About a decade ago, John Grant had a vision.
Pit the two best Black college football teams against each other in a televised bowl game that would determine an HBCU national champion, while putting millions of dollars into the coffers of the traditionally underfunded schools.
Last week, standing alone on the 50-yard line of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Grant looked out over the empty black and red seats and smiled.
This Saturday, 50,000 seats will be filled when North Carolina Central University (9-2) runs out onto the field to face Jackson State University (12-0) in the 7th Cricket Celebration Bowl.
Credit: Christina Matacotta
Credit: Christina Matacotta
After selling 48,000 tickets to last year’s game, this year’s contest sold out three weeks ago and ESPN is giving the game a noon kickoff on ABC to usher in the college bowl season.
“We are at that point, you get to year five or six and you start the see the business turn,” said Grant, who is the executive director of the bowl. “This is our Super Bowl.”
No Celebration Bowl has ever been this hyped — partly because of all of the attention swirling around sports legend Deion “Prime Time” Sanders, Jackson State’s departing head coach.
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
William Pate, CEO of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the Celebration Bowl and the events around it are expected to pour tens of millions of dollars this week into the Atlanta economy, which would normally be dormant during the holiday season.
Every major downtown hotel is sold out, Pate said.
“Atlanta is one of the top destinations for Black travelers in the country, so this is an opportunity to show off the city,” he added. “We have the perfect venue and Atlanta is the perfect city.”
Representing the two major HBCU conferences, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), the two colleges will each earn $1.2 million for their leagues.
“I remember years ago when this was in its infancy and I never thought it would happen,” said Skip Perkins, athletic director at North Carolina Central University. “To see it now is unbelievable.”
NCCU, the only MEAC team to ever lose a Celebration Bowl, is returning for the first time since 2016.
For Jackson State, the game will mark the end of Sanders’ career at the school, which he has led through a resurgence of funding, recruiting and most importantly, bringing attention to JSU and Historically Black Colleges and Universities overall.
Credit: AP File Photo/Matthew Hinton
Credit: AP File Photo/Matthew Hinton
“Coach Prime,” as he is called these days, has taken the head coaching job at the University of Colorado in the PAC-12.
In the Black college biosphere, his departure has been equal parts reviled and praised. Sanders, the NFL Hall of Famer for the Atlanta Falcons and former major league baseball star, did not show up at last week’s coach’s press conference but is expected to coach in the game.
The idea of the Celebration Bowl was hatched when Grant was the CEO of 100 Black Men of Atlanta, a civic and social organization that focuses on the development of Black children and teens.
For years, the organization hosted the annual Atlanta Football Classic, an invitational that usually attracted big football programs like Florida A&M, Southern University and Tennessee State University. But waning attendance put the game in peril.
Credit: RODNEY HO/r
Credit: RODNEY HO/r
Veteran Atlanta sports commentator Sam Crenshaw said the Celebration Bowl provides an opportunity for Black colleges to showcase themselves on a stage they created.
“Show the nation that HBCUs can play a well-coached, well-played game. That is what will attract better recruits and raise the profile of the programs,” said Crenshaw, who is the 92.9 The Game Weekend Morning host and CW69 (Atlanta Now News) sports anchor.
Several schools that have participated in the Celebration Bowl, particularly NCCU and four-time champion North Carolina A&T State University, have reported large increases in student applications after their appearances at the games.
The first two Celebration Bowl games were held at the Georgia Dome, before moving to Mercedes-Benz in 2017. The inaugural game in 2015 drew 35,528 people to the Dome while attracting 2.5 million live television viewers.
Last year, more than 2.7 million live television viewers and 48,653 fans crammed into Mercedes-Benz to watch South Carolina State beat Jackson State. Of the 39 bowl games last season, the Celebration Bowl ranked 11th in television viewers.
The year before the first Celebration Bowl, ESPN platforms televised about 30 HBCU games. This year, they did more than 150.
Credit: Christina Matacotta
Credit: Christina Matacotta
“We are just getting started,” said Grant, a North Carolina native and 1979 graduate of N.C. A&T. “The Rose Bowl is 103 years old. We are only seven. If we can be where we are at seven, imagine where we can be at 50? At 103?”
Celebration Bowl history:
2015: North Carolina A&T defeated Alcorn State 41-34
(television audience: 2,559,507; live attendance: 35,528)
2016: Grambling State def. North Carolina Central 10-9
(2,711,320; 31,096)
2017: North Carolina A&T def. Grambling State 21-14
(2,602,851; 25,873)
2018: North Carolina A&T def. Alcorn State 24-22
(2,347,000; 31,672)
2019: North Carolina A&T def. Alcorn State 64-44
(2,182,211; 32,968)
2020: Canceled due to COVID-19
2021: South Carolina State def. Jackson State 31-10
(2,703,307; 48,653)
North Carolina Central University at a glance:
Credit: Johnny Crawford / AJC
Credit: Johnny Crawford / AJC
Record: 9-2
Location: Durham, N.C.
Founded: 1910 by Dr. James E. Shepard
Enrollment: 7,953
Nickname: Eagles
School Colors: Maroon & Gray
Conference: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
First Year of Football: 1923
Overall All-Time Record: 494-405-30
Jackson State University at a glance:
Record: 12-0
Location: Jackson, Miss.
Founded: 1877 by the American Baptist Home Mission Society
Enrollment: 7,000
Nickname: Tigers
Colors: Navy & White
Conference: Southwestern Athletic
First Year of Football: 1911
Overall All-Time Record: 494–336–22
This is the third meeting between NCCU and Jackson State. JSU leads the series, 3-0. The Eagles and Tigers have not met on the gridiron since 1987.
