The Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game that is played in mid-December of each year. The inaugural contest was held in 2015.
The newly created Celebration Bowl will feature a match-up of champions from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference, the two prominent Historically Black Division I athletic conferences. The game is popularly deemed the "HBCU National Championship" football game and is played in the Georgia Dome located in Downtown Atlanta Georgia.[1] The Celebration Bowl will be the third game of its kind, pitting the champions of the MEAC and SWAC against each other. The previous two games, the Pelican Bowl and its successor the Heritage Bowl were held during the 1970s and 1990s respectively.[2] The game will be the second annual college bowl game held in the Georgia Dome, joining the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.[3]
On March 18, 2015, ESPN Events officially announced the upcoming bowl game at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.[4] The game will be owned, operated and broadcast by ESPN, who also owns and operates the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, the annual interconference game between the two conferences, held during Labor Day weekend football in Orlando, Florida.[5]
On June 9, 2015, ESPN Events officially announced the championship game will be nationally televised on ABC.[6] The game will be the first to feature two HBCU and FCS teams on ABC.
On August 31, 2015, ESPN Events named former 100 Black Men of America of Atlanta Inc. CEO John Grant the executive director of the event.[7]
After a successful inaugural contest, the Celebration Bowl will return for 2016.[8]
Other activities
There are a host of activities surrounding the bowl game. There is a press conference, male youth symposium, HBCU college fair, V.I.P. dinner featuring both participating teams, robotics showcase and invitational, welcome event, fan fest, and a "battle of the bands" showcasing marching bands from both participating universities and several regional high schools.[9]
Game Results
Media Coverage
Television
Radio
See also
References
External links
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