Pecan Bowl

Last updated
Pecan Bowl (defunct)
Stadium Turnpike Stadium (1970)
Memorial Stadium (1968–1969)
Shotwell Stadium (1964–1967)
Location Arlington, Texas (1968–1970)
Abilene, Texas (1964–1967)
Orangeburg, South Carolina (1946–1947)
Operated1964–1970
1946–1947

The Pecan Bowl was the name of two college football bowl games played in two different eras. The initial version, in 1946 and 1947, was contested by historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The later version, held from 1964 through 1970, was an NCAA College Division regional final.

Contents

History

HBCUs

The original Pecan Bowl was played in Orangeburg, South Carolina in 1946 and 1947. Both games were hosted (and won) by South Carolina State. [1]

College Division

The Pecan Bowl name was revived for one of the four regional finals of the College Division, before it was subdivided into Division II and Division III in 1973. The game served as the championship for the Midwest Region from 1964 to 1970, at a time when 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 bowl was played in Abilene, Texas from 1964 to 1967 and in Arlington, Texas, from 1968 to 1970. [2] The intent for the Midwest game was to match the two best non-major teams from a region of eleven states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana. The other three regional finals were the Tangerine (later Boardwalk), Grantland Rice, and Camellia bowls. Louisiana was moved to the Mideast Region in 1967, prior to the Grantland Rice Bowl relocating from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to Baton Rouge. [3]

The bowl name was selected through a public contest in 1964, and was considered appropriate as Abilene is in the Texas pecan belt. [4] The game was played four times at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene, before moving to Arlington's Memorial Stadium in 1968. [5] The last Pecan Bowl was held at Arlington's Turnpike Stadium, a minor-league baseball facility subsequently expanded to serve as the initial home of the Texas Rangers in 1972.

The inaugural game matched the State College of Iowa (now the University of Northern Iowa) and Lamar Tech (now Lamar University), and was won by State College. [6] [7] Two schools made three appearances in the Pecan Bowl, North Dakota State and Arkansas State, with both winning twice and losing once. They played each other in 1968, in a game won by top-ranked NDSU. [8]

In March 1971 the Midwest regional final was moved from Arlington to Wichita Falls, Texas, where it was rebranded as the Pioneer Bowl. [9] [10]

Game results

HBCUs

DateWinnerLoserLocationAttendanceRef.
December 7, 1946 South Carolina State 13 Johnson C. Smith 6 Orangeburg,
South Carolina 		4,000 [1] [11]
December 13, 1947 South Carolina State 7 Allen 03,000 [1]

College Division

DateWinning teamLosing teamLocationAttendanceNotesRef.
December 12, 1964 State College of Iowa 19 Lamar Tech 17 Abilene, Texas 7,500 [6] [7]
December 11, 1965 North Dakota State 20 Grambling 7Abilene, Texas8,500 [12]
December 10, 1966 North Dakota 42 Parsons 24Abilene, Texas8,000 [13]
December 16, 1967 Texas–Arlington 13 North Dakota State 0Abilene, Texas1,200 [14] [15]
December 14, 1968 North Dakota State 23 Arkansas State 14 Arlington, Texas 7,200 [8]
December 13, 1969 Arkansas State 29 Drake 21Arlington, Texas7,500 notes [16] [17]
December 12, 1970 Arkansas State 38 Central Missouri State 21Arlington, Texas9,500 [18] [19]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "BOWL/ALL STAR GAME RECORDS" (PDF). NCAA. 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  2. ↑ George Breazeale. "Pecan Bowl". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  3. ↑ "NCAA News 19671101". November 1967.
  4. ↑ "Pecan Is NCAA Bowl Name" . Abilene Reporter-News . Abilene, Texas. October 5, 1964. Retrieved April 12, 2017– via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Pecan Bowl set". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. April 17, 1968. p. 12.
  6. 1 2 "Iowa Team tops Lamar Tech, 19-17". New York Times. UPI. December 13, 1964. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Schultz sparks Pecan Bowl win". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 13, 1964. p. 1, sports.
  8. 1 2 "North Dakota State beats Arkansas State in 'Pecan'". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 15, 1968. p. 3, sports.
  9. ↑ Buss, Ted (March 16, 1971). "Pecan Bowl Picks City As New Site". Wichita Falls Times. Retrieved December 30, 2023– via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "New Name Picked For NCAA Classic". Wichita Falls Times. May 6, 1971. Retrieved December 30, 2023– via newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "S. C. State Is 'Pecan' Winner" . The Greenville News . Greenville, South Carolina. Associated Press. December 8, 1946. Retrieved April 11, 2017– via newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Pecan Bowl to N. Dakota State 20 to 7,". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. December 12, 1965. p. 4, section 2.
  13. ↑ "Pecan Bowl passes rout Parsons (Ia.)". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. December 11, 1966. p. 2, section 2.
  14. ↑ "Arlington stops N.D. State 13-0". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. December 17, 1967. p. 1, sports.
  15. ↑ "Arlington captures Pecan Bowl". Victoria Advocate. Texas. Associated Press. December 17, 1967. p. 17A.
  16. ↑ "Arkansas State defeats Drake". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 14, 1969. p. 3, sports.
  17. ↑ "Arkansas State turns back Drake". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. December 14, 1969. p. 6, section 2.
  18. ↑ "Arkansas State Pecan winner". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. December 13, 1970. p. 6, section 2.
  19. ↑ "Top-rated grid team wins bowl". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 13, 1970. p. 3, sports.
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