The ESPN-owned MEAC-SWAC Challenge has announced its participating teams for the next two seasons.
Alcorn State University will face Bethune-Cookman University on Sept. 4 in Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, and South Carolina State University will face Southern University at A.W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge on Sept. 3, 2017.
The new conference home-and-home schedule marks the first time the game will move outside of Orlando since relocating there in 2008. Established in 2005, the game was previously played in Birmingham.
“We are excited to have Bethune-Cookman and South Carolina State represent the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in the 12th and 13th annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge, respectively,” said MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas. “The 2016 and 2017 MEAC/SWAC Challenges have been an instrumental event for our conference in continuing to expand our brand on a national platform by playing on ESPN, the Worldwide Leader in Sports, as well as, providing our student-athletes, institutions and coaches with an opportunity to participate in a bowl-like, first-class event, which kicks off the football season.”
“We are excited to have Alcorn State and Southern represent the Southwestern Athletic Conference in the 12th and 13th annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge, respectively,” said Duer Sharp, commissioner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. “The MEAC/SWAC Challenge has been an enormous event for our conference in continuing to expand our league on a national stage, playing on ESPN, all while providing our fans an historical legacy to look back on. We are delighted to have a pair of teams that have finished near the top of our conference the past few years signify the start of college football season for the next two seasons.”
