| Boardwalk Bowl (defunct) | |
|---|---|
| "Little Army-Navy Game" (1961–1967) NCAA College Division regional final (1968–1972) NCAA Division II quarterfinal (1973) | |
| Stadium | Atlantic City Convention Hall |
| Location | Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Operated | 1961–1973 |
The Boardwalk Bowl was a postseason college football game held indoors at the former Atlantic City Convention Hall (now Boardwalk Hall) in Atlantic City, New Jersey, from 1961 to 1973. [1] [2]
From 1961 through 1967, the Boardwalk Bowl featured an annual matchup between Pennsylvania Military College (now Widener University) and the United States Merchant Marine Academy, and was known as the "Little Army–Navy Game." [3] Merchant Marine won six of the seven games in the series. The playing surface in these years consisted of natural grass sod that was grown outside and then moved indoors for the game.
In 1968, the Boardwalk Bowl succeeded the Tangerine Bowl as one of the four regional finals in the College Division (which became Division II and Division III in 1973). [4] The other three regionals were the Pecan (later Pioneer), Grantland Rice, and Camellia bowls. During these years, the bowl sought to match the two best non-major teams in a 17-state Eastern Region stretching from New England to Florida. Delaware secured a bid to the game in four consecutive years (1968 through 1971) and won all four games.
In 1973, under the new Division II playoff system, the Boardwalk Bowl became a national quarterfinal, while the other three quarterfinals were nameless and played at campus sites. The semifinals were the Pioneer and Grantland Rice bowls, and the Camellia was the championship game. Grambling defeated Delaware in the only Boardwalk Bowl played under this format. The game was discontinued after 1973, when the NCAA made all of its quarterfinals unnamed games at campus venues; after 1977 the semifinals likewise were unnamed (though the D-II championship game remained a "bowl" through 1985).
The Boardwalk Bowl, along with the Liberty Bowl (played at Convention Hall in December 1964), showed the feasibility of playing football indoors and led the promoters of football games to look seriously at developing indoor facilities primarily for this purpose.
| Date | Winner | Loser | Game | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2, 1961 | Pennsylvania Military | 35 | Merchant Marine | 14 | Little Army–Navy Game |
| December 1, 1962 | Merchant Marine | 9 | Pennsylvania Military | 0 | |
| November 30, 1963 | Merchant Marine | 27 | Pennsylvania Military | 13 | |
| November 28, 1964 | Merchant Marine | 20 | Pennsylvania Military | 16 | |
| November 27, 1965 | Merchant Marine | 22 | Pennsylvania Military | 12 | |
| November 26, 1966 | Merchant Marine | 46 | Pennsylvania Military | 7 | |
| November 25, 1967 | Merchant Marine | 39 | Pennsylvania Military | 6 | |
| December 14, 1968 | Delaware | 31 | Indiana (PA) | 24 | NCAA College Division Regional Final |
| December 13, 1969 | Delaware | 31 | North Carolina Central | 13 | |
| December 12, 1970 | Delaware | 38 | Morgan State | 23 | |
| December 11, 1971 | Delaware | 72 | C.W. Post | 22 | |
| December 9, 1972 | UMass | 35 | UC Davis | 14 | |
| December 1, 1973 | Grambling | 17 | Delaware | 8 | NCAA Division II Quarterfinal |
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The Camellia Bowl was an annual college football postseason game in Sacramento, California, which is nicknamed the Camellia City. It was held sixteen times at Hughes Stadium, from 1961 through 1975, and once more in 1980.
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Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of the Atlantic City Convention Center in 1997. Boardwalk Hall was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1987 as one of the few surviving buildings from the city's early heyday as a seaside resort. The venue seats 10,500 people for ice hockey, and at maximum capacity can accommodate 14,770 for concerts. Boardwalk Hall is the home of the Miss America Pageant.
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The 1969 Pecan Bowl was a college football bowl game played between Drake Bulldogs and Arkansas State Indians at Memorial Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It was one of four regional finals in the NCAA College Division, which became Division II in 1973. The other three regional finals in 1969 were the Boardwalk, Grantland Rice, and Camellia bowls.
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The 1971 NCAA College Division football season was the 16th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the NCAA College Division level.
The 1972 NCAA College Division football season was the 17th and final season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the NCAA College Division level.
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The Pioneer Bowl was an annual college football postseason game held at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas, from 1971 through 1978 and again in 1981 and 1982. The game originated as an NCAA College Division regional final, then became a playoff game for Division II and Division I-AA.