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Independence Bowl
The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl was named because it was inaugurated in 1976, the year of the United States Bicentennial. The bowl's current title sponsor is Radiance Technologies, per an agreement announced for the 2020–2025 editions. Only one prior edition of the bowl, in 2013, has not used Independence Bowl branding.
The 2020 edition of the bowl was canceled on December 20, 2020, due to an insufficient number of teams being available to fill all 2020-21 bowl games, following a season impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
For its first five years, the game pitted the champion of the Southland Conference against an at-large opponent. It then moved to inviting two at-large teams, until 1995 when it began featuring a Southeastern Conference (SEC) school against an at-large opponent.
From 1998 to 2009, the game normally featured a matchup between teams representing the Big 12 Conference and the SEC. Teams from other conferences were included only if one of those leagues did not have enough bowl-eligible teams to fill its spot, such as in 2004 when Miami (Ohio) played instead of an SEC squad. In 2008, neither the SEC nor the Big 12 had enough bowl-eligible teams to fill their respective spots resulting in a matchup of Louisiana Tech of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and Northern Illinois of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
In 2010 and 2011, the Independence Bowl held the third selection from the Mountain West Conference and the seventh selection from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). It was announced that in 2012, the Mountain West Conference team would be replaced by the 10th selection from the SEC.
The bowl has multiple conference and team tie-ins for the 2020 through 2025 seasons. Both the SEC and ACC announced bowl lineups for those years that did not include the Independence Bowl. In January 2020, the bowl announced a six-year sequence of games that will feature an independent program (either Army or BYU) against a team from either the Pac-12, Conference USA (C-USA), or the American Athletic Conference (The American). Once BYU joined the Big 12 in 2023, the bowl announced that a bid to the Big 12 overall would replace BYU in their upcoming schedule rotation.
Even though ten of the Pac-12 teams departed that conference beginning with the 2024 season, it was announced that the remaining two teams, or the ten "legacy teams" (those leaving the conference), would fulfill the Pac-12's obligation for the 2024 Independence Bowl.
One of the most memorable games in Independence Bowl history was the 2000 edition, the "snow bowl" game between Texas A&M and Mississippi State. The game was originally publicized as a reunion game, since Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill had served as A&M's coach for seven seasons in the 1980s and led them to three conference titles. However, the weather quickly dominated the storyline as a rare and significant snowstorm hit Shreveport. In the midst of the snow, Mississippi State rallied to an overtime win over A&M.
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Independence Bowl
The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl was named because it was inaugurated in 1976, the year of the United States Bicentennial. The bowl's current title sponsor is Radiance Technologies, per an agreement announced for the 2020–2025 editions. Only one prior edition of the bowl, in 2013, has not used Independence Bowl branding.
The 2020 edition of the bowl was canceled on December 20, 2020, due to an insufficient number of teams being available to fill all 2020-21 bowl games, following a season impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
For its first five years, the game pitted the champion of the Southland Conference against an at-large opponent. It then moved to inviting two at-large teams, until 1995 when it began featuring a Southeastern Conference (SEC) school against an at-large opponent.
From 1998 to 2009, the game normally featured a matchup between teams representing the Big 12 Conference and the SEC. Teams from other conferences were included only if one of those leagues did not have enough bowl-eligible teams to fill its spot, such as in 2004 when Miami (Ohio) played instead of an SEC squad. In 2008, neither the SEC nor the Big 12 had enough bowl-eligible teams to fill their respective spots resulting in a matchup of Louisiana Tech of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and Northern Illinois of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
In 2010 and 2011, the Independence Bowl held the third selection from the Mountain West Conference and the seventh selection from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). It was announced that in 2012, the Mountain West Conference team would be replaced by the 10th selection from the SEC.
The bowl has multiple conference and team tie-ins for the 2020 through 2025 seasons. Both the SEC and ACC announced bowl lineups for those years that did not include the Independence Bowl. In January 2020, the bowl announced a six-year sequence of games that will feature an independent program (either Army or BYU) against a team from either the Pac-12, Conference USA (C-USA), or the American Athletic Conference (The American). Once BYU joined the Big 12 in 2023, the bowl announced that a bid to the Big 12 overall would replace BYU in their upcoming schedule rotation.
Even though ten of the Pac-12 teams departed that conference beginning with the 2024 season, it was announced that the remaining two teams, or the ten "legacy teams" (those leaving the conference), would fulfill the Pac-12's obligation for the 2024 Independence Bowl.
One of the most memorable games in Independence Bowl history was the 2000 edition, the "snow bowl" game between Texas A&M and Mississippi State. The game was originally publicized as a reunion game, since Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill had served as A&M's coach for seven seasons in the 1980s and led them to three conference titles. However, the weather quickly dominated the storyline as a rare and significant snowstorm hit Shreveport. In the midst of the snow, Mississippi State rallied to an overtime win over A&M.