Pioneer Bowl (1971–1982)

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Not to be confused with the Pioneer Bowl (HBCU), a defunct NCAA Division II bowl game (1997–2012).
Pioneer Bowl (defunct)
StadiumMemorial Stadium
LocationWichita Falls, Texas
Operated1971–1978, 1981–1982
Program cover for the 1971 game

The Pioneer Bowl was an annual college football postseason game held at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas, from 1971 through 1978 and again in 1981 and 1982. The game originated as an NCAA College Division regional final, then became a playoff game for Division II and Division I-AA.

History

The Pioneer Bowl originated as one of the four regional finals of the College Division, before it was subdivided into Division II and Division III in 1973. The game served as the championship for the Midwest Region in 1971 and 1972, at a time when there were no playoffs at any level of NCAA football. For the smaller colleges and universities, as for the major programs, the national champion was determined by polls conducted by the leading news wire services.

As Midwest Region final, the game succeeded the Pecan Bowl, which was played in Abilene, Texas from 1964 to 1967 and Arlington, Texas, from 1968 to 1970. At the time, the other three regional finals were the Boardwalk, Grantland Rice, and Camellia bowls.

The Wichita Falls Board of Commerce and Industry (BCI) secured the Pecan Bowl for the city in March 1971.[1] The game was renamed the Pioneer Bowl after a name-the-bowl contest, with the winning entry announced in May 1971.[2]

After the launch of Division II in 1973 and its full playoff system, the Pioneer Bowl became one of the two Division II semifinals (along with the Grantland Rice Bowl) for the first three years, and then became the championship game for two years. For the inaugural season of Division I-AA in 1978, the Pioneer Bowl became the new division's title game.[3] Wichita Falls then retained the rights to the Pioneer Bowl name during a two-year hiatus,[4] while the I-AA championship was decided in Florida in 1979, and in the Camellia Bowl in California in 1980. The Pioneer Bowl again hosted the I-AA title game in 1981 and 1982.

The game never quite sold out its 14,500-seat venue, though in most years the stadium was nearly full. If local press is any indication, the crowd of "only 11,257 fans" that attended the 1982 game was considered a disappointment.[5] The bowl folded after a group from Charleston, South Carolina, outbid the Wichita Falls BCI for the next contract to host the I-AA championship.[6]

In popular culture

"Pioneer Bowl" was used in 1993 as the name of a fictional bowl game played at the Alamodome in the television series Coach.[7]

Game results

Date played Winning team Losing team Notes NCAA playoff
December 11, 1971 Louisiana Tech 14 Eastern Michigan 3 [8] College Division
Regional Final
December 9, 1972 Tennessee State 29 Drake 7 [9]
December 8, 1973 Louisiana Tech 38 Boise State 34 [10] Division II
semifinal
December 7, 1974 Central Michigan 35 Louisiana Tech 14 [11]
December 6, 1975 Northern Michigan 28 West Alabama† 26 [12]
December 11, 1976 Montana State 24 Akron 13 [13] Division II
championship
December 10, 1977 Lehigh 33 Jacksonville State 0 [14]
December 16, 1978 Florida A&M 35 Massachusetts 28 [15] Division I-AA
championship
December 19, 1981 Idaho State 34 Eastern Kentucky 23 [16]
December 18, 1982 Eastern Kentucky 17 Delaware 14 [17]

† The University of West Alabama was known as Livingston University until 1995

See also

References

  1. ^ Buss, Ted (March 16, 1971). "Pecan Bowl Picks City As New Site". Wichita Falls Times. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "New Name Picked For NCAA Classic". Wichita Falls Times. May 6, 1971. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Pioneer Bowl Wins Approval Of NCAA". Times Record News. Wichita Falls, Texas. July 22, 1978. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Coffin, Phil (December 12, 1979). "The name of the game". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. B 11. Retrieved May 10, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Pioneer Bowl fans want game to return". Wichita Falls Times. December 19, 1982. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Pioneer Bowl taken from city again". Wichita Falls Times. January 14, 1983. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ ""Coach" The Pioneer Bowl (TV Episode 1993)". IMDb. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  8. ^ "Louisiana Tech Wins Bowl Test". Arizona Daily Star. December 12, 1971. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Pioneer Bowl Captured by Tennessee State". Dayton Daily News. December 10, 1972. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Louisiana Tech Wins In Last Seconds, 38-34". Sacramento Bee. December 9, 1973. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "23-game winning streak broken in Pioneer Bowl". North Adams (MA) Transcript. December 9, 1974. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Northern One Step From Crown". The Herald-Palladium. December 8, 1975. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Montana State Earns Pioneer Bowl Victory". Bristol Herald Courier. December 12, 1976. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Lehigh Division II Champs". Pottsville (PA) Republican. December 12, 1977. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Solomon Leads Florida A&M to Pioneer Bowl Win". Lexington Herald. December 17, 1978. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Idaho State Wins Division I-AA Title in Pioneer Bowl". The Star Press. December 20, 1981. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Eastern Kentucky cops Pioneer Bowl". Longview (TX) News-Journal. December 19, 1982. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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