2016 Celebration Bowl
| 2016 Celebration Bowl | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl | |||||||
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| Date | December 17, 2016 | ||||||
| Season | 2016 | ||||||
| Stadium | Georgia Dome | ||||||
| Location | Atlanta, Georgia | ||||||
| Payout | US$1,000,000 (Per Conference) | ||||||
The 2016 Celebration Bowl (officially known as the 2016 Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl) is a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 17, 2016 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The 2nd Celebration Bowl game will matcg the champion of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, against the champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, the two historically black division I conferences.
ESPN Events is the organizer of the game, while the 100 Black Men of Atlanta will manage the game's ancillary events. The United States Air Force Reserve are the title sponsors of the game.
Teams
The participants for the Celebration Bowl game are based upon the final regular season standings which determine the MEAC football champion and the SWAC football championship Game determining the SWAC representative. The SWAC representative will be announced at the conclusion of the SWAC Football Championship Game which matches the top teams from the conferences' eastern and western division.
North Carolina Central
The North Carolina Central entered the season ranked 4th in both the Sheridan & BoxtoRow polls and picked to finish 3rd overall in the MEAC. The eagles started their season with back to back losses to BCS opponents Duke and Western Michigan.
Grambling
Grambling started the season ranked 5th in national black college football polls and picked 2nd in the SWAC Western division. The tigers began the season defeating Virginia-Lynchburg and losing to Arizona.