The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City Convention Hall in 1964. Since 1965, the game has been held at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. Because of the scheduling of the bowl game near the end of the calendar year, no game was played during calendar years 2008 or 2015, while two games were played in calendar years 2010 and 2016.
The UCF Knights football team represents the University of Central Florida (UCF) in the sport of American football. The Knights compete in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and are a member of the Big 12 Conference, making UCF the youngest school among the Power Five conferences. Their head coach is Gus Malzahn. The Knights play their home games at the 45,301-seat FBC Mortgage Stadium, which is located on UCF's main campus in Orlando, Florida, United States.
The 2007 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, in his fourth season with the school. The season was highlighted by the completion of their new on-campus stadium. The Knights moved out of the aging Citrus Bowl in downtown Orlando, and began playing their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium, located on the main campus of UCF in east Orlando, Florida. In addition, the team changed its nickname from "Golden Knights" back to simply "Knights." From its inception in 1979 to 1992, the football team had been known as the Knights, then used the name "Golden Knights" from 1993 until 2006.
The 2008 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 63rd year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by first-year head football coach, Kevin Sumlin whose previous position was as co-offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners. He replaced Art Briles. The team played its home games at Robertson Stadium, a 32,000-person capacity stadium on-campus in Houston. Competing against the Air Force Falcons in the 2008 Armed Forces Bowl, the Cougars won their first bowl game since 1980, and broke the longest current bowl game losing streak in Division I FBS football at that time. In addition, Houston defeated two nationally ranked opponents, which the Cougars hadn't achieved since their 1984 season.
The 2008 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. and plays their home games in Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium. The team was coached by Skip Holtz, who was in his fifth year with the program.
The 2009 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season and played their home games in Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium. The team was coached by Skip Holtz, who was in his fifth and final year with the program. The 2009 Pirates were defending their first ever Conference USA Football Championship.
The 2009 Conference USA Football Championship Game was played on December 5, 2009 between the East Carolina Pirates, the champion of Conference USA's East Division, and the West Division champion Houston Cougars at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina. The game kicked off at 12:00 pm EST and was televised by ESPN2. The Pirates were looking to be the first team in C-USA history to win back to back conference championships, while the Cougars led by Case Keenum looked to win their 2nd.
The 2007 Conference USA Football Championship Game was played on December 1, 2007, between the UCF Knights, the champion of C-USA's East Division, and the West Division champion, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The game kicked off at 12:00 pm EST and was televised by ESPN.
The 2010 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mustangs, led by third-year head coach June Jones, were members of Conference USA in the West Division and played their home games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
The 2010 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Hurricane, led by fourth-year head coach Todd Graham, were members of Conference USA (C-USA) in the West Division and played their home games at Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium, also known simply as Chapman Stadium. They finished the season 10–3, 6–2 in C-USA to claim a share of the west division title. However, due to their loss to SMU, they did not represent the division in the 2010 Conference USA Championship Game. They were invited to the Hawaii Bowl, where they defeated Hawaii, 62–35. On January 9, 2011, Chad Morris left to fill the offensive coordinator job at Clemson University. On January 10, Todd Graham announced he was leaving Tulsa to take the head coaching job at the University of Pittsburgh.
The 2010 Conference USA Football Championship Game was played on December 4, 2010, at Bright House Networks Stadium, now known as Spectrum Stadium, in Orlando, Florida. The game was played between the UCF Knights, winner of Conference USA's East Division, and the SMU Mustangs, the winner the West Division.
The 2011 Conference USA Football Championship Game was played on December 3, 2011 at Robertson Stadium in Houston between Southern Miss and Houston—the winners of Conference USA's East and West Divisions, respectively.
The 2012 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 22, 2012, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 12th edition of the New Orleans Bowl began at 11:00 a.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It featured the East Carolina Pirates from Conference USA against the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns from the Sun Belt Conference and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. The Ragin' Cajuns accepted their invitation after earning an 8–4 record in the regular season, while the Pirates advanced to the game through the C-USA's contingency plan after earning an 8–4 record.
The 2013 Tulane Green Wave football team represented Tulane University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by second year head coach Curtis Johnson and played home games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. They were a member of Conference USA in the West Division. This was the Green Wave's last season playing in the Superdome and Conference USA as they will open the new, on-campus Yulman Stadium in the fall of 2014, and move to the American Athletic Conference in July 2014. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in C-USA play to finish in fourth place in the West Division. They were invited to the New Orleans Bowl where they lost to Louisiana–Lafayette.
The 2013 Conference USA football season is an NCAA football season that was played from August 2013 through January 2014. The 2013 football season marked the 19th season of the conference's existence and 18th of football competition; although C-USA was established in 1995, it did not begin football competition until 1996.
The 2013 Conference USA Football Championship Game, which determined the 2013 football champion of Conference USA (C-USA), was played at noon Eastern Standard Time on December 7 at Rice Stadium in Houston. The game featured the winners of the conference's East division, the Marshall Thundering Herd, and the winners of the West division, the Rice Owls.
The 2014 Conference USA football season was a part of the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season and was played from August 2014 through January 2015. The 2014 football season marks the 20th season of the Conference USA's existence and 19th of football competition; although C-USA was established in 1995, it did not begin football competition until 1996.
The 2015 American Athletic Conference football season is the 25th NCAA Division I FBS football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season is the third since the breakup of the former Big East Conference, and the second season with the new College Football Playoff in place. Under the playoff system, The American is no longer an Automatic Qualifying conference (AQ), and is considered a member of the "Group of Five" (G5) with Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference. Whereas under the previous system the champion of the conference was guaranteed an automatic berth to a BCS bowl game, now the highest-ranked member of the G5 will receive a bid to one of the six major bowls.
The 2016 American Athletic Conference football season was the 25th NCAA Division I FBS football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season was the third since the breakup of the former Big East Conference, and the third season with the College Football Playoff in place. The American was considered a member of the "Group of Five" (G5) with Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference. Whereas under the previous system the champion of the conference was guaranteed an automatic berth to a BCS bowl game, the highest-ranked champion member of the G5 received a bid to one of the six major bowls.
The 2019 Conference USA Football Championship Game was a college football game played on Saturday, December 7, 2019, at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida, to determine the 2019 champion of Conference USA (C–USA). The game featured the East division champions Florida Atlantic and the West division champions UAB and was the conference's 15th championship game. With sponsorship from Ryan LLC, a global tax services and software provider, the game was officially the 2019 Ryan Conference USA Football Championship Game.
