The invitations for the 2023 Celebration Bowl are set. The annual HBCU National Championship game brings the conference champions from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) to Atlanta every year, and this year’s edition will have Howard University and Florida A&M University play for ultimate HBCU bragging rights.
The 2024 Celebration Bowl is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 16 at noon.
Florida A&M (FAMU) makes its way to Atlanta after defeating Prairie View A&M 35-14 in the SWAC title game, Saturday, Dec. 2. At 11-1 overall, the Rattlers only loss came nearly three months ago during a 38-24 loss to the University of South Florida in Tampa, Sept. 9. The championship is the first for FAMU since they moved to the SWAC two seasons ago after decades in the MEAC.
Howard finished its regular season with a 6-5 overall record but was 4-1 in MEAC play. The only conference loss came to South Carolina State University, the 2021 Celebration Bowl champions, 27-24 on Nov. 4. One of those regular season victories for the Bison came against Morehouse College in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 9.
Last year’s Celebration Bowl between North Carolina Central and Jackson State University brought thousands of fans to downtown Atlanta for the game. The Celebration Bowl has occurred in Atlanta since 2015, first inside the Georgia Dome and now in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. North Carolina A&T won four of the first five championships, with Grambling State University winning the first and only title for the SWAC in 2016. South Carolina State (2021) and North Carolina Central (2022) have won the past two games, with 2020 being canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The North Carolina Central Eagles won the 2022 game over the Jackson State University Tigers in overtime 41-34 in front of a new Celebration Bowl record 49,670 fans. The year before the Tigers lost to South Carolina State University in front of a then-record 48,653 fans.