The ULM and Louisiana Tech rivalry is back Saturday night, ending a 26-year wait for the first I-20 showdown between the Warhawks and Bulldogs. For families in North Louisiana, the long gap ends with bragging rights back on the table.
That is why Sarah Adams has not been softening her talk with relatives. She said she has kept the trash talk going with family members who will sit on the other side of the rivalry, turning a football game into the latest round of a family argument that never really ended. Sophia Parkman tried to make it a little lighter by floating family-friendly wagers, but she said no one bit.
The interest makes sense because the schools are only 35 miles apart, close enough that the rivalry never really disappeared from memory even when the game itself did. Jody Adams said momentum swung back and forth when these teams met before, while Emily Adams said Louisiana Tech’s success helped make the series feel slightly lopsided, which is part of why the matchup eventually went quiet.
That quiet is the part this weekend erases. Parkman said the family has always lived with split loyalties, Sunday dinners, and constant reminders that everyone in the room is pulling for a different school, even though they are still very close. Jody Adams put it plainly: there is a lot of love on both sides, and the game should feel packed and loud when it finally arrives.
The old rivalry now gets a fresh start, and the unresolved part is not whether the schools care — it is whether this first meeting in 26 years can restore something that was missing for a generation. Jody Adams said it is about time for North Louisiana, and Saturday night will show whether the I-20 rivalry still has the same grip it once did.
