J-Speaks: The Inaugural Bowl Game Between The SWAC And MEAC

Today, the 2015 NCAA Division I Collegiate postseason will begin. While the focus shifts to the four teams competing in the College Football Playoff, the Universities of Alabama, Clemson, Michigan State and Oklahoma to see who will be playing in the National Championship on Jan. 11, 2016 there are a number of interesting bowl games that will be taking place leading up to that. There is one bowl contest that has me very intrigued and that is the opener of bowl and it is an inaugural one between two very prestigious Historically Black Colleges/Universities that will be showcased on national television.

This Saturday at 12 p.m. eastern on American Broadcasting Company (ABC), the back-to-back Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) champion and SWAC East Division champion Alcorn State Braves (9-3; 7-2 in SWAC) will be taking on the co-champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) the North Carolina A&T Aggies (9-2; 7-1 in MEAC) in the inaugural Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA.

The Braves, led by head coach Jay Hopson (32-16 in four seasons at the school)   punched their ticket to this inaugural bowl game by defeating the SWAC West Division champion Grambling State Tigers (9-3; 9-0 in SWAC) in the conference’s championship game 49-21 this past Saturday at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.

Alcorn State was led to victory by senior running back Darryan Ragsdale from Brandon, MS who had 188 yards rushing in helping the Braves become the first repeat champion of the SWAC since the aforementioned Tigers did it from 2000 to 2002.

The Braves as a team set the SWAC title game records with 613 total yards, which included 411 of those yards on the ground in route to putting 49 points on the scoreboard.

Braves’ sophomore quarterback Lenorris Footman, from Monticello, FL went 15 for 24 passing for 202 yards and three touchdowns, while also toting the football 19 times for 101 yards and a touchdown. The recipient of 120 of those yards and two of those three scores were to junior wide receiver from San Antonio, TX Marquis Warford.

The defense of Alcorn State held the high flying Tigers offensive down most of the day as SWAC Offensive Player of the Year in senior quarterback Johnathan Williams went just 19 for 38 passing for 225 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, which were courtesy of senior cornerback from Baltimore, MD Warren Gatewood, which was also a new championship game record.

The Aggies, led by head coach Rod Broadway (37-19 in five seasons with the school) reached this inaugural bowl game due to a tie-breaker that came on the heels of a three-way tie for the 2015 MEAC crown between them, the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (9-3) and the North Carolina Central Eagles (9-3).

The Aggies boast their own talented runner of the football in junior Tarik Cohen, who was selected as the 2015 MEAC Offensive Player of the Year as he led the conference in rushing for the third consecutive season in surpassing the 1,000-yard mark. The Bunn, NC native is the Aggies’ all-time leading rusher with 3,735 yards.

Making those gaping rush lanes for Cohen is the 2015 MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Year in freshmen Brandon Parker, a 6-7, 279 pound offensive tackle from Kannapolis, NC.

The defensive standout for North Carolina A&T is senior cornerback Tony McRae from Laurinburg, NC. The two-time First-Team All-MEAC standout this season has garnered three interceptions and 49 total tackles, 36 of them solo.

Junior defensive lineman Marquis Ragland has proven this season he can get after the quarterback and is solid against the run. The Fayetteville, NC native had 46 total tackles, 26 of them solo and 2.5 sacks.

Footman, who as mentioned had a performance to remember in the SWAC title game last week showed backed up his solid numbers of the 2015 season, which saw the sophomore from Monticello, FL pass for 962 yards, 12 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

The main recipient of those passes from Footman is Warford, the SWAC Newcomer of the Year who has 35 receptions for 476 yards and four scores.

The Braves have a solid complimentary ground attack in the aforementioned Ragsdale, who rushed for 1,144 yards and eight touchdowns.

This inaugural bowl game will not only feature two solid football teams from their respective conferences, it will also put the spotlight on two Historically Black Colleges/Universities, which is a huge moment in the eyes of the Executive Director of the bowl game John Grant.

“Well this is a huge opportunity,” Grant said to ESPN sideline reporter Tiffany Greene. “When you see a game like this where you have two teams playing for a championship and now they have a next game to go to at the bowl level, these sorts of experiences for the young men and for our HBCU’s  is something we’ve never had before and were really excited to present tat to them.”

