Deion Sanders Wants A Major Change To The Bowl System
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.