Kanza Bowl

The Kanza Bowl was an annual American NCAA Division II college football bowl game played between teams from the Lone Star Conference and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association that is played the first Saturday of each December at the Hummer Sports Park on the grounds of the former Topeka State Hospital in Topeka, Kansas.

Hummer Sports Complex

In 2010 it was called the Lower Kanza Bowl after being sponsored by local plumbing company Lower Inc.

The first game was December 5, 2009. The conferences had a commitment to play the game at least until 2012.[1]

The MIAA competes in two of the three active football bowls in NCAA Division II. The other bowl is the Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Missouri.

Teams competing in the bowls were teams from the conference that had the best records that are not competing in the NCAA Division II National Football Championship series. In the case of the MIAA, the team with the best record has the choice to compete in the Kanza or in the Mineral Water Bowl against an opponent from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. During the run of the Kanza Bowl, the MIAA competed in two of the three bowl games that were left in Division II. The Pioneer Bowl in North Carolina closed at the end of 2007 season but played again in 2009.[2]

The game was on the field where all Topeka high schools play. The $17.5 million facility opened in 2003 on the grounds of the former Topeka State Hospital.[3]

The game was first played in 2009, replacing the Utah-based Dixie Rotary Bowl, which ceased operations after the 2008 season. Due to financial difficulties and lack of finding a core sponsor, the Kanza Bowl was canceled for the 2013 season; it was replaced by the Live United Texarkana Bowl for 2013 onward.[4]