the kid
Real Esquire, Not the Magazine
Cant wait for the Celebration Bowl. Wanted to play Grambling because they are more the "national brand" team of the SWAC, kinda like T is for the MEAC. Atlanta should be live.
2016 HBCU Football Thread - Interview w/ NC A&T's All-Time Leading Receiver
Proud of my Braves, told y'all Grambling ain't that good. We gon be a problem next year. Young team
Alcorn state
We played like that with 15 injuries and 8 surgeries. Against a 10-1 Grambling with 19 Graduate students on their roster.
Brave strong and Mcnair can flat out coach.
This was the year to beat us, next year we may win it again
charknicks
All Star
Cant wait to get down to ATL and support my Eagles. Much rather go against Grambling cause of name recognition.
Gonna make it a doube with the football game and then Hornets/Hawks that night.
Gonna make it a doube with the football game and then Hornets/Hawks that night.
Made that offense look pedestrian. I had no idea Grambling's punter was also their kicker. Dude only attempted 4 FGs all year. That crazyness they had when breh got hurt was
He came back on the hurt ankle with the clutch punt tho
We'll have to see if he comes back healthy in a couple weeks, Grambling gone have to kick a few FGs to beat us or even be in the game
Eagle Pride! What years did you go there?
NCCU roll call: @the kid @Supreme @Primetime21
charknicks
All Star
Made that offense look pedestrian. I had no idea Grambling's punter was also their kicker. Dude only attempted 4 FGs all year. That crazyness they had when breh got hurt was
He came back on the hurt ankle with the clutch punt tho
We'll have to see if he comes back healthy in a couple weeks, Grambling gone have to kick a few FGs to beat us or even be in the game
Eagle Pride! What years did you go there?
NCCU roll call: @the kid @Supreme @Primetime21
I went there from 97-2001. Campus is night and day different then when I was there.
I wouldn't go that far. Alcorn State played its ass off and honestly left the W on the field, but this wasn't Grambling's best game, and the Alcorn gameplan/effort had a LOT to do with it. NCCU will crush Grambling if that version of the Tigers show up in Atlanta, though.
Our front seven is real
We young on the backend so we will need some good recruiting there. Land some good interior olineman and we should be straight.
Backs and wideouts is deep, new kicker already on the roster
The future is bright.
Really wanted to see NCCU, felt we matched up better with y'all than NCAT & Cohen. See what Grambling bout with y'all
2000-2004
Eagle Pride
Eagle Pride
UserNameless
Veteran
Do the money grab and potential "exposure " of this bowl outweigh the opportunity to have your conference as an automatic qualifier for the playoffs ?
Just looking for clarity here ...
the kid
Real Esquire, Not the Magazine
The positives of the Celebration Bowl far outweigh the negatives. Even without the automatic qualifier, NC A&T was able to go the the D2 playoffs off the strength of great regular season and a win against an FBS school. Also do not understate the exposure. The Celebration Bowl is broadcast live on ABC, which is huge for any FCS teams, let alone HBCUs. To put this into perspective, the 2013 FCS title game between North Dakota State and Sam Houston State drew a 0.7 TV rating. The Beef O’Brady Bowl between a pair of bad FBS schools got a 1.3 TV rating. Last year’s Bayou Classic, a game played in the middle of a Saturday afternoon featuring Grambling State and Southern, pulled a 1.0 rating on NBC. Last year's Celebration Bowl game between North Carolina A&T-Alcorn State game drew a 1.9 overnight rating on ABC Saturday afternoon, according to Sports Media Watch. The 1.9 rating was the second highest of the day, only trailing the Las Vegas Bowl featuring rivals Utah and BYU.
And the FCS playoffs have not been great to HBCUs in recent years. Florida A&M was the last HBCU to win an FCS title and that was in 1978. No MEAC or SWAC school has come close since. First round playoff losses have become commonplace and somewhat expected. There is simply no upside in participating in the FCS playoffs. Schools don’t receive a bowl-like payout for starters. In fact, Towson reportedly lost $250,000 after being seduced into chasing a championship. Schools that wish to host a playoff game must bid minimum of $30,000. A second round home playoff game costs $40,000. The MEAC and SWAC participants in this ESPN-created marriage will bank $1 million for each conference. With about 25k for each non participating school and 500k plus ticket sales for the participating schools. If black colleges want to survive and thrive, everyone associated with these institutions should be on board with this move.No FCS athletic department made money in 2013, according to the latest NCAA revenue report. Average revenue increased 1.1 percent in 2013, while expenses were up 2.7 percent. So those payouts are real money and could mean the difference to being in the red or the black, or investing in a new training facility for your athletes.
Also, nobody really cares about an FCS championship. After then FCS member Appalachian State beat No. 5 Michigan in 2007, the team immediately became the darlings of the sports world.App. State was on cover of the following week’s Sports Illustrated. Columnists at Yahoo! Sports and ESPN gave them all sorts of shine in print and online. The university reportedly saw an increase in enrollment inquiries and a sports apparel shop carrying ASU gear reported that sales were seven times the norm. This was a football program that was the reigning FCS national champion at the time, mind you. ASU football was smothered with more attention for one win in a regular season game than any wins it got in playoff games.
And the FCS playoffs have not been great to HBCUs in recent years. Florida A&M was the last HBCU to win an FCS title and that was in 1978. No MEAC or SWAC school has come close since. First round playoff losses have become commonplace and somewhat expected. There is simply no upside in participating in the FCS playoffs. Schools don’t receive a bowl-like payout for starters. In fact, Towson reportedly lost $250,000 after being seduced into chasing a championship. Schools that wish to host a playoff game must bid minimum of $30,000. A second round home playoff game costs $40,000. The MEAC and SWAC participants in this ESPN-created marriage will bank $1 million for each conference. With about 25k for each non participating school and 500k plus ticket sales for the participating schools. If black colleges want to survive and thrive, everyone associated with these institutions should be on board with this move.No FCS athletic department made money in 2013, according to the latest NCAA revenue report. Average revenue increased 1.1 percent in 2013, while expenses were up 2.7 percent. So those payouts are real money and could mean the difference to being in the red or the black, or investing in a new training facility for your athletes.
Also, nobody really cares about an FCS championship. After then FCS member Appalachian State beat No. 5 Michigan in 2007, the team immediately became the darlings of the sports world.App. State was on cover of the following week’s Sports Illustrated. Columnists at Yahoo! Sports and ESPN gave them all sorts of shine in print and online. The university reportedly saw an increase in enrollment inquiries and a sports apparel shop carrying ASU gear reported that sales were seven times the norm. This was a football program that was the reigning FCS national champion at the time, mind you. ASU football was smothered with more attention for one win in a regular season game than any wins it got in playoff games.
UserNameless
Veteran
Well written ... solid numbers and info. Opting out of the playoffs seems to defy the spirit of competition (A&T had to be chosen at large and wasn't the conference's top representative), but it seems the bowl game makes better business sense . ..
RammerJammer
#RollTide #TSC #RiseUp #BullsNation #RIPKobe
I believe the SWAC's attendance was very very good this season
It's definitely a foreign place for folks who haven't been by often. Some of our campus facilities outpace much bigger schools which surprised me. So we're on the right track.
Yeah, business wise and competition wise it makes sense. I wonder if teams were regularly advancing in the FCS playoffs would the MEAC have still made the move to participate in the Celebration Bowl?
We interviewed a former HBCU player/current NFL guy and he was in favor of playing in the playoffs. I've gotta ask more players about it.
The Championship game or the SWAC conference overall? This year's game had an attendance of 24,917, WAYYYYYYYY down from last year's 40,352.