Pioneer Bowl (HBCU)

Last updated
Pioneer Bowl (defunct)
Pioneer Bowl Logo 2012.jpg
Logo for the 2012 game
Stadium A. J. McClung Memorial Stadium (2010–2012)
Charlie W. Johnson Stadium (2007–2009)
Memorial Stadium (2005–2006)
Ladd–Peebles Stadium (2004)
Georgia Dome (1999–2003)
Herndon Stadium (1997–1998)
Location Columbus, Georgia (2010–2012)
Columbia, South Carolina (2007–2009)
Charlotte, North Carolina (2005–2006)
Mobile, Alabama (2004)
Atlanta, Georgia (1997–2003)
Operated1997–2012 (no game 2002 & 2008)
Conference tie-ins CIAA & SIAC (1997–2012)

The Pioneer Bowl was an annual American NCAA Division II college football bowl game contested between NCAA Division II teams from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), two athletic conferences traditionally consisting of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Between 1997 and 2012, the game was played 14 times in five different cities in the South.

Contents

History

The Pioneer Bowl was created in January 1997 to match teams from the CIAA and SIAC that did not qualify for the NCAA Division II National Football Championship playoffs. [1] It was first contested that December, ending a period of eleven seasons (1986–1996) in which no Division II postseason game had carried the "bowl" designation. The Pioneer Bowl ushered in a new era of Division II bowl games which, by the 2012 season, grew to include four other games, all of which are also now defunct: the Mineral Water Bowl (2000–2019), Dixie Rotary Bowl (2006–2008), Kanza Bowl (2009–2012), and C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl (2012–2018).

The Pioneer Bowl was held 14 times in 16 years (with cancellations in 2002 and 2008). The SIAC won nine of the games and the CIAA five. The bowl only included champions of the CIAA or SIAC when those schools failed to meet the criteria for postseason playoff bids (a possibility in Division II, which has no automatic qualifiers). A perennial exception was Tuskegee, whose traditional regular season finale against Alabama State in the Turkey Day Classic on Thanksgiving Day came after the first round of the playoffs. The Pioneer Bowl thus served as Tuskegee's only postseason opportunity in several cases when it would have qualified for the Division II playoffs, most notably in 2000 and 2007, seasons in which the Golden Tigers finished a perfect 12–0. Overall, Tuskegee appeared in the bowl ten times, winning seven.

Throughout its history, the Pioneer Bowl suffered from instability with promoters, sponsors, and venues. Its fourteen games were held in six stadiums in five cities, across four states. The first six contests were in Atlanta, two at Herndon Stadium on the campus of Morris Brown College, then four at the Georgia Dome, home of the Atlanta Falcons. After one year in Mobile, Alabama, the bowl was played twice in Charlotte, North Carolina and twice in Columbia, South Carolina, before the CIAA and SIAC signed a three-year contract to hold the game in Columbus, Georgia from 2010 through 2012.

The 2013 game was to be played on the home field of the CIAA representative but was cancelled on short notice "due to budgetary restraints." [2] In 2014, the two conferences again waited until November before cancelling the game, issuing a joint statement: "While the Pioneer Bowl stands as the longest running bowl game in the history of black colleges and a national showcase for student-athletes, we decided that it is in the best interest of our membership, fans and student-athletes to not hold the game this year. We are currently undecided if we will reinstate the Pioneer Bowl game in the future." [3] The game was never played again.

The CIAA–SIAC postseason rivalry was revived in 2023 with the creation of the Florida Beach Bowl.

Game results

Winning teams and their scores appear in bold font.

Date playedSIAC teamCIAA teamVenueLocation
December 20, 1997 Kentucky State 30 Livingstone 26 Herndon Stadium Atlanta, Georgia
December 19, 1998 Tuskegee 23 Livingstone 9Herndon StadiumAtlanta, Georgia
December 18, 1999 Tuskegee 7 Winston-Salem State 23 Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia
December 16, 2000 Tuskegee 12 Winston-Salem State 9Georgia DomeAtlanta, Georgia
December 22, 2001 Tuskegee 28 Virginia Union 0Georgia DomeAtlanta, Georgia
2002Cancelled
December 20, 2003 Albany State 52 Fayetteville State 30Georgia DomeAtlanta, Georgia
December 4, 2004 Tuskegee 28 Shaw 30 Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, Alabama
December 3, 2005 Tuskegee 28 Bowie State 26 Memorial Stadium Charlotte, North Carolina
December 2, 2006 Tuskegee 17 Johnson C. Smith 7Memorial StadiumCharlotte, North Carolina
December 1, 2007 Tuskegee 58 Virginia Union 51 Charlie W. Johnson Stadium Columbia, South Carolina
2008Cancelled
December 5, 2009 Tuskegee 21 Elizabeth City State 7Charlie W. Johnson StadiumColumbia, South Carolina
December 4, 2010 Fort Valley State 9 St. Augustine's 20 A. J. McClung Stadium Columbus, Georgia
December 3, 2011 Miles 33 Johnson C. Smith 35A. J. McClung StadiumColumbus, Georgia
December 4, 2012 Tuskegee 13 Elizabeth City State 28A. J. McClung StadiumColumbus, Georgia

Of the 14 games played between HBCUs, SIAC teams won 9 and CIAA teams won 5.

Cancelled games

Date scheduledSIAC teamCIAA teamVenueLocationRef.
December 15, 2002 Tuskegee Bowie State Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida [4]
December 6, 2008 Tuskegee Charlie W. Johnson StadiumColumbia, South Carolina [5]
December 7, 2013 Albany State [6] [7]
2014 [8] [9]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Pioneer matches SIAC and CIAA, gives city 3 bowls". Atlanta Constitution . January 17, 1997. Retrieved December 30, 2023– via newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ Millikan, John (November 19, 2013). "Pioneer Bowl cancelled, ending Albany State's football season". The Albany Herald . Albany, Georgia . Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Pioneer Bowl Cancelled". thesiac.com (Press release). November 22, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Officials call off Pioneer Bowl" . Montgomery Advertiser . Montgomery, Alabama. AP. December 7, 2002. Retrieved April 13, 2017– via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "SIAC, CIAA suspend bowl" . Montgomery Advertiser . Montgomery, Alabama. November 2, 2008. Retrieved April 13, 2017– via newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Pioneer Bowl Cancelled". thesiac.com (Press release). November 20, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  7. ↑ Millikan, John (November 19, 2013). "Pioneer Bowl cancelled, ending Albany State's football season". The Albany Herald . Albany, Georgia . Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Pioneer Bowl Cancelled". thesiac.com (Press release). November 22, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  9. ↑ "CIAA® AND SIAC CANCEL 2014 PIONEER BOWL". theciaa.com (Press release). November 23, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
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