ATLANTA, Georgia -- To fulfill his vision for his conference’s football teams, Dennis Thomas was willing to play a long game of persuading, listening and waiting. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference commissioner’s patience will be rewarded Saturday when North Carolina A&T and Alcorn State meet in the Georgia Dome for the inaugural Celebration Bowl.It will be the fruition of a plan first hatched 11 1/2 years ago by leaders of the MEAC, the Southwestern Athletic Conference and ESPN. A former football coach and athletic director, Thomas called it a highlight of his career.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I’m very, very pleased.”
In the college football universe, a bowl game between two teams that couldn’t hold a candle to power-conference competition (Alcorn State was drilled by Georgia Tech in the season opener) may not make much noise. But it carries its own significance. The game matches the champions of the two FCS leagues comprised of historically black colleges and universities. It will be televised on ABC, is expected to draw around 35,000 and will be the first bowl game of the 42-game bowl season.
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