This inaugural bowl game went from a thought, a dream to a reality as Grant told Greene through years of discussion. It became a reality thanks to the efforts of MEAC Commissioner Dr. Dennis E. Thomas and SWAC Commissioner Duer Sharp in working with ESPN and their university presidents and chief executive officers to send their conference champions to the this inaugural bowl in the ATL this weekend.

Grant also said achieving this moment with the landscape of college football now is just a natural progression that a team from the SWAC and MEAC get the opportunity to play in a bowl game like many of the other Division I Conference schools do.

The other great part about this upcoming moment which is a little over 48 hours from happening is that on Dec. 27, 1892 the first Black College Intercollegiate football contest was played in the snow in North Carolina between Livingstone College and Biddle College, which eventually changed its name to Johnson C. Smith University. Biddle won the game 5-0.

“So 123 years later this year, The Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl sort of fulfills a vision that people had that long ago and with support by many up until now. So were delighted to be a part of it,” Grant said to Greene last Saturday.

A major partner of the inaugural Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl is the 100 Black Men, who will be doing in conjunction with will be having events like The Male Youth Symposium, a robotic and showcase and invitational and coordinated fan experience.

Grant, who said to Greene that he has worked with the 100 Black Men for a long time see this bowl not just as a football contest between two teams from conferences that are of HBCU ties, but as a way to bring the African American community together and showcase to the viewers and those that will attend the game a look at what these two colleges have to offer high school students and younger a look at where they can continue their education.

“It really helps the bowl be more than just a game, but also something that impacts the community and the young people there in,” Grant said to Greene.

“So were working really hard to ensure that, especially young people in Atlanta and around the surrounding area have a chance to participate in this outstanding first inaugural Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl.”

What makes me intrigued about watching this inaugural bowl game tomorrow is the possibility that my alma mater Howard University (1-10; 1-7 in MEAC) could be playing in this game one day.

This moment brings back the memory of The Bison Men’s Basketball team participating in the inaugural “Big Apple Classic” back on Dec. 2, 2006 at the home of the New York Knicks, Madison Square Garden in New York, NY against our arch rival the Hampton University Pirates.

I had the chance to see my alma mater compete on the same court that many collegiate teams from the Big East, ACC, SEC to name a few did in a battle of “The Real HU,” which is my school versus “The Other HU.”

We managed to win against our arch rivals for the first time in quite a while 95-84. On top of that, I had a chance to go into the interview room and ask questions to the head coach of the team at the time Kevin Nickleberry and some of the star players, who I became very good friends with in Will Gant, Darek “Skip” Mitchell and Darryl Hudson for a story that I did for a local newspaper that I was at back then, the Long Island Press.

Besides winning the game, I was happy for the team because they got a chance to perform at, “The Mecca” of basketball MSG in New York City.

Being able to see it with many of my former peers and classmates of Howard was a very nice touch as well.

Since its inauguration, “The Big Apple Classic” has grown into the ultimate family and social event, which has attracted thousands of students, alumni and fans of the MEAC and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), which has been represented by arch rivals Virginia State University and Virginia Union University across the nation to the “Big Apple.”

The 2014 showcase besides the basketball doubleheader featured a college fair represented by over 25 school; a professional networking event; a battle of the bands; a step show; drumline competition and a community impact award presentation. 

That is the opportunity that the Alcorn State Braves and North Carolina A&T Aggies have in front of them through this week and the culmination with the game tomorrow on national television to kick-off the 2015 Bowl season.

I am looking forward to this contest today and the day that my alma mater’s football team is a participant in this bowl game, where it will have the growth and exposure that “The Big Apple Classic” has become.

Information, statistics and quotations are courtesy www.espn.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/121306/celebration-bowl-“Celebration Bowl: Alcorn State Braves vs. North Carolina A&T Aggies” by Jared Shanker and Andrea Adelson on Dec. 7, 2015; thebigappleclassic.com; www.meacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=1524172; www.swac.org/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205246331; www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/first-black-college-football-game-played; 12/5/15 4 p.m. College Football Primetime, presented by McDonalds, the 2015 SWAC Championship: Alcorn State Braves versus Grambling State Tigers from NRG Stadium in Houston, TX commentated by Mark Neely and Jay Walker, reporter Tiffany Greene.