Saturday's matchup between North Carolina Central and Southern University in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge drew a huge TV audience. The game, which aired in primetime on ABC, drew 867,000 viewers. While that number is a drop from last season's edition of the game, which featured Florida A&M and Norfolk State and drew 1.3 million viewers, the viewership number is still significant.
The first half of the game was a high-action affair, with strong offense from North Carolina Central and big plays from both Cameron McCoy and Trey Holley of Southern University. The MEAC/SWAC Challenge enjoyed limited competition from other football games, with the game featuring Hawaii generating 1.3 million viewers on CBS, and the UC Davis-Mercer game, which was considered a no-contest following a long weather delay, drawing 422,000 viewers.
The trend of the Celebration Bowl generating more views than the MEAC/SWAC Challenge continued into 2025, as the 2024 Celebration Bowl averaged 2.1 million viewers on ABC. The Celebration Bowl is positioned as the first bowl game of the bowl season and now occurs a week earlier due to the new college football playoff format.
The MEAC/SWAC Challenge took advantage of its primetime positioning on ABC and the reach of broadcast television. This edition of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge is also the first HBCU game to be broadcast on ESPN's new direct-to-consumer platform.
ESPN is set to be the home of several highly anticipated college football matchups in week one, including Michael Vick's debut as a head football coach for Norfolk State against Towson University. DeSean Jackson's debut as head coach of Delaware State versus new FBS contender, Delaware, will be available to watch on ESPN+.
Also highly anticipated is the Orange Blossom Classic, featuring the return of Florida A&M and Howard University, set to take place on Sunday afternoon and aired on ESPNU after being aired on ESPN and ESPN2 since its return as an annual classic game in 2021.
