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The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for most sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly referred to as Division I-AA.
The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was known as the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship.
The Heritage Bowl was a NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) bowl game held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The bowl pitted a team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) against a team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). It was hoped that it would become a true national championship game for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). It was a successor to the Pelican Bowl, which matched MEAC and SWAC teams during the 1970s, and a predecessor to the Celebration Bowl of the 2010s.
The Auburn Tigers football program represents Auburn University in the sport of American college football. Auburn competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
The black college football national championship is a national championship honor that, since 1920, has been regularly bestowed upon the best football teams among historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) within the United States.
The SWAC Championship Game, officially the Cricket Wireless SWAC Championship Game, is an American college football game that is held annually on the first Saturday in December by the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) to determine its football champion. The game pits the champion of the Eastern Division against the champion of the Western Division in a game that follows the conclusion of the regular season. From 2015 onward, the winner of the game has represented the SWAC in the Celebration Bowl. As of the 2019 season, the game is sponsored by Cricket Wireless.
The Pelican Bowl is a defunct, Louisiana-based NCAA Division II bowl game that was intended to match the overall champions or top-seeded co-champions from the then-new Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the long-established Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) to determine the black college football national championship in the United States between 1972 and 1975. The game was won by the SWAC opponent in all three editions of the bowl. Due to low attendance, the game folded following the 1975 contest; the concept would be revived from 1991 to 1999 with the Heritage Bowl and again in 2015 with the Celebration Bowl.
Willie Simmons is the head coach of the Florida A&M Rattlers football team. Simmons was previously the head coach at Prairie View A&M from 2014 to 2017. He has also served as offensive coordinator of the Alcorn State Braves as well as the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders football teams. Simmons played college football at Clemson and The Citadel as a quarterback.
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 in Atlanta on the third weekend of December, and has been played at the Georgia Dome and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It is currently the only active bowl game to feature teams from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
The 2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football season was the XXth season for MEAC Football, as part of the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season.
The 2015 Celebration Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 19, 2015 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The inaugural Celebration Bowl game pitted the North Carolina A&T Aggies, co-champion of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, against the Alcorn State Braves, champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The event was the finale of the 2015 FCS football season for both conferences as their champions abstained from the NCAA Division I FCS football playoffs.
The 2016 North Carolina Central Eagles football team represented North Carolina Central University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Jerry Mack. The Eagles played their home games at O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium. They were a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They finished the season 9–3, 8–0 in MEAC play to win the MEAC title to play in the Celebration Bowl, where they were defeated by SWAC champions Grambling State.
The 2016 Grambling State Tigers football team represented Grambling State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led by third year head coach Broderick Fobbs. They competed as members of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and played their home games at Eddie Robinson Stadium in Grambling, Louisiana. They finished the season 12–1, 9–0 in SWAC play to be champions of the West Division. They represented the West Division in the SWAC Championship Game where they defeated Alcorn State. The Tigers also defeated MEAC champion North Carolina Central in the Celebration Bowl, earning their fifteenth black college football national championship.
The 2016 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football season was the XXIst season for MEAC Football, as part of the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season.
The 2017 Grambling State Tigers football team represented Grambling State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led by fourth-year head coach Broderick Fobbs and played their home games at Eddie Robinson Stadium in Grambling, Louisiana as members of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The Tigers finished the season 11–2, 7–0 in SWAC play to win the West Division. They defeated Alcorn State in the SWAC Championship Game, receiving the conference's bid to the Celebration Bowl where they lost to North Carolina A&T.
The 2017 Celebration Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game that was played on December 16, 2017 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. This third Celebration Bowl game matched the champion of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, against the champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, the two historically black division I conferences. The event was the finale of the 2017 FCS football season for both conferences as neither had teams earn an at large selections into the NCAA Division I FCS football playoffs and their champions abstain from the tournament.
The 2018 Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 15, 2018, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST. It was the first game of the 2018–19 bowl season, and the only bowl to feature FCS teams. It was the fourth edition of the Celebration Bowl and the final game of the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season for the participating teams. The Air Force Reserve resumed its role as the title sponsor after a one-year absence.
The 2021 Celebration Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 18, 2021, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with television coverage on ABC. It was one of the highest attended and sixth edition of the Celebration Bowl, and was the only one of the 2021–22 bowl games to feature FCS teams. Sponsored by wireless service provider Cricket Wireless, the game was officially known as the Cricket Celebration Bowl.
The 2022 Celebration Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 17, 2022, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The seventh annual Celebration Bowl, the game featured the Jackson State Tigers, champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and the North Carolina Central Eagles, champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The SWAC and MEAC are the two prominent NCAA Division I conferences of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
The 2022 SWAC Championship Game was a college football game played on December 3, 2022, at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi. It was the 24th edition of the SWAC Championship Game and determined the champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) for the 2022 season. The game began at 3:00 p.m. CST on ESPN2. The game featured the Jackson State Tigers, the East Division champions, and the Southern Jaguars, the West Division champions. Sponsored by wireless service provider Cricket and by beverage corporation PepsiCo, the game was officially known as the 2022 Cricket SWAC Football Championship presented by Pepsi. The winner of the game received a bid to the Celebration Bowl to face the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), the North Carolina Central Eagles.
References
- 1 2 3 4 "2016 Celebration Bowl Game Stats". Stat Broadcast. Stat Broadcast. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
- ↑ "SKEDBALL: Weekend Sports TV Ratings | Showbuzz Daily". www.showbuzzdaily.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2022.