| Wide: | yes |
| River Bell Classic | |
| Team1: | Nicholls Colonels |
| Team1logo: | Nicholls State Colonels wordmark.svg |
| Team2: | Southeastern Louisiana Lions |
| Team2logo: | SLU Lions.png |
| Sport: | Football |
| Firstmeeting: | September 30, 1972 |
| Mostrecent: | November 16, 2023 Southeastern Louisiana 19, Nicholls 16 |
| Nextmeeting: | 2025 |
| Total: | 35 |
| Series: | Southeastern Louisiana, 18–17 |
| Largestvictory: | Southeastern Louisiana, 62–3 (2014) |
| Longeststreak: | Nicholls State, 7 (1981–2006) |
| Currentstreak: | Southeastern Louisiana, 1 (2024–present) |
| Trophy: | River Bell Trophy |
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.
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".[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.