The Armed Forces Bowl, formerly the Fort Worth Bowl from 2003 to 2005, is an annual postseason college football bowl game. First played in 2003, the game is normally held at the 45,000-seat Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. The 2010 and 2011 editions were instead played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas, when Amon G. Carter Stadium underwent a reconstruction project. The game features teams from a variety of collegiate football conferences; in addition, the independent United States Military Academy (Army) is also eligible to participate. Since 2014, the game has been sponsored by Lockheed Martin and officially known as the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. Previous sponsors include Bell Helicopter (2006–2013) and PlainsCapital Bank (2003–2004).
The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH". The UH football program is a member of the American Athletic Conference West Division. Since the 2014 season, the Cougars have played their home games on campus at TDECU Stadium, which was built on the site formerly occupied by Robertson Stadium, where they played home games from 1941 to 1950 and from 1997 to 2012. Over the history of the program, the Cougars have won eleven conference championships and have had several players elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, including a Heisman Trophy winner.
The Rice Owls football program represents Rice University in the sport of American football. The team competes at the NCAA Division I FBS level and have competed in Conference USA's Western Division since 2005. Rice Stadium, built in 1950, hosts the Owls' home football games. Rice has the second-smallest undergraduate enrollment of any FBS member, ahead of only Tulsa.
The 2007 Mountain West Conference football season was the ninth since eight former members of the Western Athletic Conference banded together to form the MW. It began on August 30 when UNLV defeated Utah State. The same night, Utah fell to Oregon State in Corvallis, Oregon. Brigham Young University won its fourth conference title.
The 2007 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the California Golden Bears and the Air Force Falcons played on December 31, 2007, at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The game, which the Golden Bears won with a score of 42–36, was part of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season and one of 32 games in the 2007–2008 bowl season.
The 2008 Mountain West Conference football season was the 10th since eight former members of the Western Athletic Conference banded together to form the MW. The University of Utah won their fourth conference championship, ending the year 13-0 with a victory over Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl.
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 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl was the sixth edition of the annual post-season college football bowl game, and was a bowl rematch of a regular season game between the Houston Cougars against the Air Force Falcons that was won by Air Force, 31–28. It was played on December 31, 2008, at Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, and telecast on ESPN nationally. The Falcons made their second straight Armed Forces Bowl appearance, having lost the previous year to California, while the Cougars made their fourth straight bowl appearance, having most recently lost to TCU. The Cougars defeated the Falcons 34–28, for their first bowl win since the 1980 Garden State Bowl ending an eight-bowl game losing streak.
The 2009 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 64th year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by second year head football coach, Kevin Sumlin. The team played its home games at Robertson Stadium, a 32,000-seat stadium on campus in Houston. The Cougars finished the season 10–4, 6–3 in CUSA play, were co–champions of the west division and lost to East Carolina 38–32 in the CUSA Championship Game. They were invited to the Armed Forces Bowl where they lost to Air Force 47–20. It was the second consecutive year that they had played Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl.
The 1980 Garden State Bowl, part of the 1980 bowl game season, took place on December 14, 1980, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The competing teams were the Navy Midshipmen, which competed as a football independent, and the Houston Cougars, representing the Southwest Conference (SWC). Houston dominated both sides of the ball in their 35–0 shutout of the Midshipmen. This would prove to be Houston's last bowl game win for almost three decades, until the 2008 Armed Forces Bowl, when the Cougars finally snapped an eight-game bowl losing streak.
The 2009 Armed Forces Bowl was the seventh edition of the Armed Forces Bowl, a college football bowl game, and was played at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. The game started at 12:00 PM US EST on Thursday, December 31, 2009. The game was telecast on ESPN and matched the Houston Cougars of Conference USA and the Air Force Falcons of the Mountain West Conference. The game earned a 1.6 rating.
The 2010 Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman was the third edition of the college football bowl game previously called the EagleBank Bowl. It was played as scheduled at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on December 29, 2010, at 2:30 p.m. (ET), and telecast on ESPN. The event remains sponsored by EagleBank and is organized by the DC Bowl Committee, Inc. and the Washington Convention and Sports Authority.
The 2010 AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl was the thirty-fifth edition of the college football bowl game and was played at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The game started at 5:00 PM US EST on Monday, December 27, 2010. The game was telecast on ESPN2 and featured the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) versus Air Force from the Mountain West Conference (MWC), the nation's top two rushing teams.
The 2010 Armed Forces Bowl was the eighth edition of the college football bowl game, and the first of two editions to be played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in the Dallas enclave of University Park, Texas. From the bowl's inception as the Fort Worth Bowl in 2003, it had been held at Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University, but a renovation project that began immediately after the 2010 regular season led to a temporary move to the SMU campus. The event returned to TCU in 2012.
The 2013 Armed Forces Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on December 30, 2013, at Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. The eleventh edition of the Armed Forces Bowl, it featured the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders of Conference USA against the Navy Midshipmen, an independent team. It began at 10:45 a.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2013–14 bowl games that concluded the 2013 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by Bell Helicopter and was officially known as the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. Navy defeated Middle Tennessee by a score of 24–6.
The 2015 Armed Forces Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on January 2, 2015, at Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. The twelfth annual Armed Forces Bowl, it matched the Houston Cougars of the American Athletic Conference against the Pittsburgh Panthers of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The game began at 11:00 a.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season.
The 2015 Bahamas Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 24, 2015 at Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau in the Bahamas. The second edition of the Bahamas Bowl featured the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders of Conference USA against the Western Michigan Broncos of the Mid-American Conference. It began at noon EST and air on ESPN. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant chain, the game is officially known as the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.
The 2015 Armed Forces Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 29, 2015, at Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. The 13th edition of the Armed Forces Bowl featured the California Golden Bears of the Pac-12 Conference against the Air Force Falcons of the Mountain West Conference. It began at 2:03 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 aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin, it was officially known as the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
The 2020 Armed Forces Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 4, 2020, with kickoff at 11:30 a.m. EST on ESPN. It was the 17th edition of the Armed Forces Bowl, and was one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. Sponsored by aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin, the game was officially known as the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
The 2021 Armed Forces Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 22, 2021, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. EST on ESPN. It was the 19th edition of the Armed Forces Bowl, and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Sponsored by aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin, the game was officially known as the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
