights%2Findex.php%3Fcparticle%3D2%26siarticle%3D1&mode=print |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103032315/http://www.myneworleans.com/core/pagetools.php?pageid=17661&url=%2FLouisiana-Life%2FSeptember-October-2012%2FBragging-Rights%2Findex.php%3Fcparticle%3D2%26siarticle%3D1&mode=print |archive-date=November 3, 2015 |access-date=July 25, 2015 |publisher=myneworleans.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cox Sports TV to broadcast annual River Bell Classic | date=November 6, 2017 |url=https://geauxcolonels.com/news/2017/11/6/football-cox-sports-tv-to-broadcast-annual-river-bell-classic.aspx?path=football |access-date=October 7, 2018 |publisher=geauxcolonels.com}}</ref> The two schools are 94 miles apart. <!-- and no two football-playing schools in the Southland Conference are as close as Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lions, Colonels set for Annual Battle in the River Bell Classic |url=https://lionsports.net/news/2011/11/16/FB_1116113323.aspx |access-date=October 7, 2018 |publisher=lionsports.net}}</ref> --> The game played between the rivals<ref name="River Bell Trophy">{{Cite web |title=River Bell Classic |url=https://lionsports.net/sports/2016/12/5/river-bell-classic.aspx |access-date=October 7, 2018 |publisher=lionsports.net}}</ref> began in 1972 and was played annually until 1985 when Southeastern Louisiana dropped its football program.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Southland's Week 12 features ASN, ESPN3 Broadcasts |url=https://southland.org/news/2015/11/18/FB_1118150908.aspx |access-date=October 8, 2018 |publisher=southland.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 18, 2017 |title=The River Bell stays in Hammond |url=http://lionsroarnews.com/5473/archive/the-river-bell-stays-in-hammond/ |access-date=October 7, 2018 |publisher=lionsroarnews.com}}</ref> It resumed 20 years later in 2005 when football was reinstated by the university.<ref name="River Bell Trophy" />
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".<ref name="River Bell Trophy" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Stan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xa4EAQAAQBAJ&q=nicholls+vs+southeastern+river+bell+classic&pg=PA315 |title=College Sports Traditions |last2=Wilkinson |first2=Jack |date=September 19, 2013 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0810891210 |location=Lanham, Maryland |page=315 |trans-title=Picking Up Butch, Silent Night, and Hundreds of Others |access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref> 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== {{Sports rivalry series table | legend_tie_text = | cols = 2 | series_summary = yes | format = compact | team1 = Nicholls / Nicholls State | team1style = {{NCAA color cell|Nicholls State Colonels}} | team2 = Southeastern Louisiana | team2style = {{NCAA color cell|Southeastern Louisiana Lions}} | September 30, 1972 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 9 | Southeastern Louisiana | 31 | September 29, 1973 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 0 | Southeastern Louisiana | 10 | November 16, 1974 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls State | 10 | Southeastern Louisiana | 0 | November 15, 1975 | New Orleans, LA | Nicholls State | 14 | Southeastern Louisiana | 6 | November 13, 1976 | New Orleans, LA | Nicholls State | 7 | Southeastern Louisiana | 17 | November 12, 1977 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls State | 14 | Southeastern Louisiana | 17 | November 11, 1978 | New Orleans, LA | Nicholls State | 0 | Southeastern Louisiana | 10 | November 10, 1979 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 0 | Southeastern Louisiana | 38 | November 15, 1980 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls State | 20 | Southeastern Louisiana | 35 | November 14, 1981 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 29 | Southeastern Louisiana | 17 | November 20, 1982 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls State | 20 | Southeastern Louisiana | 14 | November 19, 1983 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 6 | Southeastern Louisiana | 0 | November 17, 1984 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls State | 36 | Southeastern Louisiana | 7 | November 23, 1985 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 21 | Southeastern Louisiana | 17 | November 12, 2005 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 38 | Southeastern Louisiana | 28 | October 7, 2006 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls State | 14 | Southeastern Louisiana | 10 | November 17, 2007 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 13 | Southeastern Louisiana | 17 | November 22, 2008 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls State | 35 | Southeastern Louisiana | 28 | November 19, 2009 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 45 | Southeastern Louisiana | 30 | November 18, 2010 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls State | 27 | Southeastern Louisiana | 25 | November 17, 2011 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 14 | Southeastern Louisiana | 31 | November 15, 2012 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls State | 16 | Southeastern Louisiana | 35 | November 21, 2013 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 27 | Southeastern Louisiana | 52 | November 20, 2014 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls State | 3 | Southeastern Louisiana | 62 | November 19, 2015 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 27 | Southeastern Louisiana | 24 | November 17, 2016 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls State | 42 | Southeastern Louisiana | 44 | November 16, 2017 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls State | 17 | Southeastern Louisiana | 21 | November 15, 2018 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls | 44 | Southeastern Louisiana | 0 | November 21, 2019 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls | 28 | Southeastern Louisiana | 27 | April 10, 2021 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls | 45 | Southeastern Louisiana | 52 | October 9, 2021 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls | 48 | Southeastern Louisiana | 58 | November 18, 2021 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls | 45 | Southeastern Louisiana | 42 | November 17, 2022 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls | 17 | Southeastern Louisiana | 40 | November 16, 2023 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls | 21 | Southeastern Louisiana | 16 | November 21, 2024 | Thibodaux, LA | Nicholls | 16 | Southeastern Louisiana | 19 | November 20, 2025 | Hammond, LA | Nicholls | 26 | Southeastern Louisiana | 38 }}
==See also== * List of NCAA college football rivalry games
==References== {{Reflist}}
=== Additional sources=== * [http://www.lionsports.net/news/2011/11/16/FB_1116113323.aspx River Bell Classic] * [http://www.geauxcolonels.com/documents/2012/8/13/2012%20Nicholls%20Football%20Media%20Guide.pdf?id=446 Nicholls Colonels Media Guide]
{{Nicholls Colonels football navbox}} {{Southeastern Louisiana Lions football navbox}} {{Southland Conference football rivalry navbox}}
Category:College football rivalries in the United States Category:Nicholls Colonels football Category:Southeastern Louisiana Lions football Category:1972 establishments in Louisiana