NC A&T undefeated 11-0 and ranked 7th in FCS...Why were they not in tournament. Same with Grambling???

(12-16-2017 02:11 PM)class2000 Wrote:  NC A&T undefeated 11-0 and ranked 7th in FCS...Why were they not in tournament. Same with Grambling???

Some HBCU's opted out.

SWAC does not have an auto bid and MEAC has one for their conference winner (i think?) but they choose to send their conference winners to the celebration bowl instead. It makes financial sense to them. Plus the years that the MEAC was able to send an at large to the tournament, they didnt do so well. Not all records are the same

Both HBCU conferences (SWAC and MEAC) have given up their claims for an autobid. The SWAC did it a long time ago (which allows the Bayou Classic between Grambling and Southern to take place on NBC during the 1st week of playoffs), which the MEAC opted out 3 years ago (when it was shown that they just couldn't compete with the rest of D1). Instead, ABC/ESPN created the "Celebration Bowl" pitting the MEAC champ vs the SWAC champ.

MEAC teams who do not win the title are eligible to be selected for an At-Large bid (like NC A&T got last year). They have to have a very strong resume to make it, though.

The SWAC has their own championship during the 2nd week of playoffs, so they really would never be eligible.

So if they participate in a “bowl” then they shouldn’t be FCS?

I think it's great. There's a lot of history at these schools, and pairing off the two conference winners to end the season is a nod to that. It's kind of like the Army-Navy game. Unique, historic institutions who'd probably rather win that game than a bowl game.

(12-17-2017 06:56 AM)Dukes94 Wrote:  I think it's great. There's a lot of history at these schools, and pairing off the two conference winners to end the season is a nod to that. It's kind of like the Army-Navy game. Unique, historic institutions who'd probably rather win that game than a bowl game.

Agree 100%. No need for anybody to hate on these schools or these teams like I’ve seen on some sites/boards. College football in general has become a sport where hundreds of schools are playing for a non-specific or unattainable goal, and most bowl games have no meaningful history or connection between the schools. The Celebration Bowl gives these conferences a pretty marketable and cool finish line to the season that gives them national exposure and is exactly what the name says it is: a celebration of the schools and the culture of HBCU football. I’ve found myself watching this game the past few years because it feels like a real title game to these schools; it’s not just the third place team from a conference I don’t care about playing the fourth place team from another conference I don’t care about.

I wish they would play each other first or last game of season...and then participate in playoffs. I also think they should be forced to play in playoffs if they want to stay in FCS.

I saw a lot of coverage of the Celebration Bowl right on the front page of ESPN and the ESPN app while looking for the JMU FCS coverage...finally found the semifinals box score several clicks away...

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(12-16-2017 11:31 PM)Navyduke 07 Wrote:  So if they participate in a “bowl” then they shouldn’t be FCS?

That's not the only bowl that isn't in FBS. The Division III championship is the Stagg Bowl.

(12-17-2017 09:03 PM)EvanJ Wrote:  

(12-16-2017 11:31 PM)Navyduke 07 Wrote:  So if they participate in a “bowl” then they shouldn’t be FCS?

That's not the only bowl that isn't in FBS. The Division III championship is the Stagg Bowl.

But the Stagg Bowl is still the NCAA Div 3 final with the participants determined by their 32 team tournament.