Celebration Bowl facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Celebration Bowl |
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Cricket Celebration Bowl | |
Stadium | Mercedes-Benz Stadium |
Location | Atlanta, Georgia |
Previous stadiums | Georgia Dome (2015–16) |
Operated | 2015–present |
Conference tie-ins | MEAC, SWAC |
Payout | US$2 million ($1M Per conference) |
Preceded by | Heritage Bowl (1991–99) Pelican Bowl (1972, 1974–75) |
Sponsors | |
Air Force Reserve (2015–2016, 2018)
Cricket Wireless (2020-present) |
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2019 matchup | |
North Carolina A&T vs. Alcorn State (North Carolina A&T, 64–44) |
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2020 matchup | |
Cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns |
The Celebration Bowl is a postseason college football bowl game, first played in the 2015 season, contested between the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) — the two prominent conferences of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in NCAA Division I. It serves as the de facto national championship of black college football. The game is held annually on the third weekend of December. Starting with the December 2017 game, it is played at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium; the first two games were played at the Georgia Dome. It is currently the only active bowl game to feature teams from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
History
The Celebration Bowl is a successor to two previous bowl games between the MEAC and SWAC, the Pelican Bowl and Heritage Bowl. Because the Celebration Bowl takes place during the FCS playoff tournament, neither the SWAC nor the MEAC can send their champion to the tournament. At the time the Celebration Bowl was inaugurated, the SWAC's regular season already extended too late into the year for its champion to enter the FCS playoffs, while the MEAC dropped its automatic bid to the FCS playoffs in order to send its champion to the Celebration Bowl.
The game is organized by ESPN Events, which also runs the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, the annual interconference game between the two conferences, held over Labor Day weekend in Orlando, Florida. The Celebration Bowl was sponsored by the Air Force Reserve for three playings: 2015, 2016, and 2018. On December 9, 2020 Cricket Wireless signed on as title sponsor of the game which would be called the Cricket Celebration Bowl.
In June 2017, the SWAC announced that it would discontinue the SWAC Championship Game following the 2017 playing, resulting in the SWAC regular season champion automatically qualifying for the Celebration Bowl. However, in June 2018, the SWAC reversed course and continues to hold its championship game, with the winner advancing to the Celebration Bowl.
Due to the MEAC cancelling all fall athletics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the SWAC following suit postponing its football season to spring 2021, it was announced that the 2020 Celebration Bowl had been cancelled.
Game results
Date | MEAC Team | SWAC Team | Attendance | Series | Notes | ||
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December 19, 2015 | North Carolina A&T Aggies | 41 | Alcorn State Braves | 34 | 35,528 | MEAC, 1–0 | notes |
December 17, 2016 | North Carolina Central Eagles | 9 | Grambling State Tigers | 10 | 31,096 | tied, 1–1 | notes |
December 16, 2017 | North Carolina A&T Aggies | 21 | Grambling State Tigers | 14 | 25,873 | MEAC, 2–1 | notes |
December 15, 2018 | North Carolina A&T Aggies | 24 | Alcorn State Braves | 22 | 31,672 | MEAC, 3–1 | notes |
December 21, 2019 | North Carolina A&T Aggies | 64 | Alcorn State Braves | 44 | 32,968 | MEAC, 4–1 | notes |
2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
MVPs
Two MVPs are selected for each game; one an offensive player, the other a defensive player.
Game | MVPs | Position | Team |
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2015 | Tarik Cohen | RB | North Carolina A&T |
Denzel Jones | LB | ||
2016 | Martez Carter | RB | Grambling State |
Jameel Jackson | DB | ||
2017 | Marquell Cartwright | RB | North Carolina A&T |
Franklin "Mac" McCain III | CB | ||
2018 | Lamar Raynard | QB | North Carolina A&T |
Richie Kittle | DB | ||
2019 | Kylil Carter | QB | North Carolina A&T |
Jacob Roberts | LB |
Most appearances
Through December 2019, there have been 5 games (10 total appearances).
Rank | Appearances | Team | Wins | Losses | Pct. | Years |
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1 | 4 | North Carolina A&T | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
2 | 3 | Alcorn State | 0 | 3 | .000 | 2015, 2018, 2019 |
3 | 2 | Grambling State | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2016, 2017 |
4 | 1 | North Carolina Central | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2016 |
Broadcasting
Television and radio coverage of the bowl has included play-by-play announcers, color commentators, and sideline reporters.
Television
Date | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentary | Sideline reporter |
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2015 | ABC | Mark Neely | Jay Walker | Tiffany Greene |
2016 | ABC | Mark Neely | Jay Walker | Tiffany Greene |
2017 | ABC | Mark Neely | Jay Walker | Tiffany Greene |
2018 | ABC | Mark Jones | Dusty Dvoracek & Jay Walker | Molly McGrath & Roddy Jones |
2019 | ABC | Mark Jones | Dusty Dvoracek & Jay Walker | Tiffany Greene & Roddy Jones |
Radio
Date | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentary | Sideline reporter |
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2015 | RedVoice, LLC | Sam Crenshaw | Hugh Douglas | |
2016 | RedVoice, LLC | Sam Crenshaw | Hugh Douglas | Lericia Harris |
2017 | Gameday Radio | Sam Crenshaw | Randy McMichael | Lericia Harris |
2018 | Gameday Radio | Andy Demetra | Randy McMichael | Lericia Harris |
2019 | Bowlday Radio | Travis Jones | Randy McMichael | Tenrita Batiste |