NC Central will play UCLA at Rose Bowl in 2023

The Eagles will become only the second HBCU team to play at college football's most famous venue

NC Central football has signed an agreement to play UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Sept. 16, 2023.

“We are excited about the opportunity to play UCLA, a member of the Pac-12 conference,” NCCU football head coach Trei Oliver said in a statement. “For our young men to be able to play in the Rose Bowl, the most storied venue in all of college football, is an experience of a lifetime.”

The Eagles football team won’t be the only ones that will play in the Rose Bowl that day. The NCCU Sound Machine marching band has also been invited to perform.

NCCU will become just the second HBCU to face the Bruins in football. Alabama, which is scheduled to play UCLA in 2022, will be the first.

The Rose Bowl, the nation’s most famous college football stadium, was built in 1922 and is a National Historic Landmark that has hosted the Super Bowl five times. The stadium has been the home of UCLA football since 1982 with a current seating capacity of 91,136.