Mississippi’s capital city has announced plans to help the Jackson State football team celebrate its recent HBCU title.
The Tigers, who won the Celebration Bowl over South Carolina State on Saturday, ended the season with a 12-2 mark and a SWAC championship to go along with the program’s fourth national title. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba commended the team during his weekly press conference on Monday, announcing that the city and the university have agreed on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, for a championship parade.
“We’re truly excited to bring home the Celebration Bowl championship in addition to the Black National Championship Trophy,” Lumumba said. “That is not where the celebration ends. We’ve heard the numerous calls and seen the text messages. I could not leave [Mercedes-Benz Stadium] without being inundated with requests and questions about whether there will be a celebration parade. There will, in fact, be a parade.”
While most details are still in the works, Lumumba said the parade is tentatively set to start at 3 p.m. as a lead into the city’s Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend celebration. He added that the date was strategically chosen to ensure all Jackson State students are back from holiday break to take part in the parade. Fall intermission at Jackson State began on Dec. 9 and will last until classes begin on Jan. 6.
“These are college students that are going home for the holidays. We want them – especially these players who have sacrificed time not only on other holidays in order to practice and tend to the demands of a good football team,” Lumumba said. “So, after they return from the holidays, we have talked to the administration at Jackson State, and we have settled on January 17.”
The Jackson State football team finished on the right side of history when defeating South Carolina State 28-7 for the university’s first Celebration Bowl victory since the game was created in 2015. Since then, it has served as the equivalent of the national championship for historically Black colleges who opt out of the FCS playoffs.
The Tigers previously made it to the Celebration Bowl in 2021 and 2022 but were unable to win under then-head coach Deion Sanders. T.C. Taylor, in his second season at the helm, helped the team find redemption as it won its first national title since 1996.
