The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl was named because it was inaugurated in 1976, the year of the United States Bicentennial. The bowl's current title sponsor is Radiance Technologies, per an agreement announced for the 2020–2025 editions. Only one prior edition of the bowl, in 2013, has not used Independence Bowl branding.
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 New Orleans Bowl is an NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually since 2001. It is normally held at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans; when the Superdome and the rest of the city suffered damage due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the game was temporarily moved to Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana, and given the name New Orleans Bowl at Lafayette. Since 2006, the bowl has been sponsored by R+L Carriers and officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. The game was previously sponsored by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from 2002 to 2004 and was officially called the Wyndham New Orleans Bowl.
The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 students attend the university. Historically, the women's teams and athletes were referred to as the "Lady Kats", but all athletic squads adopted the "Wildcats" nickname in 1995. Collectively, the fans of the Kentucky Wildcats are often referred to as the Big Blue Nation. Their main and most intense rival is the University of Louisville. The Wildcats are composed of 25 varsity teams that compete nationally—23 in NCAA-recognized sports, plus the cheerleading squad and dance team.
The Birmingham Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game played annually in Birmingham, Alabama. First held in 2006, the game is owned and operated by ESPN Events. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) also provides marketing, management and game-day operations support. The game was previously known as the PapaJohns.com Bowl (2006–2010) and the BBVA Compass Bowl (2011–2014). TicketSmarter signed on as the title sponsor of the 2019 game, making it the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl. From its inception through 2020, the game was played at Legion Field; since the December 2021 game, it has been held at Protective Stadium.
The Conference USA Football Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the season champion of Conference USA (CUSA) since 2005.
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 2007 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Boise State University Broncos from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and the East Carolina University Pirates from Conference USA (C-USA). This sixth edition of the Hawaii Bowl, sponsored by Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu on December 23, 2007. The game was the final competition of the 2007 football season for each team and resulted in a 41–38 East Carolina victory, even though sportsbooks favored Boise State to win by 10+1⁄2 points. Many experts believed East Carolina to be big underdogs to Boise State, which had defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. The 2007 Hawaiʻi Bowl paid $750,000 to each team's conference in exchange for their participation.
The 2007 Music City Bowl was the 10th edition of the Music City Bowl, and it was played on December 31, 2007. Part of the 2007–2008 bowl season, it featured the Kentucky Wildcats and the Florida State Seminoles. Both teams entered the game with a 7–5 overall record and a 4–4 conference record; Florida State had been ranked as high as #19 in the season's AP polls, appearing in the rankings for two weeks that season. Kentucky had been ranked as high as #8 (twice) in the season's AP polls and had been ranked for eight weeks during the season. Sponsored by Gaylord Hotels and Bridgestone, it was officially named the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl presented by Bridgestone.
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 1950 Maryland Terrapins football team represented the University of Maryland in 1950 college football season as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon).
The Liberty Flames football program represents Liberty University, a private Christian university located in Lynchburg, Virginia, in college football. The Flames compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of Conference USA. The program, which previously competed in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), announced it would start a transition to the top level of NCAA football in July 2017. The Flames became a provisional FBS member in 2018, and became a full FBS member with bowl eligibility in 2019. In 2020, Liberty entered the rankings in the AP Poll at 25 for the first time in program history.
The 1976 Peach Bowl was a postseason college football match between the Kentucky Wildcats and the North Carolina Tar Heels at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on December 30, 1976. This game started at 2:30pm ET with at the time a sellout crowd at the Atlanta stadium with a total of 54,132 people in the stands. The University of Kentucky represented the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and North Carolina represented the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in the competition. This was Kentucky's first post season bowl game in 25 years since playing TCU in the 1952 Cotton Bowl making Kentucky very motivated for a win against North Carolina. The game was the final competition of the 1976 football season for each team and resulted in a 21–0 Kentucky victory led by Kentucky running back Rod Stewart. North Carolina was the under dogs heading into the game with the Vegas line favoring Kentucky by 6 points.
The 2010 PapaJohns.com Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game between the South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Connecticut Huskies (UConn) of the Big East Conference, on January 2, 2010, at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The game was the final contest of the 2009 NCAA Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision football season for both teams, and it ended in a 20–7 victory for Connecticut.
The 2010 Liberty Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game played at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 2, 2010. The 51st edition of the Liberty Bowl matched the Arkansas Razorbacks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) against the East Carolina Pirates, the Conference USA Champion. With sponsorship from AutoZone, the game was officially the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Arkansas won, 20–17, in the first Liberty Bowl to go into overtime.
The 2010 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, who was in his seventh season with the team. For the first time in program history, the Knights were nationally ranked following a nationally televised rout of Houston on November 5. For the third time in six years, UCF won the Conference USA Eastern Division and later, became Conference USA champions for the second time in four seasons. As a result, the Knights appeared in the Liberty Bowl, in which they defeated Georgia 10–6, for the first bowl victory in program history. UCF finished the season ranked in both final national polls, 20th in the Coaches Poll, and 21st in the AP Poll.
The 2005 Liberty Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Fresno State Bulldogs and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane played on December 31, 2005, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. In a closely contested game that went back and forth, Tulsa defeated Fresno State, 31–24. It was the 47th time the Liberty Bowl had been played, and was the final game of the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams. With sponsorship from AutoZone, the game was officially the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
The 2016 Liberty Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on January 2, 2016, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The 57th edition of the Liberty Bowl featured the Kansas State Wildcats of the Big 12 Conference against the Arkansas Razorbacks of the Southeastern Conference. It began at 2:20 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. Sponsored by automobile parts and accessories store AutoZone, it was officially known as the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
The 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 149th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The regular season began on August 25, 2018, and ended on December 8, 2018. The postseason began on December 15, and aside from any all-star games that were scheduled, concluded on January 7, 2019, with the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Clemson Tigers won the title game over the Alabama Crimson Tide, the school's third national title and second in three years, and also becoming the first team since the 1897 Penn Quakers to have a perfect 15-0 season.
The 2020 BYU vs. Coastal Carolina football game, popularly known as Mormons vs. Mullets, was a regular-season college football game played on December 5, 2020, at Brooks Stadium in Conway, South Carolina. The matchup, played as a part of the 2020 FBS football season, featured the BYU Cougars, an FBS independent, and Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, representing the Sun Belt Conference. Both teams entered the game ranked, with BYU at No. 13 and Coastal Carolina at No. 18 in the College Football Playoff rankings, and undefeated, both at nine wins and no losses. The game was scheduled as a 5:30 p.m. ET kickoff broadcast on ESPNU.
