Deion Sanders Wants A Major Change To The Bowl System Matt Hladik

In just a few months as head coach at Jackson State, Deion Sanders has transformed the program’s recruiting. Now, he has his sights set on a different target.

HBCUs don’t have much of a presence during bowl season. There’s the Celebration Bowl, which features the champion of the MEAC against the champion of the SWAC, but that is the only opportunity for historically black programs to play in a postseason showcase.

Deion wants to change that. In a recent interview with HBCU GameDay, he expressed the desire to expand the bowl picture for HBCUs.

“Why we keep accepting Spam when we can get a steak? Why in the world would we do that?” Sanders said. “And then, I get upset with the simple-mindedness of people that say, ‘we already have a bowl.’ Well yeah, that’s for two teams. Only two teams. What about all the other teams that had winning records? What other bowls do they get to go to? None.

“So you mean to tell me you can go 9-2 and you don’t get to go to a bowl game because you’re not a champion? I just saw a bowl game that had a team that won two darn games this year. Made me mad. That got me hot. Why can’t that be us? Difference is all the people who are talking and murmuring, they’ve never been to a bowl. I went to four bowl games at Florida State. I remember the impact that had on me.”

 

In addition to providing exposure and a reward for players, Sanders mentioned the financial benefits of playing in a bowl game.

If “Prime Time” can translate his success on the recruiting trail to the field, he’ll have his team winning games in no time. Therefore, it’s no surprise he wants to see more bowl opportunities for Jackson State and its HBCU counterparts.