Bicentennial Bowl

College football bowl game

StadiumWar Memorial Stadium (1975)
City Stadium (1976)

LocationLittle Rock, Arkansas (1975)
Richmond, Virginia (1976)

Operated1975, 1976

Bicentennial Bowl (defunct)
Program cover for the 1976 game
Stadium	War Memorial Stadium (1975) City Stadium (1976)
Location	Little Rock, Arkansas (1975) Richmond, Virginia (1976)
Operated	1975, 1976

Bicentennial Bowl was the name of two different postseason bowl games played in the United States after the 1975 and 1976 college football seasons.^[1] The games were held in different venues; first in Little Rock, Arkansas, and then in Richmond, Virginia. The bowls were named after the United States Bicentennial.

1975 game

Bicentennial Bowl results are listed in NCAA records as two independent games, not a bowl series, and the games were not NCAA-sanctioned events.^[1]

The 1975 game matched teams from the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference and Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference, and was considered an NAIA "special event."^[2] It was contested at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The Ouachita Baptist Tigers opted not to participate in the game, in hopes of playing in the 1975 NAIA postseason.^[3]

Season	Date	Winner		Loser		Venue	Att. (est.)
1975	November 29, 1975	Henderson State	27	East Central (OK)	14	War Memorial Stadium^[2] – Little Rock, Arkansas	2,000^[1]

MVPs: Willie Guient (TE, East Central) and Johnny Gross (DT, Henderson State)^[4]

1976 game

The 1976 game matched teams from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).^[5] It was played in Richmond, Virginia, at City Stadium. The game had originally been planned for December 4, in Charlotte, North Carolina,^[6] but was rescheduled for December 11, and moved, to allow for television coverage.^[7]

Season	Date	Winner		Loser		Venue	Att. (est.)
1976	December 11, 1976	South Carolina State	26	Norfolk State	10	City Stadium^[8] – Richmond, Virginia	7,500^[1]

MVPs: Ricky Anderson (FB, South Carolina State) and Jerry Curry (RG, Norfolk State)^[8]

After 1976 the game was rebranded as the Gold Bowl, and was played four more times.^[1] Each of the five bowls played in Richmond during 1976–1980 featured teams from the CIAA and MEAC.

References

1 2 3 4 5 "BOWL/ALL STAR GAME RECORDS" (PDF). NCAA. 2016. p. 158. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 31, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017 – via Wayback Machine.
1 2 "Little Rock to Host Bicentennial Bowl". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. October 15, 1975. Retrieved April 8, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
↑ "Ouachita Passes Up Bicentennial Bowl". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. AP. November 25, 1975. Retrieved April 8, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
↑ "Henderson Gains Bicentennial Win". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. AP. November 30, 1975. Retrieved April 8, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
↑ "South Carolina State Takes Berth In Bicentennial Bowl". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. AP. November 16, 1976. Retrieved April 8, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
↑ "Charlotte Bowl Game May Become Permanent". York Daily Record. York, Pennsylvania. UPI. August 31, 1976. Retrieved April 8, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
↑ "CIAA, MEAC Champions To Meet in City Stadium". Richmond Times-Dispatch. 20 October 1976. Retrieved 21 December 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
1 2 Hirsch, Alan (December 12, 1976). "S.C. State, Anderson Topple Spartans, 26-10". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. Retrieved April 8, 2017 – via newspapers.com.

Bicentennial Bowl

1975 game

1976 game

See also

References

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