College football weekends start long before kickoff. For ESPN’s Welcome Reception during the 2026 Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kick-Off, the goal was to bring the energy of the weekend into the room and give guests something that felt connected to the occasion.
Working with Civic Entertainment Group, we created two interactive experiences designed around ESPN’s sponsorship: a custom football challenge built for competition and a personalized keepsake guests could take home.
ESPN’s Custom Football Experience
The centerpiece was our Multiball LED Football experience, customized with ESPN-branded gameplay.
Players stepped up to test their passing accuracy against interactive targets on the LED wall, with sensors registering each throw and translating performance into real-time scoring. The result gave ESPN a natural presence within the experience rather than relying on signage alone.
It was an especially fitting lead-in to the weekend. The ESPN Welcome Reception took place August 28, ahead of the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kick-Off between Howard University and Alabama A&M on August 29 at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta.
A Personalized Piece of the Weekend
Guests also got their own moment in the spotlight with our Custom Sports Trading Cards experience.
After posing for a photo, each guest was transformed into the featured athlete on a personalized sports card created on-site. The cards incorporated custom event branding and gave attendees a physical takeaway tied directly to the football theme.
Pairing the trading cards with Multiball created two different forms of engagement within the same activation. One invited guests to compete. The other turned them into part of the sports story.
A More Interactive Sponsorship Moment
For a sports property like the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kick-Off, the connection between sponsor and experience needs to feel obvious.
By translating ESPN’s presence into branded gameplay and personalized sports content, Civic Entertainment Group and IEG gave guests more ways to interact with the sponsorship while building anticipation for the weekend ahead.
Because when the audience is already there for football, the best brand activation gives them a way to get in on the action.
Civic Entertainment Group is an experiential marketing and brand engagement agency that creates live experiences, activations, and cultural moments for leading brands.
ESPN is a global sports media brand known for live event coverage, original programming, digital content, and major sports partnerships across college and professional athletics.
The Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kick-Off is an annual college football event spotlighting teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Southwestern Athletic Conference, bringing together HBCU football, culture, entertainment, and fan experiences.
