The SWAC’s Celebration Bowl jinx ended with a bang this past December, but the conference commissioner is still frustrated about one aspect of the game.
Charles McClelland recently appeared on an Alcorn State baseball broadcast with Charles Edmond to talk all things SWAC, including the Celebration Bowl date change.
The annual Celebration Bowl moved from the third Saturday in December to the second weekend.
“I wasn’t real happy about that because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage,” McClelland said of the Dec. 14 start date, one week after Jackson State defeated Southern in the SWAC championship game. “To move us for CFP, I understand, but I wasn’t that happy about it. I was definitely pleased that, from a viewership standpoint that our fans continued to show up and watch that game. To have it be the fourth-best watched bowl game, that’s a testament to our fans.”
The move came months after the College Football Playoff expanded from four to 12 teams, which created additional games on the postseason schedule.
“The decision to move the Cricket Celebration Bowl to the second Saturday in December is truly a game-changer,” John T. Grant, executive director, said in a statement. “By aligning with the start of the college football bowl season and avoiding the expansion games of the college football playoffs and NFL, the Celebration Bowl has carved its own niche in the bowl season calendar.”
The Tigers’ 28-7 win over MEAC champion South Carolina State drew 2.1 million viewers, a 37 percent increase over the previous year’s game between Florida A&M and Howard.
McClelland admits that, because of the money that ESPN/ABC, which owns the rights to the Celebration Bowl, is paying out, the reality is that they set the schedule.
“The networks control it all; That’s where the money is,” he explained. “You can put as many people in the stands as you can, and it doesn’t compare to what television pays, the amount of revenue they’re paying. When you’re getting more money than some FBS bowl games, they’re going to tell you when you can play.”
McClelland said negotiations for a contract extension for the Celebration Bowl were underway, but did not disclose further details.
