MEAC/SWAC Challenge Alabama
A&M vs. Howard

The Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kick-Off is an annual game that features teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

Launched in 2005 and played on Labor Day weekend, the matchup was held for its first three years at historic Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. In 2008, the event moved to Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Fla. In 2016, the Challenge started a two-year period of playing at campus sites. It was moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 2018.

The event is now played in week zero, opening the college football season, at Center Parc Stadium. It provides a bookend for the annual Cricket Celebration Bowl in December. The Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kick-Off is owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, which owns and operates a large portfolio of collegiate sporting events worldwide.