MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (2008–2015)[4][5]
The MEAC/SWAC Challenge is an annual historically black college (HBCU) football game showcasing a team from each of the two NCAA Division I conferences made up entirely of HBCUs—the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).[a][6] The series began in 2005[7] and initially paired the defending conference champions,[8] although the selection process was broadened in 2007 to include non-champions as well. The series record currently stands at 11 wins for the MEAC to the SWAC's seven (along with a "no contest" game in 2016,[9] and a cancellation in 2020). The Challenge is televised nationally on ESPN and is owned by ESPN Events. It was historically associated with the Labor Day weekend, but starting in 2021 has instead taken place a week earlier during college football's Week 0.[4][7]
History
South Carolina State beat Alabama State in the first Challenge in 2005, and for its first three years the event was held in Birmingham, Alabama (home of the SWAC's offices[10]), at Legion Field. In 2007, the event attracted its largest crowd—over 30,000—as Southern beat Florida A&M and earned the SWAC's first victory in the series. In 2008, the Challenge moved to Orlando, Florida after a new sponsorship was announced;[4]Walt Disney World Resort would sponsor the event for eight years until 2015.[5] From 2008 to 2013, as well as in 2015, it was held in Orlando at the Florida Citrus Bowl, now called Camping World Stadium. In 2014, the game was played at Spectrum Stadium, now known as FBC Mortgage Stadium, as Camping World Stadium underwent renovations.
The 2020 game, as well as the Celebration Bowl, were both canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic (in particular, due to a decision by the MEAC to cancel all fall sports for the 2020 season).[13]
^#: Score is unofficial. With 7:14 remaining in the 2nd Quarter (22:46 point of game), the game was delayed due to lightning for nearly three hours. After several unsuccessful attempts to restart the game, the game was called no contest because the game had not yet reached official status.[2]
^All full members of both conferences are HBCUs, but the MEAC has non-HBCU affiliate members in select non-football sports.
^The legal definition of an HBCU is an institution founded before the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 primarily to educate African Americans. Georgia State was founded in 1913, but did not admit its first African-American students until 1962. GSU is now classified by the U.S. federal government as a "Predominantly Black Institution", defined as an institution that does not meet the legal definition of an HBCU, but with a majority of undergraduates receiving need-based financial aid and at least 40% African-American undergraduate enrollment.
