The National Junior College Athletic Association Football Championship will come to Little Rock twice in 2021.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. were joined by NJCAA president Christopher Parker and state tourism officials Friday morning to announce a three-year agreement to bring the NJCAA Football Championship to War Memorial Stadium, beginning with the postponed 2020-21 title game at 4 p.m. on June 5.
War Memorial Stadium will also host the championship in December when the the NJCAA returns to its traditional fall schedule, and again in 2022 and 2023. The game on June 5 will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
“This historic site is a perfect fit for the junior college national football championships," Hutchinson said.
Little Rock was chosen from among as many as 12 prospective host cities. Parker cited the city's central location nationally, amenities offered by its downtown and the appeal of War Memorial Stadium that set Little Rock apart in becoming the next home of the NJCAA's championship game.
The NJCAA held the event in Pittsburg, Kan. in 2019, which was traditionally hosted at the higher-seeded finalist prior to that.
"We want to make Little Rock the destination teams have their eyes on in August when they get on the field and the one they want to be at in December," Parker said.
The Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau and Arkansas Parks, Heritage and Tourism partnered in the bid to host the event, a process that began 10 months ago. When Little Rock was included in a group of finalists, NJCAA officials traveled to tour the city and the stadium and came away encouraged by the experience Little Rock could offer visiting teams and fans.
The city could not provide projected economic impact figures for hosting the event, and anticipates lower attendance for the upcoming title game in June relative to future winter championship games, due to covid-19. Gretchen Hall, Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau president, and Stacy Hurst, Arkansas Parks, Heritage and Tourism secretary, both expect the arrival of a national championship to Little Rock will provide a boost to local businesses impacted by the pandemic.
“It will help with our hotels, our restaurants, our attractions as these teams come in for multiple days and hold multiple events within the community," Hall said. "There will be a financial impact and it will also increase some awareness for the city from the national television opportunity.”
The NJCAA title game is played between the top two programs from the NCJAA's national rankings. As things stand with several weeks remaining on each team's respective schedule, No. 1 Hutchinson Community College (Kan.) and No. 2 Kilgore College (Texas) would make the trip to Little Rock for the June 5 title game.