The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference have announced plans to stage the first Celebration Bowl this December. The football champions of each conference will meet in the bowl game in Atlanta on December 19. The game will be shown on national television and will be billed as the HBCU national championship game.
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference represents 13 HBCU teams along the eastern seaboard from Delaware to Florida. The Southwestern Athletic Conference represents 11 HBCUs in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas.
From 1991 to 1998, the MEAC and SWAC champions met in what was called the Heritage Bowl. That game was cancelled when the MEAC decided to send its team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
