Celebration Bowl
The Celebration Bowl is a postseason college football bowl game, first played in the 2015 season, contested between the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference —the two prominent conferences of historically black colleges and universities in NCAA Division I. It serves as the de facto national championship of black college football. The game is held annually in Atlanta on the third weekend of December, and has been played at the Georgia Dome and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It is currently the only active bowl game to feature teams from the Football Championship Subdivision.
History
The Celebration Bowl is a successor to two previous bowl games between the MEAC and SWAC, the Pelican Bowl and Heritage Bowl. Because the Celebration Bowl takes place during the FCS playoff tournament, neither the SWAC nor the MEAC can send their champion to the tournament. At the time the Celebration Bowl was inaugurated, the SWAC's regular season already extended too late into the year for its champion to enter the FCS playoffs, while the MEAC dropped its automatic bid to the FCS playoffs in order to send its champion to the Celebration Bowl.The game is organized by ESPN Events, which also runs the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, the annual interconference game between the two conferences held over Labor Day weekend. The Celebration Bowl was sponsored by the Air Force Reserve for three playings: 2015, 2016, and 2018. On December 9, 2020, Cricket Wireless signed on as title sponsor of the game, formally making it the Cricket Celebration Bowl.
In June 2017, the SWAC announced that it would discontinue the SWAC Championship Game following the 2017 playing, resulting in the SWAC regular season champion automatically qualifying for the Celebration Bowl. However, in June 2018, the SWAC reversed course and continues to hold its championship game, with the winner advancing to the Celebration Bowl.
In 2020, the Celebration Bowl was not played, after the MEAC canceled all fall athletics due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the SWAC postponed its football season into the spring of 2021.
Game results
MVPs
Two MVPs are selected for each game; one an offensive player, the other a defensive player.Source:
Most appearances
Updated through the December 2025 playing. Wins appear in bold font in the Years column.| Rank | Appearances | Team | Wins | Losses | Win pct. | Years |
| 1 | 4 | North Carolina A&T Aggies football| | 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 | - | - | |
| 2 | 3 | South Carolina State Bulldogs football| | 2021, 2024, 2025 | - | - | |
| 2 | 3 | Jackson State Tigers football| | 2021, 2022, 2024 | - | - | |
| 2 | 3 | Alcorn State Braves football| | 2015, 2018, 2019 | - | - | |
| 3 | 2 | Grambling State Tigers football| | 2016, 2017 | - | - | |
| 3 | 2 | North Carolina Central Eagles football| | 2016, 2022 | - | - | |
| 4 | 1 | Florida A&M Rattlers football| | 2023 | - | - | |
| 4 | 1 | Howard Bison football| | 2023 | - | - | |
| 4 | 1 | Prairie View A&M Panthers football| | 2025 | - | - |
Game records
| Team | Record, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Most points scored | 64, North Carolina A&T vs. Alcorn State | 2019 |
| Most points scored | 44, Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T | 2019 |
| Most points scored | 108, North Carolina A&T vs. Alcorn State | 2019 |
| Fewest points allowed | 7, South Carolina State vs. Jackson State | 2024 |
| Largest margin of victory | 21, shared by: South Carolina State vs. Jackson State Jackson State vs. South Carolina State | 2021 2024 |
| Total yards | 574, North Carolina A&T vs. Alcorn State | 2019 |
| Rushing yards | 366, North Carolina A&T vs. Alcorn State | 2015 |
| Passing yards | 364, North Carolina A&T vs. Alcorn State | 2019 |
| First downs | 24, shared by: Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T Jackson State vs. North Carolina Central | 2019 2022 |
| Fewest yards allowed | 178, South Carolina State vs. Jackson State | 2024 |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | 19, Jackson State vs. South Carolina State | 2021 |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | 106, Howard vs. Florida A&M | 2023 |
| Individual | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| All-purpose yards | 348, shared by: Tarik Cohen Shedeur Sanders | 2015 2022 |
| Touchdowns | 5, Shedeur Sanders | 2022 |
| Rushing yards | 295, Tarik Cohen | 2015 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 3, Tarik Cohen | 2015 |
| Passing yards | 364, Kylil Carter | 2019 |
| Passing touchdowns | 6, Kylil Carter | 2019 |
| Receiving yards | 150, Chris Blair | 2019 |
| Receptions | 10, Elijah Bell | 2017 |
| Receiving touchdowns | 3, Shaquan Davis | 2021 |
| Tackles | 17, Aaron Smith | 2024 |
| Sacks | 2, James Houston | 2021 |
| Interceptions | 1, shared by multiple players | |
| Long Plays | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Touchdown run | 83 yds., Tarik Cohen | 2015 |
| Touchdown pass | 85 yds., Shedeur Sanders to Kevin Coleman Jr. | 2022 |
| Kickoff return | 79 yds., Malik Wilson | 2018 |
| Punt return | 84 yds., Anthony Williams, Jr. | 2015 |
| Interception return | 38 yds., Anthony Petty | 2024 |
| Fumble return | 3 yds, Taurence Wilson | 2019 |
| Punt | 74 yds., Dyson Roberts | 2021 |
| Field goal | 45 yds., Cody Jones | 2015 |