WHAT IS THE CRICKET MEAC/SWAC CHALLENGE?
The Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge is an annual Historically Black College and University (HBCU) football game that showcases teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge is owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.
HOW LONG HAS THE CRICKET MEAC/SWAC CHALLENGE BEEN IN EXISTENCE?
2020 will mark the 16th annual event. Birmingham, Alabama’s Legion Field hosted the event for the first three years (2005-07). The Challenge moved to the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando in 2008. In 2014, while the Florida Citrus Bowl was undergoing renovations, the game was played at the University of Central Florida’s Bright House Stadium. In 2015, the game returned to the Orlando Citrus Bowl for the final time. In 2016, the game visited a campus site for the first time with Bethune-Cookman hosting. Southern University hosted the 2017 event in Baton Rouge, La. On February 28, 2018 it was announced that the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge will be played at Atlanta’s Georgia State Stadium through 2020.
WHICH TEAMS HAVE PLAYED IN THE 15 YEARS OF THIS EVENT—AND WHICH CONFERENCE LEADS THE SERIES?
2022 > Alabama State defeated Howard University 23-13
2021 > North Carolina Central defeated Alcorn State 23-14
2019 > Bethune-Cookman defeated Jackson State 36-15
2018 > Prairie View A&M defeated North Carolina Central 40-24
2017 > Southern defeated South Carolina State 14-8
2016 > Game suspended due to weather
2015 > South Carolina State beat Arkansas at Pine Bluff 35-7
2014 > North Carolina A&T State topped Alabama A&M 47-13
2013 > Florida A&M defeated Mississippi Valley State 27-10
2012 > Bethune-Cookman defeated Alabama State 38-28
2011 > Bethune-Cookman beat Prairie View A&M 63-14
2010 > Southern University rallied to beat Delaware State 37-27
2009 > South Carolina State beat Grambling State 34-31
2008 > Hampton University outlasted Jackson State 17-13
2007 > Southern defeated Florida A&M 33-27
2006 > Hampton defeated Grambling State 27-26 (OT)
2005 > South Carolina State defeated Alabama State 27-14
The MEAC leads the series 9-4.
