Pioneer Bowl Enters Three-year Deal with Columbus, GA

July 1, 2010

Atlanta, GA – The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) have entered into a three-year deal to host the Pioneer Bowl in Columbus, Georgia.

The agreement, made in conjunction with the city of Columbus and the Columbus Sports Council, will begin with this year’s contest marked for Saturday, December 4, 2010.  All games will be played at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium, a 17,000-seat facility in the city of Columbus.

“Columbus is a bustling city and a perfect fit for the Pioneer Bowl,” says CIAA Commissioner Leon G. Kerry. “The Pioneer Bowl is an important game for the HBCU and Division II football communities and we’re glad that the city of Columbus is excited to partner in this tradition with us.”

 “I am extremely delighted about the opportunity to bring the Pioneer Bowl to a terrific host city.  We will work hard to ensure that Pioneer XII offers our students, alumni and fans a rich and exciting bowl game experience,” said SIAC Commissioner Greg Moore.

The Pioneer Bowl is the only NCAA sanctioned bowl game involving HBCU athletic conferences and one of only three sanctioned bowl games in Division II. Started in 1997, the game features teams from the CIAA and the SIAC. Last year’s nail-biter saw Tuskegee University (SIAC) defeat Elizabeth City State University (CIAA), 21-7.

This year will mark the 12^th installment of the bowl game and its first appearance in Columbus. Atlanta, GA, Mobile, AL, Charlotte, NC, and Columbia, SC, (2009) have all served as host cities to this historic game. 

About the CIAA
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), established in 1912, is the nation’s oldest historically black athletic conference.  As a pioneering conference, the CIAA is credited with hosting the first black college football game (Biddle College (JCSU) vs Livingstone, 1893) and the first championship game in college football history. The CIAA is comprised of 13 institutions; Bowie State, Chowan, Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State, Johnson C. Smith, Lincoln (PA), Livingstone, St. Augustine’s, St. Paul’s, Shaw, Virginia State, Virginia Union and Winston-Salem State; spanning from Pennsylvania to North Carolina.  

About the SIAC
Founded in 1913 the SIAC is comprised of thirteen historically black institutions (Albany State, Benedict, Claflin, Clark Atlanta, Fort Valley State, Kentucky State, Lane, LeMoyne-Owen, Miles, Morehouse, Paine, Stillman, Tuskegee)  located within a five state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee).