A third NFL franchise recently announced it will be hosting an HBCU regular-season football game at their stadium this year. John Grant, who serves as the Celebration Bowl’s Executive Director, put on for HBCU alums and fans to participate in what fans consider to be the HBCU National Championship game since 2015.
When it was announced the game would happen between the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Champion and the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Champion, everyone was excited. The Orange Blossom Classic is played at the Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Cafe Stadium, which is normally between Florida A&M and a team from the MEAC or the SWAC.
In 2015, North Carolina A&T (MEAC) faced off against Alcorn State University (SWAC) at the Georgia Dome with the attendance being over 30,000 inside to watch the game and over 14 Million watching around the country. Through the years, NFL teams and other college football conferences have taken notice of the product that is shown each year, wanting to see how they can incorporate more with every opportunity.
There will be three HBCU games played this year in NFL stadiums. Mississippi Valley State University will play Florida A&M Rattlers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on October 4. The Jackson State Tigers and Grambling State Tigers will play each other October 25 in Las Vegas. Also, the battle of new coaches between Norfolk State University and Delaware State will be on November 1st at Lincoln Financial Field.
The NFL has begun to understand that HBCU football programs bring an outstanding atmosphere. It’s good to see Michael Vick face DeSean Jackson in a stadium they both called home in their respective careers.
The Eagles stepping in to have that game makes all of the sense in the world. Delaware State will be the home team and their Alumni Stadium holds 7,193 seats. These two teams would have missed out on a major financial windfall that would be a benefit to both programs.