About HBCU

DREAM BOWL WEEKEND- January 12-16 2017

Cutting Edge Sports Management

MISSION:

Cutting Edge Sports Management (CESM) will present the first Dream Bowl Weekend January 12-16, 2017 with family and football-related activities culmination with the HBCU Spirit of America Bowl during Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend.

The Dream Bowl Weekend will raise social awareness and offer career opportunities on and off the field through sport and competition.

EVENT OVERVIEW:

The Dream Bowl Weekend includes:

The HBCU Spirit of America Bowl, an HBCU football all-star game to be played on January 15, 2017

NFL/CFL-style combine; 11 Scouts last year (5 NFL, 5 CFL, and one global scout)

Sports Award Banquet with featured keynote speakers;

HBCU Band performances; and a career services and career fair for the student-athletes.

The Weekend will celebrate the tradition, heritage, community, and culture of HBCU football with full interaction with its athletes, fans, students, and alumni.

The Dream Bowl Weekend Event will capture the spirit and lifestyle found on the 107 HBCU campuses across the country.

Building off of the success of the Dream Bowl, which is now entering its fifth year, the HBCU Spirit of America Bowl will feature 110 of the best players from the 53 HBCU football programs across the country who play in 13 different conferences from the NCAA D-I FCS and D-II divisions and in the NAIA.

HBCU student-athletes have been well represented in the past Dream Bowl games with an average of 15-20 in the Dream Bowl III and Dream Bowl IV

HBCU SPIRIT OF AMERICA BOWL:

The game will be played in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. Hampton Roads is home to two MEAC Conference (D-I FCS) schools, Hampton University and Norfolk State.

In addition, two other HBCU schools (Virginia State and Virginia Union) are within a two-hour drive, while Virginia University-Lynchburg, Winston-Salem State, and Morgan State are within a 4-hour drive.

The MEAC conference fans are also used to traveling to Hampton Roads for inter-conference games against Hampton and Norfolk State.

The 110 student-athletes will be coached by African-American coaches and the fans will be treated to a halftime show featuring an HBCU band performance celebrating the music and dance of the HBCU community and culture.

HBCU SPIRIT OF AMERICA BOWL COMBINE:

Scouts from the NFL and CFL will conduct a true combine for all Spirit of America Bowl players following the same tests and set-up established by the NFL-Super Combine in Indianapolis.

Last year several players’ test results exceeded those of the participants at the Indianapolis combine,

We are looking to televise the combine this year.

HBCU SPIRIT OF AMERICA BOWL SPORTS AWARDS BANQUET:

The players, their friends, families, and former coaches, along with NFL and sport industry dignitaries are invited to the HBCU Spirit of America Bowl Sports Awards Banquet.

Each player receives a free ticket to the Sports Awards Banquet where the athletes are introduced and presented with their personalized game jerseys by their head coaches.

Special awards will also be presented to the athletes and coaches.

The banquet guests will be treated to motivational speeches from a keynote speaker who will inspire the players and guests.

Last year’s banquet hosted over 300 attendees and 6 former NFL players.

CESM CAREER FAIR

The numbers do not lie: 95% of Fortune 500 CEOs played college sports. Athletes make great prospective hires as they are equipped with valuable skills that often cannot be found on a resume.

Dedication. Perseverance. Commitment. Drive for excellence. Teamwork. Leadership. Ability to bounce back from loss or defeat. These qualities translate into success on the field and more importantly for companies, success off the field.

The vision of CESM is help create a successful transition from sports to career by bringing national companies and organizations looking to hire recent and soon-to-be college graduates with the skills ready to enter and succeed in the workplace.

CESM will attract companies and CEO’s from around the country and play host to a weekend filled with career services workshops including resume preparation, interview coaching, and goal-setting seminars.

CESM envisions providing every student-athlete at the Dream Bowl Weekend the opportunity to transition to a successful life after sports by making a positive impact in their lives.

HBCU FOOTBALL FAN BASE

Traditionally, HBCU fans and community turn HBCU football games (especially the HBCU Classics) into multi-day spectaculars, where they gather to celebrate football, culture, music and customs.

Similar to a college bowl game, the fans show their pride in their schools and their heritage with parades, dancing, tailgating, and grilling their favorite foods.

Details about the rich HBCU fan base and rich history with respect to major events and football legends, are in the following appendix.

