Some Of The Lessons Learned From The 2022 Celebration Bowl

The 2022 Celebration Bowl was a thrilling game that many didn’t think would be as exciting as it was.

Coach Prime led his Jackson St. team into another Celebration Bowl appearance after back-to-back undefeated regular seasons (12-0) and another SWAC crown. All that eluded him was a Celebration Bowl title.

Last year, his first full season in Mississippi due to Covid, the Tigers strolled their way into the Celebration Bowl as the favorites. In the end, they were steamrolled by the 7-5 MEAC champion South Carolina State Bulldogs, 31-10.

While that game didn’t end the way Sanders had hoped, the results for Celebration Bowl organizers did as over 48,000 attended the 2021 game in Atlanta. That was an increase of almost 16,000 fans from the 2019 game (the 2020 game was canceled due to the pandemic).

The 2022 game was fueled by Deion’s presence and his previously announced head coaching move to Colorado.

The game was so exciting that NFL All-Pro JJ Watt chimed in about it.

So after the last-second TD pass by Shedeur Sanders in force overtime and the defensive stand by North Carolina Central to end the game, what did we learn from the 2022 Celebration Bowl?

1. The Deion Sanders effect is undeniable- There’s no disputing what Sanders did for Jackson State, the city of Jackson, MS and HBCU football as a whole. He brought renewed attention to HBCUs and helped rejuvenate interest in HBCU football programs as viable destinations for players who might never have considered playing at these institutions before Sanders showed up. He re-energized a program in decline, brought in new revenue and ensured they could be watched nationally on TV and streaming platforms. And for the Celebration Bowl, Deion increased attendance from 2019 to 2021 and 2022 (32,968 to 48,653 and 49,670, respectively). The ratings followed suit, going from 1.23 and 1.8 million viewers in 2019 to 1.61 and 2.59 million viewers in 2021 (2022 ratings have not been released as of yet).
2. Shedeur Sanders can play- Last year Shedeur had a great season, throwing for 3,231 yards with 30 TDs and 8 INTs. He had a completion percentage of 65.9% and a QB rating of 151.7. This season, Shedeur upped his game, amassing 3,732 yards passing with 40 TDs and 6 INTs. He also upped his completion percentage to 70.6% and his QB rating to 160.4. He led his team down the field to force overtime with a beautiful throw to the corner of the endzone and threw the potential game-winning TD in OT that was dropped. And it wasn’t that Shedeur couldn’t play, it was that a national audience could finally witness it for themselves.
3. The MEAC dominates- Since the Celebration Bowl was founded in 2015, the MEAC has claimed six of the seven titles. Those titles include North Carolina A&T (4x), South Carolina St. (1x) and North Carolina Central (1x). The lone SWAC team to claim a title is Grambling St., which won it in 2016 with a 10-9 victory over North Carolina Central.
4. Hayden Hagler shouldn’t be blamed- We’ve all seen the horrible reactions and events which occur after a team loses. There’s anger and sadness, which is expected. But some take it too far, including playing the blame game and worse. After the Tigers lost in OT, many immediately singled out tight end Hayden Hagler for dropping what would have been the game-tying TD in OT. Now we’re learning that he received death threats, which is absolutely egregious. Hagler didn’t cost them the game. The Tigers were favored and needed an incredible, last-second play to reach OT, so they were fortunate to even be in that position. But to threaten Hagler after the loss is completely unacceptable and we’re glad that so many have come to his defense.
5. The Celebration Bowl works- The idea of the game, and the game itself were shaky at first. Some doubted whether there was a demand for it, and others doubted it could survive. After three consecutive years of declining attendance, chatter about possibly canceling the annual game arose. Fortunately, there was a slight uptick in attendance in 2019 and Deion’s arrival in 2021 elevated it to new heights, almost reaching 50,000 attendees.
6. Sponsorship is necessary- As with any event, particularly a championship one, sponsorship is mandatory in order for it to succeed. The Air Force held the game entitlement in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Cricket Wireless took over that position in 2020 and has maintained it ever since. There are other sponsors, including Aflac, Allstate, Coke, Disney, McDonald’s, the US Army, Truist and Visa as well as media partners ESPN and Andscape. For HBCU sporting events to last and thrive, sponsorship is crucial. And don’t forget, the Celebration Bowl paid out $1 million to each conference this season, so the larger the sponsorship revenue intake, the larger the potential payout to each conference.
7. HBCU pride is thriving- HBCU pride has always existed. But we haven’t seen this level of pride and support since the 1990s when “The Cosby Show”, “A Different World” and New Jack Swing videos dominated the airwaves across the country. HBCUs are now receiving more financial support, HBCU athletic departments are expanding their program offerings and more athletes are considering HBCU programs in the recruitment process, particularly in football. This makes the outlook, particularly the financial outlook, for HBCU institutions bright.

The 2022 Celebration Bowl taught us many things, the majority of those lessons being positive signs for the future of HBCUs.

And with the success of the 2022 Celebration Bowl, the attention generated by and around Deion Sanders, the support of big-name athletes like Chris Paul who recently graduated from Winston-Salem St., and the continued push by individuals and organizations to support and donate to HBCUs, these historic institutions will continue to provide, educate, grow and thrive.