Military Bowl

Military Bowl
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman

Military Bowl logo.
Stadium Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Location Annapolis, Maryland
Previous stadiums Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
Previous locations Washington, D.C. (2008–2012)
Operated 2008–present
Conference tie-ins ACC & American
Previous conference tie-ins Army, Navy, C-USA
Payout US$1 million (each)
Sponsors
EagleBank (2008-2009)
Northrop Grumman (2010-present)
Former names
Congressional Bowl (2008, working title)
EagleBank Bowl (2008-09)
Military Bowl Presented By Northrup Grumman (2010)
2014 matchup
Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech (Virginia Tech 33–17)
2015 matchup
Navy vs. Pittsburgh (Navy 44–28)

The Military Bowl (fully named Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman, previously known as the EagleBank Bowl and known in planning stages as the Congressional Bowl) is an annual NCAA Division I FBS college football bowl game played since 2008. The game was held at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., through its 2012 edition, after which it was moved to Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland beginning with the 2013 edition.[1]

The bowl game previously featured a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and either a team from Conference USA (C-USA) or one of the service academies. In the 2013 season, the game was one of C-USA's official bowl tie-ins.[1] However, the 2014-19 games will feature eligible teams from the American Athletic Conference [2] and ACC.[3] This game is played south of the Mason–Dixon line.

The game was originally sponsored by Washington-area financial institution EagleBank. After Northrop Grumman, one of the world's leading defense contractors, became its sponsor in 2010, it was renamed the Military Bowl.[4]

Origins

The idea for the EagleBank Bowl originated with the Washington, D.C. Bowl Committee, a group founded by Marie Rudolph and Sean Metcalf in December 2006 with the intended purpose of bringing a bowl game to the Washington, D.C. area as a boon to the region's economy.[5] The D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission and the Washington, D.C. Convention and Tourism Corporation announced their support of the proposed event in 2007.[5]

History

The bowl game was one of two approved by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (the other being the St. Petersburg Bowl) for the 2008 college football bowl season. The NCAA's Postseason Football Licensing Subcommittee approved the bowl on April 30, 2008, allowing the committee that had proposed the game to host it after the 2008 college football season.[6] The game, which was originally dubbed "The Congressional Bowl" before sponsorship was received by EagleBank, was televised by ESPN, with kickoff scheduled for 11 AM US EST, making it officially the first bowl game of the 2008–09 postseason. Terry Gannon and David Norrie announced the inaugural game.

Prior to the game's approval by the NCAA, Navy[7] and the Atlantic Coast Conference[8] signed agreements to participate in the game if it was approved. Under the agreement, the ACC would provide its ninth-best team for the bowl if the league had nine bowl eligible (records of 6–6 or better) teams.[9] The initial EagleBank Bowl game was a battle between Navy and Wake Forest University. The two teams had played earlier in the season and Navy was victorious 24–17. In the bowl game rematch, however, Wake Forest won 29–19.

In 2009 along with its ACC tie-in, the Bowl signed an agreement with Army to play in the 2009 edition of the game if the Black Knights were bowl eligible. Army entered its final game with Navy requiring a win to gain bowl eligibility. However, since Navy defeated Army, Army missed out on bowl eligibility. The ACC did not have enough eligible teams and Conference USA could not provide a team, so the EagleBank Bowl chose Mid-American Conference team Temple to fill one spot and chose Pac-10 conference team UCLA to fill the other slot as an at-large. UCLA defeated Temple 30-21.

For the 2010 edition of the game, the bowl announced that it had signed an agreement with Conference USA for it to provide a team to the bowl along with its current agreement with the ACC. The bowl game will have its standard eighth selection from ACC teams and will most likely have the sixth selection of C-USA teams. The bowl also announced that the NCAA had granted the EagleBank Bowl a four-year extension of its Bowl Certification taking it through the 2013-14 football bowl season.[10]

On October 26, 2010, the bowl was renamed the Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman.[11] In 2010 the game generated in excess of $18 million for the Washington, D.C. area. Also, over $100,000 was donated to the USO.

Future matchups

2014-2019: ACC vs. AAC

Game results

Season Date Winning Team Losing Team Site Attendance
2008[12] December 20, 2008 Wake Forest 29 Navy 19 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial StadiumWashington, DC 28,777
2009[13] December 29, 2009 UCLA 30 Temple 21 23,072
2010 December 29, 2010 Maryland 51 East Carolina 20 38,062
2011 December 28, 2011 Toledo 42 Air Force 41 25,042
2012 December 27, 2012 San Jose State 29 Bowling Green 20 17,835
2013 December 27, 2013 Marshall 31 Maryland 20 Navy-Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD 30,163
2014 December 27, 2014 Virginia Tech 33 Cincinnati 17 34,277
2015 December 28, 2015 Navy 44 Pittsburgh 28 36,352

MVPs

Date MVP School Position
December 20, 2008 Riley Skinner Wake Forest QB
December 29, 2009 Akeem Ayers UCLA LB
December 29, 2010 Da'Rel Scott Maryland RB
December 28, 2011 Bernard Reedy Toledo WR
December 27, 2012 David Fales San Jose State QB
December 27, 2013 Rakeem Cato Marshall QB
December 27, 2014 J. C. Coleman Virginia Tech RB
December 28, 2015 Keenan Reynolds Navy QB

Most appearances

Rank Team Appearances Record
T1 Maryland 2 11
T1 Navy 2 11
T3 Marshall 1 10
T3 Virginia Tech 1 10
T3 San Jose State 1 10
T3 Toledo 1 10
T3 UCLA 1 10
T3 Wake Forest 1 10
T3 Pittsburgh 1 00
T3 Air Force 1 01
T3 Bowling Green 1 01
T3 Cincinnati 1 01
T3 East Carolina 1 01
T3 Temple 1 01

Conference record

Conference Wins Losses Pct.
Pac-10 1 0 1.000
WAC 1 0 1.000
ACC 3 1 .750
C-USA 1 1 .500
MAC 1 2 .333
Independent 0 1 .000
Mountain West 0 1 .000
The American 1 1 .500

See also

References

External links

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