Jul 6, 20233 min read

ESPN EVENTS ANNOUNCES 17-GAME COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL SCHEDULE FOR 2023 SEASON

ESPN Events’ 2023 schedule also features four early-season kickoff games

Cricket Celebration Bowl, Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff, and Boeing Red Tails Classic games continue ESPN’s commitment to HBCU football in 2023

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, has unveiled its schedule for the 2023 college football season, including 17 bowl games across ESPN and ABC, and four early-season kickoff games.

Bowl Season will begin Saturday, Dec. 16, with ESPN Events’ HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl (11 a.m. ET, ESPN), and the Cricket Celebration Bowl (noon, ABC). In all, four games will be played on this date, while the following Saturday, Dec. 23, will be the busiest day of the ESPN Events bowl schedule with six games across ESPN and ABC.

The early-season ESPN Events schedule features a pair of games in Week 0 on Saturday, Aug. 26. The FCS Kickoff between North Alabama and Mercer at the historic Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., airs at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN, while the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff – South Carolina State vs. Jackson State – in Atlanta will air in primetime on ABC (7:30 p.m.) for the first time in the event’s 18 years.

In addition to the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, which celebrates the tradition, legacy and values of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), ESPN Events will continue to honor the legendary Tuskegee Airmen with the third Boeing Red Tails Classic on Sunday, Sept. 3 between Fort Valley State and Tuskegee (7 p.m., ESPNU) in Montgomery.

ESPN Events also operates the previously announced Camping World Kickoff in Orlando in cooperation with Florida Citrus Sports. In one of the most anticipated matchups of the season, LSU will face Florida State on Labor Day Sunday (Sept. 3) at 7:30 p.m. on ABC.

This afternoon, ESPN also announced its full schedule of games for Weeks 1-3 and its 40-game bowl season slate.

About ESPN Events

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In 2023, the 32-event schedule includes four early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, nine college basketball events, and a college softball event, in addition to a new college gymnastics event coming in 2024. Collectively, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, while reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

For more information, visit the official website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages.

2023 ESPN Events College Football Schedule:

DateTime (ET)MatchupNetworkKickoff GamesSat, Aug. 263:30 p.m.FCS Kickoff

Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.) North Alabama vs. Mercer

ESPN7:30 p.m.Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff

Center Parc Stadium (Atlanta) South Carolina State vs. Jackson State

ABCSun, Sept. 37 p.m.Boeing Red Tails Classic

Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.) Fort Valley State vs. Tuskegee

ESPNU7:30 p.m.Camping World Kickoff

Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Fla.) LSU vs. Florida State

ABCBowl GamesSat, Dec. 1611 a.m.HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl

Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium