Camellia Bowl (2014–present)
The Camellia Bowl is an annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctioned FBS college football bowl game played in Montgomery, Alabama, at the Cramton Bowl.[3][4] The game features teams from the Sun Belt Conference and the Mid-American Conference (MAC).[3][4] The bowl game was announced in August 2013 and first played in December 2014. The game is owned and managed by ESPN Events and is named after the camellia, which is the Alabama state flower.
Camellia Bowl | |
---|---|
Stadium | Cramton Bowl (25,000) |
Location | Montgomery, Alabama |
Operated | 2014–present |
Conference tie-ins | MAC, Sun Belt |
Payout | US$300,000 (2019)[1] |
Sponsors | |
Raycom Media (2014–2018)[2] | |
Former names | |
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (2014–2018) | |
2018 matchup | |
Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan (Georgia Southern 23–21) | |
2019 matchup | |
FIU vs. Arkansas State (Arkansas State 34–26) |
Sponsorship
The bowl was sponsored at its inception by Raycom Media, a major owner of television stations in the southeastern United States with heavy involvement in college sports broadcasting, and was officially known as the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl. In June 2018, Gray Television announced its intent to acquire Raycom;[5][6] the acquisition was completed in January 2019.[7] The 2019 edition of the bowl was played without a title sponsor.
Game results
Date | Winning Team | Losing Team | Attendance | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
December 20, 2014 | Bowling Green | 33 | South Alabama | 28 | 20,256 | notes |
December 19, 2015 | Appalachian State | 31 | Ohio | 29 | 21,395 | notes |
December 17, 2016 | Appalachian State | 31 | Toledo | 28 | 20,300 | notes |
December 16, 2017 | Middle Tennessee | 35 | Arkansas State | 30 | 20,612 | notes |
December 15, 2018 | Georgia Southern | 23 | Eastern Michigan | 21 | 17,710 | notes |
December 21, 2019 | Arkansas State | 34 | FIU | 26 | 16,209 | notes |
MVPs
The bowl's MVP receives the Bart Starr Most Valuable Player Award; Starr was born and raised in Montgomery, where the Camellia Bowl is played.[8]
Year | MVP | Team | Position |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | James Knapke | Bowling Green | QB |
2015 | Marcus Cox | Appalachian State | RB |
2016 | Taylor Lamb | Appalachian State | QB |
2017 | Darius Harris | Middle Tennessee | OLB |
2018 | Shai Werts | Georgia Southern | QB |
2019 | Omar Bayless | Arkansas State | WR |
Source: [9]
Most appearances
Updated through the December 2019 edition (6 games, 12 total appearances).
- Teams with multiple appearances
Rank | Team | Appearances | Record |
---|---|---|---|
T1 | Appalachian State | 2 | 2–0 |
T1 | Arkansas State | 2 | 1–1 |
- Teams with a single appearance
Won: Bowling Green, Georgia Southern, Middle Tennessee
Lost: Eastern Michigan, FIU, Ohio, South Alabama, Toledo
Appearances by conference
Updated through the December 2019 edition (6 games, 12 total appearances).
