Camellia Bowl (defunct) | |
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NAIA Championship (1961–1963) NCAA College Division regional final (1964–1972) NCAA Division II championship (1973–1975) NCAA Division I-AA championship (1980) | |
Stadium | Hughes Stadium |
Location | Sacramento, California |
Operated | 1961–1975, 1980 |
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.
The Camellia Bowl was founded in March 1961, when the Sacramento City-County Chamber of Commerce voted unanimously to accept an offer from the National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to move its championship game to the city. For the previous four years, the game had been known as the Holiday Bowl and was played in Saint Petersburg, Florida. [1] The Camellia Bowl served as the NAIA Football National Championship game for three years.
After the transition from NAIA to NCAA affiliation, announced in January 1964, [2] the game became one of four regional finals in the NCAA College Division. At the time, there were no playoffs at any level of NCAA football. For the smaller colleges and universities, as for the major programs, the national champion was determined by polls conducted by the leading news wire services. The intent of the bowl was to match the two best non-major teams from a region consisting of the Pacific Coast and Rocky Mountain states. The other three regional finals were the Tangerine (later Boardwalk), Pecan (later Pioneer), and Grantland Rice bowls.
When the College Division was subdivided into the current Division II and Division III in 1973, the NCAA made the Camellia Bowl the Division II football championship game. It served in this capacity for three seasons (1973 to 1975). After a four-year hiatus, the bowl returned in 1980 as the NCAA Division I-AA title game. [3] [4]
Sacramento's Camellia Bowl Association signed a two-year deal to host the Division I-AA championship, but after the 1980 game drew just 8,157 fans and lost $21,659, game organizers appealed to the NCAA to cancel the contract. [5] The NCAA agreed, and the I-AA title game was moved to the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas, for 1981.
The NCAA Division II football championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination playoff with eight teams. The tournament field has subsequently been expanded three times: to 16 teams in 1988, 24 teams in 2004, and 28 teams in 2016.
The Boise State Broncos football program represents Boise State University in college football and competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The Broncos play their home games on campus at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho, and their head coach is Spencer Danielson. The program is 13–8 in bowl games since 1999, has the longest current streak of winning seasons in college football with 26. It also held a 3–0 record in the Fiesta Bowl between 2007 & 2014. As of the end of the 2023 season, the Broncos' all-time winning percentage of .725 is the sixth highest among NCAA FBS football teams, while their 491 total wins ranks 105th.
Charles C. Hughes Stadium is an outdoor stadium in the Western United States, located at Sacramento City College in Sacramento, California. The stadium opened in 1928 and was initially known as Sacramento Stadium and Sacramento College Stadium. It was renamed in November 1944 in honor of Charles Colfax Hughes, the first superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District, who died a month earlier.
Cedric Alwyn Minter is an American former professional football player, an award-winning running back in the Canadian Football League (CFL). After his playing career, Minter became an educator and is currently a junior high school assistant principal in Boise, Idaho.
Lyle Hilton Smith was an American football and basketball player, coach, and college athletics administrator.
The Idaho Vandals are the college football team that represents the University of Idaho and plays its home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho. Idaho is a member of the Big Sky Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The Vandals are coached by Jason Eck.
Eric Guthrie is a Canadian-born quarterback who played in the World Football League (WFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played for the BC Lions from 1972–1973, the Detroit Wheels in 1974, the BC Lions from 1975–1976, the Montreal Alouettes in 1977, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1977.
The 1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level. The third season of I-AA football began in August 1980 and four teams were selected for the postseason, with the national semifinals played on December 13. The 1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was the Camellia Bowl played on December 20 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California.
The 1980 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Broncos competed in the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. They were led by fifth-year head coach Jim Criner and the "Four Horseman" senior backfield: quarterback Joe Aliotti, fullback David Hughes, halfback Cedric Minter, with halfback Terry Zahner in reserve.
The 1971 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Lled by second-year head coach Don Robbins, the Vandals played the final three of their five home games at the new Idaho Stadium, an outdoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1970 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana in the 1970 NCAA College Division football season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. The Grizzlies were led by fourth-year head coach Jack Swarthout and played their home games at Dornblaser Field.
The 1973 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level. The season began in September and concluded with the Division II Championship on December 15 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. This was the first season for Division II football, which were formerly in the College Division in 1972 and prior.
The 1974 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began in September and concluded with the Division II Championship on December 14 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California.
The 1975 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began in September and concluded with the Division II Championship on December 13 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California.
The 1971 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State College during the 1971 NCAA College Division football season, the fourth season of Bronco football and the second as members of the Big Sky Conference and NCAA. In the College Division, they played their home games on campus at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho.
The 1966 NCAA College Division football season was the 11th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the NCAA College Division level.
The 1969 NCAA College Division football season was the 14th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the NCAA College Division level.
The 1970 NCAA College Division football season was the 15th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the NCAA College Division level.
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 1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Boise State Broncos. The game was played on December 20, 1980, at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. The culminating game of the 1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Boise State, 31–29.