Salute to Veterans Bowl
| Camellia Bowl | |
|---|---|
| File:CamelliaBowl.png | |
| Stadium | Cramton Bowl (25,000) |
| Location | Montgomery, Alabama |
| Operated | 2014–present |
| Conference tie-ins | MAC, Sun Belt, C-USA (alternate) |
| Payout | US$300,000 (2019)[1] |
| Sponsors | |
| |
| Former names | |
| |
| 2020 matchup | |
| Buffalo vs. Marshall (Buffalo 17–10) | |
| 2021 matchup | |
| Ball State vs. Georgia State (Georgia State 51–20) | |
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.[2][3] The game features teams from the Sun Belt Conference and the Mid-American Conference (MAC).[2][3] 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 state flower of Alabama.
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.[4] In June 2018, Gray Television announced its intent to acquire Raycom[5][6] The acquisition was completed in January 2019,[7] and the 2019 and 2020 editions of the bowl were played without a title sponsor.
On November 24, 2021, TaxAct was named as the new title sponsor of both the Camellia Bowl and the Texas Bowl.[8]
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 |
| December 25, 2020 | Buffalo | 17 | Marshall | 10 | 2,512 | notes |
| December 25, 2021 | Georgia State | 51 | Ball State | 20 | [a] | notes |
Source:[9]
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.[10]
| 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 |
| 2020 | Kevin Marks | Buffalo | RB |
| 2021 | Darren Grainger | Georgia State | QB |
Most appearances
Updated through the December 2021 edition (8 games, 16 total appearances).
- Teams with multiple appearances
| Rank | Team | Appearances | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Appalachian State | 2 | 2–0 |
| Arkansas State | 2 | 1–1 |
- Teams with a single appearance
Won (5): Bowling Green, Buffalo, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Middle Tennessee
Lost (7): Ball State, Eastern Michigan, FIU, Marshall, Ohio, South Alabama, Toledo
Appearances by conference
Updated through the December 2021 edition (8 games, 16 total appearances).
| Conference | Record | Appearances by season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | W | L | Win pct. | Won | Lost | |
| Sun Belt | 7 | 5 | 2 | .714 | 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021 | 2014, 2017 |
| MAC | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | 2014, 2020 | 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021 |
| C-USA | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 2017 | 2019, 2020 |
Game records
| Team | Record, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Most points scored (one team) | 51, Georgia State vs. Ball State | 2021 |
| Most points scored (losing team) | 30, Arkansas State vs. Middle Tennessee | 2017 |
| Most points scored (both teams) | 71, Georgia State vs. Ball State | 2021 |
| Fewest points allowed | 10, Marshall vs. Buffalo | 2020 |
| Largest margin of victory | 31, Georgia State vs. Ball State | 2021 |
| 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 | 248, Marshall vs. Buffalo | 2020 |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | 74, Ball State vs. Georgia State | 2021 |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | 33, Eastern Michigan vs. Georgia Southern | 2018 |
| Individual | Record, Player, Team | Year |
| All-purpose yards | 180, Omar Bayless (Arkansas State) | 2019 |
| Touchdowns (all-purpose) | 2, multiple players—most recently: Aubry Payne (Georgia State) |
2021 |
| Rushing yards | 162, Marcus Cox (Appalachian State) | 2015 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 2, multiple players—most recently: Shai Werts (Georgia Southern) |
2018 |
| Passing yards | 393, Layne Hatcher (Arkansas State) | 2019 |
| Passing touchdowns | 4, Layne Hatcher (Arkansas State) | 2019 |
| Receiving yards | 180, Omar Bayless (Arkansas State) | 2019 |
| Receiving touchdowns | 2, multiple players—most recently: Aubry Payne (Georgia State) |
2021 |
| Tackles | 18, Maleki Harris (South Alabama) | 2014 |
| Sacks | 2, shared by: Bryan Thomas (Bowling Green) Eric Black (Buffalo) Jamil Muhammad (Georgia State) |
2014 2020 2021 |
| Interceptions | 2, BJ Edmonds (Arkansas State) | 2017 |
| Long Plays | Record, Player, Team | Year |
| Touchdown run | 45 yds., Terelle West (Middle Tennessee) | 2017 |
| Touchdown pass | 78 yds., James Knapke from Roger Lewis (Bowling Green) | 2014 |
| Kickoff return | 94 yds., Darrynton Evans (Appalachian State) | 2016 |
| Punt return | 25 yds., Corey Jones (Toledo) | 2016 |
| Interception return | 55 yds., Antavious Lane (Georgia State) | 2021 |
| Fumble return | 54 yds., D. J. Sanders (Middle Tennessee) | 2017 |
| Punt | 61 yds., shared by: Cody Grace (Arkansas State) Robert LeFevre (Marshall) |
2017 2020 |
| Field goal | 52 yds., José Borregales (FIU) | 2019 |
Source:[13]
Media coverage
Television
| Date | Network | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators | Sideline reporters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | ESPN | Dave LaMont | Joey Galloway | Paul Carcaterra |
| 2015 | Dave Neal | Anthony Becht | ||
| 2016 | Eamon McAnaney | John Congemi | Lauren Sisler | |
| 2017 | Taylor Zarzour | Andre Ware | Olivia Dekker | |
| 2018 | Mike Corey | Rene Ingoglia | Lauren Sisler | |
| 2019 | Taylor Zarzour | Matt Stinchcomb | Alyssa Lang | |
| 2020 | Bill Roth | Dustin Fox | Lauren Sisler | |
| 2021 | Roy Philpott | Hutson Mason | Abby Labar |
Radio
| Date | Network | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators | Sideline reporters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | ESPN Radio | Jason Benetti | Gene Chizik | Niki Noto |
| 2015 | Marc Kestecher | Cole Cubelic | Dawn Davenport | |
| 2016 | John Brickley | Mike Golic Jr. | ||
| 2017 | Brad Edwards | |||
| 2018 | Jay Alter | Ben Hartsock | ||
| 2019 | Kevin Winter | Brad Edwards |
Notes
- ^ Attendance for the December 2021 edition of the bowl was not reported.
References
- ^ "2019 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ^ a b Poe, Janita (August 19, 2013). "Montgomery unveils Alabama's 3rd college bowl, inaugural game set for December 2014". AL.com. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
- ^ a b McMurphy, Brett (August 19, 2013). "Bowl created for MAC, Sun Belt". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
- ^ "2014 Event Sponsors". ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ^ 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
- ^ "TaxAct® Named Title Sponsor of Texas and Camellia Bowl Games as Part of a Multi-Event College Football Agreement with ESPN Events". bowlseason.com. November 24, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
- ^ "Camellia Bowl" (PDF). Bowl/All Star Game Records. NCAA. 2020. p. 16. Retrieved January 3, 2021 – via NCAA.org.
- ^ "Camellia Bowl MVP Trophy Named For Montgomery Native Bart Starr" (Document). Camellia Bowl Media Relations. December 12, 2014.
{{cite document}}: Unknown parameter|access-date=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|url=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|website=ignored (help) - ^ "Bayless Overcomes Adversity to win Bart Starr MVP Trophy". camelliabowl.com. December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- ^ @HustleBelt (December 25, 2020). "Kevin Marks wins Camellia Bowl MVP with 138 rushing yards and the game-winning TD" (Tweet). Retrieved December 25, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ Allen, Barry (December 22, 2019). "Arkansas State Passes Camellia Bowl Test". camelliabowl.com. Camellia Bowl Media Relations. Retrieved December 24, 2019.