New College Football Bowl Game Proposed for Conferences Representing HBCUs

From 1991 to 1999 the football champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), two groups made up of historically black educational institutions, met in the Heritage Bowl.

Now discussions are under way to resurrect the game as the Legacy Bowl. The first Legacy Bowl is tentatively scheduled to be played on December 17, 2011. Some colleges in the MEAC have reservations about the plan because the bowl game would mean that the winner of the conference would not be able to compete in the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

But the money offered to the two conferences for television rights — reported to be in the range of $3 million — may be too good to pass up. Many of the conference members face financial difficulties and would welcome the television revenues.

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