A year after the coronavirus pandemic shrunk the Reese’s Senior Bowl to little more than a football game, the annual All-Star Contest is back with a bang for its 72nd kickoff in Mobile.

In 2021, Senior Bowl practices were closed to spectators, most off-court events did not take place, and game attendance was capped at around 6,200.

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With this year’s game scheduled for Feb. 5 at Hancock Whitney Stadium, the days leading up to the contest will once again be littered with the activity that usually accompanies the Senior Bowl.

“We are thrilled that this year the community is back in the fold,” said Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy. “We are very grateful and proud of the last year for having our event when we were kind of at the peak of COVID and building this strict bubble, this tight bubble and keeping everyone safe. But it wasn’t the same thing. It wasn’t the same without the community there so to bring all these events back and the opening practice and what’s going to happen around Hancock Whitney Stadium with the tailgating and parties it’s just going to be no more Senior Bowl Week. It’s going to make a lot more sense to us. He will find this special feeling.

“Everyone asks: What makes the Senior Bowl different? And the first thing I point out is our community. These other games do not have this connection. We have 400 community volunteers. What other game has that? It’s part of the fabric of our city and our community, and we’re excited to be back.

Teams will train Tuesday through Thursday at Hancock Whitney Stadium, and spectators are welcome. The National Team will practice from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. CST daily and the USA Team will practice from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

The U.S. roster includes 33 of the 34 SEC players at the game, including Alabama‘s Phidarian Mathis and Brian Robinson and Auburn’s Roger McCreary, a former Williamson High School standout.

The American roster also includes Jalen Tolbert of southern Alabama, who prepared at McGill-Toolen, and Neil Farrell Jr. of LSU from Murphy High School and Velus Jones Jr. of Tennessee from Saraland High School.

Preceding the Senior Bowl this year, a new event – ​​the NFL-sanctioned Historically Black Colleges and Universities Combo presented by Microsoft Surface, which will be held Friday and Saturday at South East University’s Jaguar Training Center. Alabama.

In addition to putting 40 HBCU prospects through tests and drills inspired by the NFL Scouting Combine held annually in Indianapolis and exposing players to professional personnel evaluators, the new event will also feature the HBCU Tent Village. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in the south. Hancock Whitney Stadium car park. The village will include academic institutions, Greek organizations, entertainment and a job fair.

Alabama State, Bishop State, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, Southern University and Tuskegee will be represented in an attempt to connect with high school students.

Entertainment will include a children’s area, a live DJ and performances from the Mobile Kappa League, Mobile Lamplighters, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity of southern Alabama and bands from Vigor and BC Rain high schools.

The job fair will include representatives from Austal, Airbus, the University of South Alabama, Coca-Cola and Apple.

“We try to add something every year to this thing, and we will continue to do so,” Nagy said. “It’s a bit of a long-term vision. It is important for the city. The more events we can have, the more people we can have coming to Mobile, I think that’s a very important thing.

“We are excited about this year’s HBCU Combine, a very important event for us. This is our first NFL sanctioned event in Mobile, Alabama. I think a lot of people might think our game is that. It’s not. We just have great cooperation and relationship with the league for our game. But having an NFL-affiliated event is really important.

Of the Senior Bowl Week events, Nagy said he’s most looking forward to the Senior Bowl Summit.

The Senior Bowl Summit, which is presented by Alabama Power and Regions Bank, will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Saenger Theater in Mobile.

Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN’s “College Gameday” will host the event – a panel discussion featuring college coaches James Franklin of Penn State, Bryan Harsin of Auburn, Nick Saban of Alabama, Steve Sarkisian of Texas and Mel Tucker of Michigan State.

“We’re thrilled to have Kirk Herbstreit here to moderate this panel and to have Coach Saban and Coach Harsin together,” Nagy said. “I don’t know if that ever happened with the head coaches of Alabama and Auburn. And really seeing a side of these guys – Nick Saban has been in Alabama for a long time, but a lot of our exposure, the fan exposure, is in the press conference settings, the post-interview settings. match. The questions asked will be more personal: their influences growing up, their memories of football in high school. Would love to hear Nick Saban talk about his fondest high school memory as a player, wouldn’t you? I mean, I’ve never heard of that. …

“I think it’s going to be a really fun night. You get all these guys, including Coach Saban, here, and for a $25 ticket. If you bring their kids here, they can tell their grandkids 50 years from now that they saw Nick Saban. As great a living legend as he is right now, what will it look like in 50 years? »

Senior Bowl Summit tickets can be purchased online for $25, $45, or $65. Tickets can also be purchased from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays at the Saenger Theater box office and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at the Mobile Civic Center box office.

The FCA Senior Bowl Rally will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Mobile Civic Center. Dinner tickets can be purchased for $5 at Chick-fil-A restaurants in Mobile, Daphne and Spanish Fort through Monday. Non-meal tickets will be available at the Civic Center on Wednesday.

The Fuse Project Lip Sync Battle, presented by Infirmary Health, will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday in Cathedral Square in Mobile. Teams of community members will participate in fundraising. Tickets can be purchased online with general admission for 18+ for $25 and VIP for 21+ for $75.

The King Cake-Off will take place from 5-7:30 p.m. on Friday, February 4 at Temple Downtown on St. Francis Street in Mobile. The fourth annual event will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Alabama and feature a contest to find the region’s tastiest King Cake and King Cake-inspired treats. Tickets can be purchased online for $15 for adults through Thursday and $20 for adults on Friday.

The Senior Bowl Street Party and Mardi Gras Player Parade, presented by Wind Creek Casino and Hotel, will take place on Friday, February 4. The parade will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza Hotel and will feature high school bands. , senior Bowl players, college mascots and NFL cheerleaders throwing candy, beads and footballs.

The parade will head north on Rue Royale before turning left on Rue Dauphin to head to Cathedral Square for the street party, which will feature music from Portugal The Man.

The Senior Bowl is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 5 at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the University of South Alabama campus. Tickets can be purchased online with prices ranging from $12 to $55.

Before the star footballers face off, associated activities will take place around the stadium on match day.

At 10:30 a.m., the Senior Bowl Fan Fest, presented by Coca-Cola, will kick off game day on the South Lawn of Hancock Whitney Stadium. The free event will feature the football experience, matches, mock tackles, former player appearances and other activities. The US Army will host a virtual reality gaming center and the Wind Creek Casino will feature a gaming simulation trailer.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., also on the South Lawn, the free Walk-On’s Tailgate will take place.

At 11:15 a.m., the senior bowling team march will pass through the south side parking lot as the players make their way to the stadium.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.