| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| First meeting | September 30, 1972 Southeastern Louisiana 31, Nicholls State 9 |
| Latest meeting | November 16, 2023 Southeastern Louisiana 19, Nicholls 16 |
| Next meeting | 2025 |
| Trophy | River Bell Trophy |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 35 |
| All-time series | Southeastern Louisiana, 18–17 |
| Largest victory | Southeastern Louisiana, 62–3 (2014) |
| Longest win streak | Nicholls State, 7 (1981–2006) |
| Current win streak | Southeastern Louisiana, 1 (2024–present) |
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]
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.
- ^ "Southeastern battles back, nips Nicholls 21–17 in River Bell Classic". The New Orleans Advocate. November 16, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
- ^ "Bragging Rights". myneworleans.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
- ^ "Cox Sports TV to broadcast annual River Bell Classic". geauxcolonels.com. November 6, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
- ^ a b c "River Bell Classic". lionsports.net. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
- ^ "Southland's Week 12 features ASN, ESPN3 Broadcasts". southland.org. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
- ^ "The River Bell stays in Hammond". lionsroarnews.com. November 18, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
- ^ Beck, Stan; Wilkinson, Jack (September 19, 2013). College Sports Traditions [Picking Up Butch, Silent Night, and Hundreds of Others]. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 315. ISBN 978-0810891210. Retrieved May 28, 2019.