Tee Johnson in BusinessSports

2019 MEAC / SWAC Challenge: Dates, Game Info

It’s that time again, yall. The 2019 MEAC/SWAC Challenge comes to Atlanta’s Georgia State Stadium on Sunday, September 1. The game will feature Bethune-Cookman University and Jackson State University.

The MEAC/SWAC Challenge has been an Atlanta tradition for a number of years now.

2019 MEAC/SWAC Challenge: Everything you need to know

The annual game features teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Launched on Labor Day Weekend in 2005, the HBCU matchup was held for its first three years at historic Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.

In 2008, the game moved to Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Fla. Since 2016, the Challenge has been played at campus sites.

Get tickets here

About Bethune-Cookman College

Bethune-Cookman boasts the #1 band in the MEAC, known as the Marching Wildcats. They make up a 300+ unit that has five drum majors known affectionately as “The Five Horsemen.”

Bethune-Cookman is located in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Wildcats’ biggest rivals is in-state HBCU Florida A&M University.

About Jackson State University

JSU’s band, the Sonic Boom of the South, is the #1 ranked band in the SWAC. Jackson State University is located in Jackson, Mississippi. The mascot is a bengal tiger.

While 90% of JSU’s students hailed from Mississippi, other states make up the rest of the student body. The top three feeder states are Illinois (419 students), Louisiana (227), and Tennessee (192).

Among international students, most were from China, according to a JSU factbook.

Where to park at Georgia State Stadium

Parking at Georgia State Stadium is festival style, first-come-first-served in each lot. Handicap parking is available in the Green Lot on a first-come-first-served basis.

Please be advised handicap parking spaces are limited. A state issued placard or license plate and a parking pass are required for entry. Passes are currently available for the Green lot only.

Lots open 4 hrs prior to kickoff. No overnight parking. Online parking sales close on Saturday, August 31 at 11:59 p.m.

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Tee Johnson: Tee Johnson is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AtlantaFi.com, Atlanta’s independent hyper-local publication focused on news, restaurants, events, jobs, neighborhoods, and lifestyle. A 15+ year Atlanta resident and longtime journalist and content creator, she covers Travel News, Events, Business, Hair Care, and Money with a practical, Atlanta-first lens. Before launching the site, Johnson worked as a substitute teacher in Atlanta Public Schools and later in corporate roles at Home Depot’s Vinings offices. A marketer by training with a degree in business management, she grew frustrated with the fragmented, hard-to-find information about what was actually happening in the city. That gap led her to create AtlantaFi as a curated, one-stop resource for the pulse of Atlanta—#ATLHAPS—without the national noise. Editorial decisions remain independent; the publication does not accept products, meals, or services in exchange for coverage. As Editor-in-Chief, she oversees original local reporting and curated practical guides that help residents, visitors, and businesses discover and engage with the city. Readers turn to her work for timely event roundups, dining and neighborhood insights, business and travel updates, and straightforward money and lifestyle coverage grounded in firsthand observation of Atlanta. A devoted lover of all things Atlanta, Tee enjoys pickleball, a good margarita or bourbon, and walking the Atlanta Beltline. She can be reached for editorial inquiries at tjohnson@atlantafi.com (serious inquiries only).