ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The South Carolina legislature declared Wednesday as South Carolina State University Day to honor the school's football team for their historic win at the Celebration Bowl in December.
After finishing atop the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference on the season, the Bulldogs won the National HBCU Championship by upsetting the Jackson State University Tigers 31-10 at the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 18 in Atlanta. The winner is considered the champion of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in America.
Coach Buddy Pough says now the team is reaping the benefits of this accomplishment.
“Our guys are so deserving because they work so hard," Pough said. "You know, they fought through so much adversity."
Representative Russell Ott says when he was contacted by university alumni about this request, he didn't hesitate in starting the process to make it happen.
“This was just a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate our student-athletes and our students as a whole so we certainly wanted to make sure that we got the recognition we were due," Ott said.
During a luncheon at the Solomon Blatt building, the Orangeburg County delegation in the House of Representatives honored both the university and the team with proclamations from the House and the governor declaring Wednesday as “South Carolina State University Day” in South Carolina.
Pough says now the team is looking ahead to next season, and is hoping to repeat history with another Celebration Bowl win.