EXHIBIT: HBCU Fan Base and History Detail

HBCU CONFERENCES: (13)

Central States Football League

CIAA

Gulf Coast

MEAC

MIAA

Mountain East Conference

Ohio Valley Conference

PSAC

Red River Athletic Conference

SIAC

SWAC

USCAA

Peach Belt Conference

HBCU FOOTBALL SCHOOLS: (53)
Texas College

Bowie State

Elizabeth City State University

Fayetteville State University

Johnson C. Smith University

Livingstone College

Shaw

St. Augustine’s University

Winston-Salem State University

Lincoln University (Pa)

Virginia State University

Virginia Union University

Edward Waters College

Delaware State

Bethune-Cookman

Florida A&M University

Savannah State University

Morgan State University

North Carolina A&T University

North Carolina Central University

South Carolina State

Hampton University

Norfolk State University

Howard University

Lincoln University (Mississippi)

West Virginia State University

Tennessee State University

Cheyney

Langston University

Miles College

Stillman College

Tuskegee University

Albany State

Clark Atlanta University

Fort Valley State University

Morehouse College

Kentucky State

Central State University

Benedict College

Lane College

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Arkansas at Pine-Bluff

Grambling State University

Southern

Alcorn State

Jackson State

Mississippi Valley State University

Prairie View A&M University

Texas Southern University

Concordia College-Alabama

Virginia University of Lynchburg

UNC at Pembroke

HBCU FOOTBALL CLASSICS: (Traditional games between HBCU Schools)

Palmetto Capital City Classic (Columbia, South Carolina): Benedict College vs. Livingstone College

Labor Day Classic (Houston, Texas): Prairie View A&M vs. Texas Southern

MEAC/SWAC Challenge (Orlando, Florida): Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. South Carolina State

John Merritt Classic (Nashville, Tennessee): Alabama State vs. Tennessee State

Two Rivers Classic (Fayetteville, North Carolina): Fayetteville State vs. UNC Pembroke

Southern Heritage Classic (Memphis, Tennessee): Tennessee State vs. Jackson State

Nations Football Classic (Washington, DC): Hampton vs. Howard

Circle City Classic (Indianapolis, Indiana): Kentucky State vs. Central State

Chicago Football Classic (Chicago, Illinois): Morgan State vs. Howard

Down East Viking Football Classic (Rocky Mount, NC): Elizabeth City State vs. Winston-Salem State

Battle of the Bay (Hampton, VA): Hampton vs. Norfolk State      

State Fair Classic (Dallas, TX): Grambling State vs. Prairie View A&M   

Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic (Columbus, GA): Tuskegee vs. Morehouse        

Magic City Classic (Birmingham, AL): Alabama State vs. Alabama A&M            

Fountain City Classic (Columbus, GA): Fort Valley State vs. Albany State         

Turkey Day Classic (Montgomery, AL): Miles vs. Alabama State            

Florida Classic (Orlando, FL): Florida A&M vs. Bethune-Cookman          

Bayou Classic (New Orleans, LA): Grambling State vs. Southern A&M

Celebration Bowl (Atlanta, GA): MEAC Conference Champion vs. SWAC Conference Champion         

Notes:

The inaugural Celebration Bowl took place on December 19, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia

Attendance was 35,528

The game between North Carolina A&T-Alcorn State was telecast on ABC

Drew a 1.9 overnight rating on a Saturday afternoon, according to Sports Media Watch.

Second highest rating of the day, trailing the Las Vegas Bowl featuring rivals Utah and BYU.

Second most watched college sporting event on Saturday

Beat the #22-UCLA/#11-UNC basketball game which aired at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS

Beat the Ohio State/#4-Kentucky at 3:30 p.m. which garnered a 1.69 rating

Beat out Fox’s UFC coverage at 8:00 p.m. which garnered a 1.82 rating.

GREAT HBCU PLAYERS IN THE NFL

Quarterback – Doug Williams, Grambling State (1974-78)

Running Back – Walter Payton, Jackson State (1971-75)

Wide Receiver – Jerry Rice, Mississippi Valley State (1981-85)

Tackle – Jackie Slater, Jackson State (1972-76)

Guard – Rayfield Wright, Fort Valley State (1963-67)

Center – Woody Peoples, Grambling State (1964-68)

Guard – Larry Little, Bethune-Cookman (1964-68)

Tackle – Art Shell, Maryland State (Maryland-Eastern Shore) (1964-68)

Tight End – Raymond Chester, Morgan State (1966-70)

Wide Receiver – Bob Hayes, Florida A&M (1960-64)

Running Back – Leroy Kelly, Morgan State (1960-64)

Defensive Line – Michael Strahan , Texas Southern (1988-1992)

Defensive Line – Willie Davis, Grambling State (1952-56)

Defensive Line - Buck Buchanan, Grambling State (1959-63)

Defensive Line - Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Tennessee State (1970-74)

Defensive Line - Deacon Jones, South Carolina State/Mississippi Vocational (1958-60)

Linebacker - Willie Lanier, Morgan State (1963-67) 

Linebacker - Harry Carson, South Carolina State (1972-75)

Cornerback - Willie Brown, Grambling State (1959-63)

Cornerback - Johnny Sample, Maryland State (1954-58)

Safety - Ken Houston, Prairie View A&M (1963-67)

Safety - Mel Blount, Southern (1966-70)

CURRENT NFL PLAYERS FROM HBCU SCHOOLS

Eric Weems Wide Receiver

Frank Kearse        Defensive Tackle

Robert Mathis        Linebacker

Larry Donnell         Tight End

Eric Harper            Linebacker

Jason Hatcher       Defensive Tackle

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie Cornerback