The HBCU Legacy Bowl is around the corner, but a coaching shakeup has caused an alteration.
Prairie View A&M head coach Bubba McDowell will now join “Team Robinson” in place of Willie Simmons, who left Florida A&M on Jan. 1 to take a position as running backs coach at Duke University. McDowell will join former Benedict College head coach and new South Carolina State coach Chennis Berry as head coaches representing the SIAC and SWAC in the third annual HBCU Legacy Bowl.
McDowell led Prairie View A&M to a 6-6 season in 2023, his second at the helm as head coach at Prairie View A&M. That record was good for a SWAC West title and earned his team a trip to the SWAC title game where it lost to Florida A&M.
Simmons led Florida A&M to the 2023 SWAC Championship, a win in the Celebration Bowl and an HBCU national title as his team finished 12-1 prior to his departure.
The coaches for “Team Gaither” remain the same – Howard University’s Larry Scott and Virginia Union’s Dr. Alvin Parker.
Scott led Howard University to a 6-6 record in 2023, going 4-1 in MEAC play to claim the program’s first outright title since 1993. That came on the heels of a 5-6 season in which Howard won a share of the MEAC title along with North Carolina Central.
Dr. Parker led Virginia Union to a 9-2 record, claiming the program’s first CIAA title since 2001.
The HBCU Legacy Bowl will take place on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans, LA. Kickoff is set for 4 PM EST/3 PM CST.