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The 2022 Celebration Bowl was vastly successful in all metrics once again. ShowBuzzTV (via Nielsen) reported that the matchup between Jackson State & North Carolina Central drew 2.4 million TV viewers on ABC and was the #3 show on network television behind Good Morning America and ahead of the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl between Fresno State & Washington State which drew 2.3 million TV viewers on ABC following the Celebration Bowl. The 2022 edition of the Celebration Bowl was the fourth most viewed in the history of the game, behind 2016 (2.7 million), 2021 (2.6 million) and 2015 (2.5 million).
The 2022 Celebration Bowl also joins 6 other Nielsen rated HBCU Football games broadcasted on linear television to attract significant TV viewership, as shown below. It also attracted several celebrity viewers such as Philidelphia 76er Forward Montrez Harrell, Arizona Cardinals Defensive End J.J. Watt and multimedia personality Van Lathan.
Watching the OG Primetime coach playing against the home team HBCU NCCU on abc thats hard for all HBCU!
— Montrezl Harrell (@MONSTATREZZ) December 17, 2022
The NC Central QB is impressive
— Van Lathan Jr (@VanLathan) December 17, 2022
HBCU National Championship game is 🔥🔥🔥🔥
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) December 17, 2022
The Celebration Bowl also attracted 49,653 fans in attendance at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The Celebration Bowl has been solidified in HBCU Culture as a must go to event of the year. In 2021, the MEAC & SWAC extended their deal with ESPN Events to host the Celebration Bowl until 2027. Both the SWAC & MEAC forfited their automatic FCS Playoff bid to host the Celebration Bowl in 2014. Both conferences still can have FCS playoff participants via an at-large bid such as FAMU in 2021.
