One of Vicksburg’s signature sports events is the Red Carpet Bowl.

For 62 years and counting the event has been a celebration of high school football, community, and our city as a whole. It takes a large team of people to organize the game, fans to support it and keep it going, and players and coaches to embrace it for the unique tradition that it is.

Those are all wonderful things, but another purpose of the Red Carpet Bowl is one that often flies under the radar and is in play right now.

The Red Carpet Bowl is a non-profit organization that funds scholarships for graduating high school seniors in Warren County. About a dozen in the amount of $1,000 are awarded each year. It’s not enough to pay a full tuition, especially given the high cost of college these days, but can certainly help with books and expenses.

Right now is the time for students to get their hands on some of that money.

Applications are currently being accepted for the 2025 Red Carpet Bowl scholarships. Students do not have to be an athlete to be eligible, but do need to submit an application and some homework.

In addition to filling out the application form with some basic information, including a list of activities and a transcript, they’ll need to write a 500-word essay on why the Red Carpet Bowl scholarship is important to them.

Maybe the scholarship is a family tradition. Maybe playing in the Red Carpet Bowl was a high school highlight. Or maybe it’s an important piece of their financial plan for college. Whatever the reason, state it in eloquent words and submit it.

The application forms can be had at each high school’s guidance office, or by emailing Travis Wayne Vance at Travis.W.Vance@erdc.dren.mil. There is also a form attached to the online version of this column that you can download and use.

Once it’s filled out and the essay is ready, mail it to: Dr. Robert Abraham; 3038 Indiana Ave.; Vicksburg, MS 39180.
The deadline to submit an application is March 4. The recipients will be named a few weeks later.

The Red Carpet Bowl is a fun game, but it’s not all fun and games. It has a very good cause attached to it, and this is the season to celebrate it. Don’t let your chance for a scholarship slip away, and send in your application today.

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