The Cricket Celebration Bowl will be part of a seven-game slate to kickoff bowl season this fall.
The bowl schedule for the upcoming season was released Thursday.
The Celebration Bowl will be played on Dec. 17 at noon ET on ABC. The annual bowl will be part of a day where six other games will also be featured, including the Fenway Bowl, New Mexico Bowl, LA Bowl, Lendingtree Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl and Frisco Bowl.
It’s time to start the countdown! The official 2022-23 #BowlSeason schedule is here! (🔗: https://t.co/EVWUkpZimy) 🎉🏈 pic.twitter.com/9I3xYWMUk8
— Bowl Season (@BowlSeason) May 26, 2022
South Carolina State’s 31-10 upset win over Jackson State in the sixth installment of the MEAC-SWAC matchup last year drew 2.5 million viewers and featured a 1.6 overnight rating on ABC, according to Show Buzz Daily.
It was the third most-watched game of the day across ABC and ESPN.
In 2021, ESPN Events reached a six-year agreement for the Celebration Bowl to continue at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta through 2026.
HBCU classics, challenges get national TV exposure
The Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kick-Off will once again usher in the start of the college football season as Alabama State faces Howard on Saturday, Aug. 27, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Tuskegee plays Fort Valley State in the second annual Boeing Red Tails Classic – a matchup of HBCU programs that honors the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen – on Sunday, Sept. 4 (7 p.m., ESPNU). Both games will be played at Montgomery’s historic Cramton Bowl, which celebrates its 100th year this college football season.
