Grantland Rice Bowl

The Grantland Rice Bowl was an annual college football bowl game from 1964 through 1977, in the NCAA's College Division, for smaller universities and colleges, and later Division II. The game was named for Grantland Rice, an early 20th century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose, and was originally played in his hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Grantland Rice Bowl (defunct)
StadiumHorace Jones Field (1964–68)
BREC Memorial Stadium (1969–73)
Tiger Stadium (1974–75)
Dacotah Field (1976)
LocationMurfreesboro, Tennessee (1964–68)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1969–75)
Fargo, North Dakota (1976)
Anniston, Alabama (1977)
Operated1964–1977

History

College Division

Prior to 1973, the NCAA was divided into two divisions, University and College. National champions in each division were determined by polls taken by the AP (a panel of writers) and UPI (coaches) at the end of the regular season. From 1964 to 1972, there were four regional finals in the College Division, to determine regional champions for the East, Mideast, Midwest, and West – these bowl games were played after the AP and UPI polls had been completed. The Grantland Rice Bowl was the College Division's Mideast regional championship game. The other three regional finals were the Tangerine (later Boardwalk), Pecan (later Pioneer), and Camellia bowls.

The intent for the Mideast game was to match the two best teams from nine states; Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.[1] In 1967, Louisiana was added to the Mideast region.[2] From 1964 to 1968, the game was played at Horace Jones Field in Murfreesboro. In 1969, due to cold weather and declining attendance at the Tennessee bowl site, the game was relocated to Baton Rouge, Louisiana,[3] where it was played at BREC Memorial Stadium through 1973.

Division II

In 1973, the College Division was realigned into Division II and Division III, with full eight-team playoffs to determine a national champion in both divisions. 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 at the larger capacity Tiger Stadium, also in Baton Rouge.[4][5] In 1976, the format was changed to have the game hosted by one of the participating teams; the 1976 game was played in Fargo, North Dakota, and the 1977 game was played in Anniston, Alabama. The other semifinal in those two seasons was the Knute Rockne Bowl, and the championship game was the Pioneer Bowl in Texas.

Game results

College Division
Mideast regional states of the College Division are shown in green; Louisiana was added in 1967.
SeasonDateWinnerLoserRef.Location
1964December 12, 1964Middle Tennessee State20Muskingum 0notes[6]Murfreesboro, TN
1965December 11, 1965Tennessee State 14, Ball State 14notes[7]Murfreesboro, TN
1966December 10, 1966Tennessee State34Muskingum 7notes[8]Murfreesboro, TN
1967December 9, 1967Eastern Kentucky27Ball State13notes[9]Murfreesboro, TN
1968December 14, 1968Louisiana Tech33Akron13notes[10]Murfreesboro, TN
1969December 13, 1969East Tennessee State34Louisiana Tech14notes[11]Baton Rouge, LA
1970December 12, 1970Tennessee State26Southwestern Louisiana25notes[12]Baton Rouge, LA
1971December 11, 1971Tennessee State26McNeese State23notes[13]Baton Rouge, LA
1972December 10, 1972Louisiana Tech35Tennessee Tech 0notes[14]Baton Rouge, LA

Division II
Ticket stub from 1975 game
SeasonDateWinnerLoserRef.Location
1973December 8, 1973Western Kentucky28Grambling20notes[15]Baton Rouge, LA
1974December 7, 1974Delaware49UNLV11notes[4]Baton Rouge, LA
1975December 6, 1975Western Kentucky14New Hampshire 3notes[16]Baton Rouge, LA
1976December 4, 1976Montana State10North Dakota State 3notes[17]Fargo, ND
1977December 3, 1977Jacksonville State31North Dakota State 7notes[18]Anniston, AL

Appearances by team

Teams with more than one appearance are listed.

Rank Team Appearances Record
1Tennessee State43–0–1
2Louisiana Tech32–1
T3Western Kentucky22–0
T3Ball State20–1–1
T3Muskingum20–2
T3North Dakota State20–2

References
  1. Barnet, Bob (November 15, 1965). "After the Ball (column)". The Star Press. Muncie, Indiana. Retrieved February 11, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  2. https://archive.org/stream/NCAA-News-19671101/NCAA-News-19671101_djvu.txt
  3. "NCAA Picks Baton Rouge As Bowl Site". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. Associated Press. April 2, 1969. Retrieved February 11, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  4. Brandt, Roger (December 8, 1974). "Blue Hens Sink Rebs". Daily World. Opelousas, Louisiana. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  5. Patterson, Tom (December 6, 1975). "Western and New Hampshire clash in Grantland Rice Bowl". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. Retrieved February 14, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  6. "Ohioans Cooked In Rice Bowl". News-Journal. Mansfield, Ohio. Associated Press. December 13, 1964. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  7. "Cards In 14-14 Bowl Tie". The Call-Leader. Elwood, Indiana. UPI. December 13, 1965. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  8. "Tennessee State Rolls 34-7 In Grantland Rice Bowl". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. UPI. December 11, 1966. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  9. Barnet, Bob (December 11, 1967). "After the Ball (column)". The Muncie Star. Muncie, Indiana. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  10. McIntyre, Bill (December 15, 1968). "Bradshaw Takes Zip Out of Akron In Frigid Grantland Rice Bowl Tilt". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. Retrieved January 27, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  11. Nassif, Al (December 14, 1969). "East Tennessee Showed Terry and Tech". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  12. "Tennessee State Takes Rice Bowl". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. UPI. December 13, 1970. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  13. Estill, Jerry (December 12, 1971). "Tenn. St. By 3". The Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. Associated Press. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  14. Kimmitt, Mike (December 10, 1972). "Duron, McNeely Spark 35-0 Victory Over Tennesseans". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. Retrieved February 13, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  15. Van Thyn, Nico (December 9, 1973). "Tigers Reach End of the Line, 28-20". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  16. Patterson, Tom (December 7, 1975). "Western tips New Hampshire 14-3, heads for national title". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  17. "Win puts Cats in Pioneer Bowl". Great Falls Tribune. Great Falls, Montana. Associated Press. December 5, 1976. Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  18. "Jacksonville State Romps In Grantland Rice Bowl". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Associated Press. December 4, 1977. Retrieved January 25, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
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