Grantland Rice Bowl

Grantland Rice Bowl (defunct)
Stadium Horace Jones Field (1964–68)
BREC Memorial Stadium (1969–73)
Tiger Stadium (1974–75)
Dacotah Field (1976)
Location Murfreesboro, Tennessee (1964–68)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1969–75)
Fargo, North Dakota (1976)
Anniston, Alabama (1977)
Operated 1964–1977

The Grantland Rice Bowl was an annual college football bowl game from 1964 through 1977, in the NCAA's College Division, for smaller universities and colleges, and later Division II. The game was named for Grantland Rice, an early 20th century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose, and was originally played in his hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

History

College Division

Prior to 1973, the NCAA was divided into two divisions, University and College. National champions in each division were determined by polls taken by the AP (a panel of writers) and UPI (coaches) at the end of the regular season. From 1964 to 1972, there were four regional finals in the College Division, to determine regional champions for the East, Mideast, Midwest, and West – these bowl games were played after the AP and UPI polls had been completed. The Grantland Rice Bowl was the College Division's Mideast regional championship game. The other three regional finals were the Tangerine (later Boardwalk), Pecan (later Pioneer), and Camellia bowls.

The intent for the Mideast game was to match the two best teams from nine states; Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.[1] In 1967, Louisiana was added to the Mideast region.[2] From 1964 to 1968, the game was played at Horace Jones Field in Murfreesboro. In 1969, due to cold weather and declining attendance at the Tennessee bowl site, the game was relocated to Baton Rouge, Louisiana,[3] where it was played at BREC Memorial Stadium through 1973.

Division II

In 1973, the College Division was realigned into Division II and Division III, with full eight-team playoffs to determine a national champion in both divisions. The Grantland Rice Bowl became a national semifinal game in Division II, along with the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas, with the winners advancing to the Camellia Bowl championship game in Sacramento, California. In 1974 and 1975, the game was played at the larger capacity Tiger Stadium, also in Baton Rouge.[4][5] In 1976, the format was changed to have the game hosted by one of the participating teams; the 1976 game was played in Fargo, North Dakota, and the 1977 game was played in Anniston, Alabama. The other semifinal in those two seasons was the Knute Rockne Bowl, and the championship game was the Pioneer Bowl in Texas.

Game results

College Division

Mideast regional states of the College Division are shown in green; Louisiana was added in 1967.
Season Date Played Winning Team Losing Team Ref Location
1964 December 12, 1964 Middle Tennessee State 20 Muskingum  0 notes[6] Murfreesboro, Tennessee
1965 December 11, 1965 Tennessee State 14, Ball State 14 notes[7]
1966 December 10, 1966 Tennessee State 34 Muskingum  7 notes[8]
1967 December 9, 1967 Eastern Kentucky 27 Ball State 13 notes[9]
1968 December 14, 1968 Louisiana Tech 33 Akron 13 notes[10]
1969 December 13, 1969 East Tennessee State 34 Louisiana Tech 14 notes[11] Baton Rouge, Louisiana
1970 December 12, 1970 Tennessee State 26 Southwestern Louisiana 25 notes[12]
1971 December 11, 1971 Tennessee State 26 McNeese State 23 notes[13]
1972 December 10, 1972 Louisiana Tech 35 Tennessee Tech  0 notes[14]

Division II

Ticket stub from 1975 game
Season Date Played Winning Team Losing Team Ref Location
1973 December 8, 1973 Western Kentucky 28 Grambling 20 notes[15] Baton Rouge, Louisiana
1974 December 7, 1974 Delaware 49 UNLV 11 notes[4]
1975 December 6, 1975 Western Kentucky 14 New Hampshire  3 notes[16]
1976 December 4, 1976 Montana State 10 North Dakota State  3 notes[17] Fargo, North Dakota
1977 December 3, 1977 Jacksonville State 31 North Dakota State  7 notes[18] Anniston, Alabama

Appearances by team

Teams with more than one appearance are listed.

Rank Team Appearances Record
1 Tennessee State 4 3–0–1
2 Louisiana Tech 3 2–1
T3 Western Kentucky 2 2–0
T3 Ball State 2 0–1–1
T3 Muskingum 2 0–2
T3 North Dakota State 2 0–2

References

  1. ↑ Barnet, Bob (November 15, 1965). "After the Ball (column)". The Star Press. Muncie, Indiana. Retrieved February 11, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/NCAA-News-19671101/NCAA-News-19671101_djvu.txt
  3. ↑ "NCAA Picks Baton Rouge As Bowl Site". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. AP. April 2, 1969. Retrieved February 11, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 Brandt, Roger (December 8, 1974). "Blue Hens Sink Rebs". Daily World. Opelousas, Louisiana. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Patterson, Tom (December 6, 1975). "Western and New Hampshire clash in Grantland Rice Bowl". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. Retrieved February 14, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Ohioans Cooked In Rice Bowl". News-Journal. Mansfield, Ohio. AP. December 13, 1964. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Cards In 14-14 Bowl Tie". The Call-Leader. Elwood, Indiana. UPI. December 13, 1965. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Tennessee State Rolls 34-7 In Grantland Rice Bowl". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. UPI. December 11, 1966. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Barnet, Bob (December 11, 1967). "After the Ball (column)". The Muncie Star. Muncie, Indiana. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ McIntyre, Bill (December 15, 1968). "Bradshaw Takes Zip Out of Akron In Frigid Grantland Rice Bowl Tilt". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Nassif, Al (December 14, 1969). "East Tennessee Showed Terry and Tech". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Tennessee State Takes Rice Bowl". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. UPI. December 13, 1970. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Estill, Jerry (December 12, 1971). "Tenn. St. By 3". The Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. AP. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Kimmitt, Mike (December 10, 1972). "Duron, McNeely Spark 35-0 Victory Over Tennesseans". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. Retrieved February 13, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Van Thyn, Nico (December 9, 1973). "Tigers Reach End of the Line, 28-20". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Patterson, Tom (December 7, 1975). "Western tips New Hampshire 14-3, heads for national title". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Win puts Cats in Pioneer Bowl". Great Falls Tribune. Great Falls, Montana. AP. December 5, 1976. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Jacksonville State Romps In Grantland Rice Bowl". Santa Cruz Sentinel. AP. December 4, 1977. Retrieved January 25, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
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