Grantland Rice Bowl

History

College Division

The Grantland Rice Bowl originated as 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 Mideast Region from 1964 through 1972. The other three regional finals were the Tangerine (later Boardwalk), Pecan (later Pioneer), and Camellia bowls. 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 bowl was created in August 1964, when the NCAA awarded the Mideast Region championship game to Murfreesboro, though the Grantland Rice name did not become official until two months later. The Murfreesboro Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees) served as the local sponsor. The intent for the Mideast game was to match the two best non-major teams from a region of nine states: Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. The bowl was played at Horace Jones Field, the home stadium of Middle Tennessee State. The home team played in, and won, the inaugural game, witnessed by a disappointing crowd of just 4,000. Three of the next four games were plagued by poor attendance and/or cold weather, most notably the 1968 game, won by Terry Bradshaw's Louisiana Tech squad in a snow squall before 2,500 fans.

Louisiana Tech was eligible for the 1968 game because, in 1967, the NCAA moved the state of Louisiana from the Midwest Region to the Mideast Region. In April 1969, the NCAA moved the bowl to Baton Rouge, where it was played at Memorial Stadium, a 21,500-seat facility. The Downtown Lions Club of Baton Rouge assumed the role of local sponsor. With Bradshaw and Louisiana Tech again participating, the 1969 game drew a crowd of 16,000. The 1970 game attracted a record 17,000 fans,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/537800826/?terms=%22grantland%20rice%20bowl%22&match=1&clipping_id=40257130

Division II

In 1973, the College Division was realigned into Division II and Division III, with a full eight-team playoff to determine a national champion in each division. The Grantland Rice Bowl became a national semifinal game in Division II, along with the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas, with the winners advancing to the Camellia Bowl championship game in Sacramento, California. In 1974 and 1975, the game was played in a much larger venue, Tiger Stadium on the campus of LSU, though the crowds it attracted did not justify the move.

Starting in 1976, the NCAA gave up on neutral sites for the Division II semifinals, but the games retained their bowl designations even though they were now played on the home field of one of the participating teams. The Grantland Rice Bowl (with its original name officially restored) was hosted by North Dakota State in Fargo, North Dakota in 1976, and by Jacksonville State in Anniston, Alabama in 1977. The other semifinal in those two seasons was the Knute Rockne Bowl, likewise played on campus sites, while the championship game remained a neutral-site contest, moved to the Pioneer Bowl in Texas. The Grantland Rice Bowl was no longer contested after 1977, when the NCAA stopped attaching "bowl" designations to the Division II semifinals.

Game results

Appearances by team

Teams with more than one appearance are listed.

References

References

1. (August 16, 1964). "NCAA Picks Murfreesboro For Playoff". The Daily News-Journal.
2. (October 11, 1964). "Bowl Game". The Daily News-Journal.
3. (December 13, 1964). "Blue Raiders Stop Muskingum 20-0". The Daily News-Journal.
4. McIntyre, Bill. (December 15, 1968). "Bradshaw Takes Zip Out of Akron In Frigid Grantland Rice Bowl Tilt". The Times.
5. (December 15, 1969). "At Home in Red Stick". The Shreveport Journal.
6. (November 1967). "NCAA News 19671101".
7. (April 2, 1969). "NCAA Picks Baton Rouge As Bowl Site". The Town Talk.
8. (December 15, 1969). "At Home in Red Stick". The Shreveport Journal.
9. (September 11, 1975). "Farewell, Grantland". The Town Talk.
10. (December 6, 1975). "Western and New Hampshire clash in Grantland Rice Bowl". The Courier-Journal.
11. Patterson, Tom. (December 6, 1975). "Western and New Hampshire clash in Grantland Rice Bowl". [[The Courier-Journal]].
12. (December 13, 1964). "Ohioans Cooked In Rice Bowl". News-Journal.
13. (December 13, 1965). "Cards In 14-14 Bowl Tie". The Call-Leader.
14. (December 11, 1966). "Tennessee State Rolls 34-7 In Grantland Rice Bowl". [[The Courier-Journal]].
15. Barnet, Bob. (December 11, 1967). "After the Ball (column)". The Muncie Star.
16. McIntyre, Bill. (December 15, 1968). "Bradshaw Takes Zip Out of Akron In Frigid Grantland Rice Bowl Tilt". [[The Times (Shreveport).
17. Nassif, Al. (December 14, 1969). "East Tennessee Showed Terry and Tech". The Town Talk.
18. (December 13, 1970). "Tennessee State Takes Rice Bowl". [[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]].
19. Estill, Jerry. (December 12, 1971). "Tenn. St. By 3". [[The Clarion-Ledger]].
20. Kimmitt, Mike. (December 10, 1972). "Duron, McNeely Spark 35-0 Victory Over Tennesseans". The Town Talk.
21. Van Thyn, Nico. (December 9, 1973). "Tigers Reach End of the Line, 28-20". [[The Times (Shreveport).
22. Brandt, Roger. (December 8, 1974). "Blue Hens Sink Rebs". [[Daily World (Opelousas).
23. Patterson, Tom. (December 7, 1975). "Western tips New Hampshire 14-3, heads for national title". [[The Courier-Journal]].
24. (December 5, 1976). "Win puts Cats in Pioneer Bowl". [[Great Falls Tribune]].
25. (December 4, 1977). "Jacksonville State Romps In Grantland Rice Bowl". [[Santa Cruz Sentinel]].