Celebration Bowl Viewership Climbed in 2021
The 2021 Celebration Bowl's viewers climbed to witness the battle between the South Carolina State Bulldogs and Jackson State Tigers.
Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders and South Carolina State head coach Oliver Pough shake hands at midfield following the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday December 18, 2021. Cb47; Credit:© Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK
The economic and television power of HBCU football was strong this season and it was evident in the HBCU football season finale at the 2021 Cricket Celebration Bowl on Dec. 18.
According to Showbuzzdaily.com, the game attracted 2.587 million viewers and accounted for a household rating of 1.61 on Saturday afternoon.
The Celebration Bowl viewership climbed from 1.805 million in 2019 and 2.3 viewers in 2018, per Sam Herder of Hero Sports. Alcorn State and North Carolina A& T played in both contests. The 2021 game became the best broadcast in the history of the event.
Utah State and Oregon State played in a primetime event — the Jimmy Kimmel Louisiana Bowl — and had 2.892 million viewers with a 1.72 household rating.
Celebration Bowl website forecasted the game to have a $21.7 million economic impact, per the Atlanta Convention and Visitor's Bureau. The final figures from this year's Celebration Bowl have not been released to the public.
Coach Buddy Pough and the South Carolina State Bulldogs defeated Coach Deion Sanders and the Jackson State Tigers football team by a final score of 31-10 in the 2021 Cricket Celebration Bowl. 48,653 fans attended the event in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Dec. 18.
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