December 18, 2024
Practically 37,000 folks witnessed Jackson State College defeat South Carolina State 28-7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium final weekend.
Over the weekend, 36,823 attended the 2024 Crick Celebration Bowl in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the place Jackson State College defeated South Carolina State, 28-7.
However, in accordance with HBCU Gameday, attendance dropped for the third straight season. In 2023, 41,108 watched Florida A&M get by Howard College 30-26 in 2023. In 2022, a record-breaking 49,670 followers got here out to see North Carolina Central College beat Jackson State in time beyond regulation, 41-34.
Analysts say the venue’s dimension, a lot larger than the earlier stadium, the Georgia Dome (which was destroyed in 2017), contributed to the drop in attendance. Increased ticket costs and adjustments in logistics additionally affected turnout.
If this sport had been performed within the Georgia Dome, it might have surpassed 2015’s attendance of 35,528.
After canceling the 2020 bowl due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the sport returned in 2021 with almost 50,000 followers in attendance. That quantity has been attributed to Jackson State’s involvement as Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders was the crew’s head coach.
However there’s excellent news. The Celebration Bowl soared in tv rankings, HBCU Gameday reported. The sport, televised by ABC, drew a mean of two.1 million viewers, a 37% improve over final 12 months.
“This 12 months’s success reaffirms the Celebration Bowl’s position because the premier showcase for HBCU soccer,” John T. Grant, govt director of the Celebration Bowl, informed HBCU Gameday. “The choice to regulate the sport’s timing was strategic, and it clearly paid off. We’re excited concerning the momentum this creates as we proceed to raise HBCU athletics on a nationwide platform.”
Timing additionally helped.
“Shifting the 2024 Cricket Celebration Bowl one week earlier proved to be a profitable gamble,” HBCU Gameday’s Steven J. Gaither noticed. “The shift prevented direct competitors with the expanded Faculty Soccer Playoff, guaranteeing the sport retained a primetime highlight on ABC.”
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