NC A&T, Grambling State Headed to Celebration Bowl

By Celebration Bowl PR

ATLANTA – The second invitation to the third annual Celebration Bowl to be played on Saturday, Dec. 16, at noon ET from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta has been extended to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) college football champion, Grambling State University. The Grambling Tigers defeated the Alcorn Braves 40-32 in Saturdays SWAC Championship Game. Executive Director of the Celebration Bowl, John Grant, was on-site at in Houston and presented Grambling State University Coach Broderick Fobbs with the official invitation.

Congratulations to SWAC champion Grambling State for punching their ticket to the Celebration Bowl for the second year in a row, said Grant. We are excited for the Tigers to join us in this historic match-up against the North Carolina A&T Aggies and see which team will win their second Celebration Bowl in the past three years!

For three years straight, Grambling has faced Alcorn State in the SWAC’s title game, and for the second year in a row, the Tigers won the conference title and all bragging rights. Grambling has won 11 straight after a season opening loss at FBS Tulane, rising to #12 in final FCS coaches poll in the process. Looking back further, the Tigers have won 21 straight games vs. FCS opponents, including the 2016 Celebration Bowl vs. North Carolina Central. North Carolina A&T comes into the game undefeated with an 11-game win streak, which earned the Aggies a #7 ranking in the final FCS poll. The Aggies dominated the MEAC all season, earning 12 of 25 spots on the all-conference first teams.

Establishing itself as the first bowl game of the season, the Celebration Bowl is a postseason football game owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN. The game features the MEAC and SWAC champions and will be televised on ABC. ESPN Events collaborates with 100 Black Men of Atlanta to organize the game’s ancillary events which include a youth symposium, robotics showcase, gospel night, fan experience and more. North Carolina A&T defeated Alcorn State 41-34 in the inaugural game in 2015. In last year’s game, Grambling State defeated North Carolina Central 10-9. The two games have had more than 66,000 combined fans cheering their teams and conferences on.

Fans can purchase tickets to the Celebration Bowl online at thecelebrationbowl.com or ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. Prices range from $50 to $175 including taxes and fees. A full list of events surrounding the game is available on the events website.

Fans interested in ticket and hospitality packages for the Celebration Bowl can also purchase packages and resell tickets through PRIMESPORT, the Official Ticket Exchange and Gameday Experience Provider of the 2017 Celebration Bowl. As the Official Ticket Exchange and Gameday Experience Provider, PRIMESPORT offers packages for the ultimate game day experience. For more information, please visit PRIMESPORT.com.

For MEAC fans, a special rate of $106/night is being offered at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, and is available for December 15-16. Please visit the Celebration Bowl website for more details.

For SWAC fans, a special rate of $97/night is being offered at the Hilton Atlanta, and is available for December 15-16. Please visit the Celebration Bowl website for more details.

Additional hotel rooms are available at the Westin Peachtree Plaza for $99/night and the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Atlanta Downtown for $101/night. Please visit the Celebration Bowl website for more details.