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| BYU QB Christian Stewart attempts a pass in the Miami Beach Bowl (USATSI). |
You can find a lot of interesting names if you look through the list of college football bowl games this year. There's the Gasparilla Bowl, Camellia Bowl, and Heart of Dallas Bowl. It's ten times worse if you do the correct thing and include the sponsor that paid for naming rights in the actual name of the bowl. What you won't find on this year's list of bowl games are some of the bowls that BYU has played in.
Did you know that seven bowl games that BYU has played in are now defunct?The list is interesting. It includes bowls from as far back as the 1980s and goes up to as recently as this decade. Here are the seven bowl games:
1. Freedom Bowl. BYU played in the Freedom Bowl twice (1986 and 1988). The game was played in Anaheim, California from 1984-94.
2. All-American Bowl. The Cougars played in the All-American Bowl in between its two Freedom Bowl visits (1987). The game was played in Birmingham, Alabama from 1977-90.
3. Aloha Bowl. On Christmas Day 1992, BYU played in the Aloha Bowl. The Aloha Bowl, played in Hawai'i, lasted from 1982-2000.
4. