| Year Game Played: | 2021 |
| Title Sponsor: | Cricket |
| Game Name: | Celebration Bowl |
| Subheader: | 6th Celebration Bowl |
| Visitor Name Short: | South Carolina State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Bulldogs |
| Home Nickname: | Tigers |
| Visitor School: | South Carolina State University |
| Home Name Short: | Jackson State |
| Football Season: | 2021 |
| Home School: | Jackson State University |
| Visitor Record: | 6–5 |
| Home Record: | 11–1 |
| Visitor Conference: | MEAC |
| Home Conference: | SWAC |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 14 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 3 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Visitor Coach: | Oliver Pough |
| Home Coach: | Deion Sanders |
| Home Rank Stats: | 15 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 14 |
| Date Game Played: | December 18 |
| Stadium: | Mercedes-Benz Stadium |
| City: | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mvp: | Off: Shaquan Davis (WR, SCSU) Def: Decobie Durant (DB, SCSU)[1] |
| Odds: | Jackson State by 11.5 |
| Referee: | Tim Rich (AAC)[2] |
| Attendance: | 48,653 |
| Us Network: | ABC |
| Us Announcers: | Mark Jones (play-by-play), Robert Griffin III (analyst), Jay Walker (analyst), Quint Kessenich and Tiffany Greene (sidelines) |
| Different Previous: | 2019 |
The 2021 Celebration Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 18, 2021, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta,[3] with television coverage on ABC.[4] It was one of the highest attended and sixth edition of the Celebration Bowl, and was the only one of the 2021–22 bowl games to feature FCS teams. Sponsored by wireless service provider Cricket Wireless, the game was officially known as the Cricket Celebration Bowl.
Each year, the Celebration Bowl matches the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) against the champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). These are the two prominent NCAA Division I conferences of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
The game was played between the South Carolina State Bulldogs, champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), and the Jackson State Tigers, champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
See main article: 2021 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team. The Bulldogs of the MEAC clinched a berth in the Celebration Bowl on November 13;[5] they completed their regular season with a 5–0 record in conference play, 6–5 overall. This was the first Celebration Bowl appearance by the Bulldogs.
See main article: 2021 Jackson State Tigers football team. The SWAC was represented by the winner of the SWAC Championship Game, the Jackson State Tigers, who defeated the Prairie View A&M Panthers by a score of 27–10 on December 4.