ATLANTA – The first invitation to the third annual Celebration Bowl – to be played on Saturday, Dec. 16, at noon ET from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta – has been extended to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) college football champion, North Carolina A&T State University. The Aggies have posted an unbeaten 10-0 record so far this season, including 7-0 in the MEAC. While one week of the season remains, the Aggies will be the MEAC representative in the Celebration Bowl regarding of the result of their game vs. North Carolina Central on Saturday. Executive Director of the Celebration Bowl, John Grant, will be at the game in Greensboro to present North Carolina A&T Coach Rod Broadway with the official invitation.
“Congratulations to MEAC champion North Carolina A&T for punching their ticket to the Celebration Bowl for the second time,” said Grant. “We are excited for the Aggies to join us in Atlanta and look forward to finding out their opponent after the SWAC Championship game on Saturday, December 2.”
The Aggies 10-0 start is a program best and includes a win over FBS Charlotte. Quarterback Lamar Raynard is third in all of FCS in passing efficiency, while the defense ranks second in scoring, only allowing 12 points per game. The Aggies have risen to #7 in the FCS coaches poll heading into the final weekend of the season.
Establishing itself as the first bowl game of the season, the Celebration Bowl is a postseason football game owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN. The game features the MEAC and SWAC champions and will be televised on ABC. ESPN Events collaborates with 100 Black Men of Atlanta to organize the game’s ancillary events which include a youth symposium, robotics showcase, gospel night, fan experience and more. North Carolina A&T defeated Alcorn State 41-34 in the inaugural game in 2015. In last year’s game, Grambling State defeated North Carolina Central 10-9. The two games have had more than 66,000 combined fans cheering their teams and conferences on.
Fans can purchase tickets to the Celebration Bowl online at thecelebrationbowl.com or ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. Prices range from $50 to $175 including taxes and fees. A full list of events surrounding the game are available on the event’s website.
For MEAC fans, a special rate of $106/night is being offered at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, and is available for December 15-16. Please visit the Celebration Bowl website for more details.
For SWAC fans, a special rate of $97/night is being offered at the Hilton Atlanta, and is available for December 15-16. Please visit the Celebration Bowl website for more details.
Additional hotel rooms are available at the Westin Peachtree Plaza for $99/night and the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Atlanta Downtown for $101/night. Please visit the Celebration Bowl website for more details.
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of 31 collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; FCS opening-weekend game; 14 college bowl games, 11 college basketball events and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 300-plus hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 700,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.
ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.
Collegiate Football
AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl (St. Petersburg, Fla.); Bahamas Bowl (Nassau); Birmingham Bowl (Alabama); Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Camping World Kickoff (Orlando, Fla.); Celebration Bowl (Atlanta); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Frisco Bowl (Frisco, Texas); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff (Montgomery, Ala.); Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); MEAC/SWAC Challenge (Baton Rouge, La.); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); Texas Bowl (Houston); The Home Depot College Football Awards (Atlanta) and Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth)
Collegiate Basketball
AdvoCare Invitational (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Armed Forces Classic (Ramstein Air Base, Germany); College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s (Los Angeles); Gildan Charleston Classic (South Carolina); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men’s Classic presented by Corona (New York City); Jimmy V Women’s Classic presented by Corona (TBD); NIT Season Tip-Off (Brooklyn, N.Y.); PK80 (Portland, Ore.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); State Farm Champions Classic (Chicago) and Wooden Legacy (Fullerton, Calif.)
For more information, visit the official website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages.
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