Conference | Record | Appearances by season | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Games | W | L | Win pct. | Won | Lost | |
Sun Belt | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0.667 | 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 | 2014, 2017 |
MAC | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.250 | 2014 | 2015, 2016, 2018 |
C-USA | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | 2017 | 2019 |
Game records
Team | Record, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
---|---|---|
Most points scored (one team) | 35, Middle Tennessee vs. Arkansas State | 2017 |
Most points scored (losing team) | 30, Arkansas State vs. Middle Tennessee | 2017 |
Most points scored (both teams) | 65, Middle Tennessee vs. Arkansas State | 2017 |
Fewest points allowed | 21, Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan | 2018 |
Largest margin of victory | 8, Arkansas State vs. FIU | 2019 |
Total yards | 525, Arkansas State vs. FIU | 2019 |
Rushing yards | 331, Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan | 2018 |
Passing yards | 393, Arkansas State vs. FIU | 2019 |
First downs | 31, Arkansas State vs. FIU | 2019 |
Fewest yards allowed | 272, Appalachian State vs. Ohio | 2015 |
Fewest rushing yards allowed | 97, Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan | 2018 |
Fewest passing yards allowed | 33, Eastern Michigan vs. Georgia Southern | 2018 |
Individual | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
All-purpose yards | 180, Omar Bayless, Arkansas State vs. FIU | 2019 |
Touchdowns (all-purpose) | 2, multiple players—most recently: Shai Werts, Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan Arthur Jackson, Eastern Michigan vs. Georgia Southern | 2018 2018 |
Rushing yards | 162, Marcus Cox, Appalachian State vs. Ohio | 2015 |
Rushing touchdowns | 2, multiple players—most recently: Shai Werts, Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan | 2018 |
Passing yards | 393, Layne Hatcher, Arkansas State vs. FIU | 2019 |
Passing touchdowns | 4, Layne Hatcher, Arkansas State vs. FIU | 2019 |
Receiving yards | 180, Omar Bayless, Arkansas State vs. FIU | 2019 |
Receiving touchdowns | 2, multiple players—most recently: Arthur Jackson, Eastern Michigan vs. Georgia Southern | 2018 |
Tackles | 18 (total), Maleki Harris, South Alabama vs, Bowling Green 12 (solo), same | 2014 |
Sacks | 2, Bryan Thomas, Bowling Green vs. South Alabama | 2014 |
Interceptions | 2, BJ Edmonds, Arkansas State vs. Middle Tennessee | 2017 |
Long Plays | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
Touchdown run | 45, Terelle West, Middle Tennessee vs. Arkansas State | 2017 |
Touchdown pass | 78, James Knapke from Roger Lewis, Bowling Green vs. South Alabama | 2014 |
Kickoff return | 94, Darrynton Evans, Appalachian State vs. Toledo | 2016 |
Punt return | 25, Corey Jones, Toledo vs. Appalachian State | 2016 |
Interception return | 21, Jeremy Smith, Arkansas State vs. FIU | 2019 |
Fumble return | 54, D. J. Sanders, Middle Tennessee vs. Arkansas State | 2017 |
Punt | 61, Cody Grace, Arkansas State vs. Middle Tennessee | 2017 |
Field goal | 52, Jose Borregales, FIU vs. Arkansas State | 2019 |
Source: [10]
Media coverage
Television
Date | Network | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators | Sideline reporters |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | ESPN | Dave Lamont | Joey Galloway | Paul Carcaterra |
2015 | ESPN | Dave Neal | Anthony Becht | Paul Carcaterra |
2016 | ESPN | Eamon McAnaney | John Congemi | Lauren Sisler |
2017 | ESPN | Taylor Zarzour | Andre Ware | Olivia Dekker |
2018 | ESPN | Mike Corey | Rene Ingoglia | Lauren Sisler |
2019 | ESPN | Taylor Zarzour | Matt Stinchcomb | Alyssa Lang |
Radio
Date | Network | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators | Sideline reporters |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | ESPN Radio | Jason Benetti | Gene Chizik | Niki Noto |
2015 | ESPN Radio | Marc Kestecher | Cole Cubelic | Dawn Davenport |
2016 | ESPN Radio | John Brickley | Mike Golic Jr. | |
2017 | ESPN Radio | John Brickley | Brad Edwards | |
2018 | ESPN Radio | Jay Alter | Ben Hartsock | |
2019 | ESPN Radio | Kevin Winter | Ben Hartsock | Brad Edwards |
References
- "2019 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- "2014 Event Sponsors". ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- Poe, Janita (August 19, 2013). "Montgomery unveils Alabama's 3rd college bowl, inaugural game set for December 2014". AL.com. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
- McMurphy, Brett (August 19, 2013). "Bowl created for MAC, Sun Belt". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
- Hufford, Austen (2018-06-25). "Gray TV to Buy Raycom in $3.65 Billion Deal". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
- Hayes, Dade (2018-06-25). "Gray Acquiring Raycom For $3.65B, Forming No. 3 Local TV Group". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
- "Gray Completes Acquisitions for Raycom Media and Related Transactions", Gray Television, 2 January 2019, Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- "Camellia Bowl MVP Trophy Named For Montgomery Native Bart Starr". camelliabowl.com. Camellia Bowl Media Relations. December 12, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- "Bayless Overcomes Adversity to win Bart Starr MVP Trophy". camelliabowl.com. December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- Allen, Barry (December 22, 2019). "Arkansas State Passes Camellia Bowl Test". camelliabowl.com. Camellia Bowl Media Relations. Retrieved December 24, 2019.