LOS ANGELES – North Carolina Central University football has signed an agreement to play UCLA inside 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," said NCCU football head coach Trei Oliver. "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 NCCU football student-athletes are not the only ones that will play in the Rose Bowl that day, as the NCCU Sound Machine Marching Band has been invited to perform, as well.
 
The NCCU Eagles are scheduled to become just the second HBCU to face the UCLA Bruins on the gridiron.
 
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.