A History of All-Star Games on NBC
The HBCU Pigskin Showdown joins a long list of all-star games broadcasted in living color on NBC
Earlier this week, The HBCU Pigskin Showdown announced a TV deal to broadcast their game on CNBC and Peacock. This is a mutually huge move for both parties as it may lead to NBC entering college football’s postseason. Of course, it is not the first college football all-star game to be broadcasted on the NBC family of networks.
Blue-Gray Classic: 1954-1965
Christmas’ college all-star classic got its television start on NBC in 1954, which started the tradition of holding the game on Christmas that year. However, 1954 would be the only year under the NBC contract that they would broadcast the game on Christmas. They would televise the game until 1965 when CBS took over broadcast rights.
U.S. Bowl: 1962
If you have never heard of this one, you are not alone as the U.S. Bowl was a one-year all-star affair at D.C. Stadium, more known later on as, RFK Stadium. A crowd of 21,000 traveled to D.C. Stadium to watch the West win 33-19, while scores more watched the NBC broadcast of this January all-star game. The cold weather likely doomed this one from the start as this would be the only edition.
Senior Bowl: 1958-1978
Long before NFL Network made the Senior Bowl a signature broadcast on the network, NBC had a longstanding partnership with the Mobile, Alabama all-star game. The partnership lasted for 21 years before both parties made like Journey and went their separate ways.
Hula Bowl: 1984-1993
Over an hour of newspaper research of TV schedules found that NBC broadcasted Hawaii’s Hula Bowl from 1984-1993 before the game moved to ESPN. ABC preceded NBC as the Hula Bowl’s TV partner. After the Hula Bowl left for the 1994 game, there would not be another college football all-star game on an NBC network for two decades.
Medal of Honor Bowl: 2014-2015
Like the U.S. Bowl, this also was a short-lived all-star game at The Citadel’s Johnson-Hagood Stadium in Charleston. NBC Sports Network broadcasted the game in both years of the game’s existence. The all-star game served as a substitute for a traditional bowl in Charleston due to the NCAA’s ban on sanctioned postseason events in South Carolina over their capitol’s display of a Confederate flag.
In the end, it is a good omen for the HBCU Pigskin Showdown to share company with some of college football’s most iconic all-star showcases. On December 17, the nation will see the best HBCU football players in living color.