The Red Carpet Bowl has been a Vicksburg institution since 1962. It started with the annual football game, expanded to include a basketball event, and then later on a golf tournament.

In all of its 56 years and dozens of games across the spectrum, it might never have endured a year as weird and eventful as this one.

The football doubleheader last August was turned into a half a game because of persistent thunderstorms. The basketball event was originally scheduled to be at Vicksburg High School, and then moved to Warren Central because of construction at VHS.

Another wrench was thrown in the works last week when the Warren Central vs. Shaw boys basketball game at this year’s Red Carpet Basketball Classic was canceled because both teams had accidentally scheduled too many games and needed to drop one.

Despite all of the changes, the Red Carpet Basketball Classic will still go on as scheduled Saturday. The day-long event features seven games — St. Aloysius, Porter’s Chapel Academy and Vicksburg will all play girls-boys doubleheaders and Warren Central’s girls will also be in action — and begins at 9 a.m. at Warren Central. No matter how bizarre things get, the Red Carpet Bowl endures.

It’s important that it does, too.

The Red Carpet Bowl is more than just a spectacle of sport a couple of days a year. It’s a total community effort that involves several dozen volunteers and a number of local agencies cooperating to make sure everything goes off without a hitch.

When the dust settles after the game, the money raised also goes back into the community in the form of scholarships. A total of $6,000 in scholarship money — two $750 scholarships at each of the local high schools — is awarded annually.

Any high school senior in Warren County can apply. Forms are available from guidance counselors at all four high schools, and applicants will also have to write an essay and provide other information. The deadline to apply is Feb. 28.

While the sports and games are fun, the Red Carpet Bowl at its core is a scholarship program. The more money the Red Carpet Bowl makes, the more scholarships it can offer and the greater their value.

So come on out to the Red Carpet Basketball Classic on Saturday and support a good cause. Students, please take advantage of the good cause. Neither takes much effort, and both do a world of good.

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Ernest Bowker is the sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com

Red Carpet Basketball Classic
Saturday, at Warren Central
Girls
9 a.m. – St. Al vs. Greenville-St. Joseph
11:30 a.m. – Porter’s Chapel vs. Rebul Academy
2 p.m. – Vicksburg vs. South Delta High School
Boys
10:15 a.m. – St. Al vs. Greenville-St. Joseph
12:45 p.m. – Porter’s Chapel vs. Rebul Academy
3:15 p.m. – Warren Central vs. Columbus
4:30 p.m. – Vicksburg vs. South Delta