The SWAC commissioner announced that the game had been officially sanctioned, however the bowl was not revived and was the conference's top seed.
In the fall of 1974, the SWAC commissioner announced that the game had been officially sanctioned and would be played in New Orleans on December 7. However, the bowl was not revived completely without issues. SWAC co-champion Alcorn State was the conference's top seed but elected to compete in the Division II playoffs over the still-fledgling Pelican Bowl. With the cancellation of the Pelican Bowl, the SWAC's top-seeded co-champion, Grambling, had no conflict of interest by participating in the inaugural playoffs. Gramblingalso SWAC co-champion but the conference's second seed because of a loss to Alcornrepresented the SWAC in the Pelican Bowl in Alcorn's place. 
