Harris to attend HBCU Celebration Bowl to root for alma mater Howard University

Vice President Harris is set to attend the Cricket Celebration Bowl in Atlanta this weekend in support of her alma mater, Howard University, as it plays Florida A&M University (FAMU) in the annual bowl game between the two historically Black universities.

In a news release on Thursday, Harris’s office said the vice president and her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, will make the trip.

“We are delighted Vice President Harris will take time out of her busy schedule to support her alma mater. It means a great deal to our administration, coaches and most of all our student-athletes,” Howard University’s Athletic Director Kery Davis told ESPN’s Andscape.

“The Celebration Bowl is a celebration of HBCU excellence, and there is no better example of that excellence than VP Harris,” Davis added, referencing the term used to describe historically Black colleges and universities. 

The Cricket Celebration Bowl, launched in 2015, pits the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions against the Southwestern Athletic Conference champions. 

Andscope, which first reported the news of Harris’s attendance at the bowl game, also reported that Harris will sit for an interview with the game‘s commentators Tiffany Greene and Jay “Sky” Walker. 

Harris was also in attendance when Howard’s men’s basketball team appeared in its first NCAA tournament in 21 years earlier in March. 

Harris, who graduated from Howard in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics, watched her Bison lose to the University of Kansas Jayhawks 96-68 in the first round match-up. Harris also spoke to the team after their game. 

The Howard University Bison, who won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship last month, will take on their Southwestern counterparts, the FAMU Rattlers, on Saturday. The contest will kick off at noon and air on ABC.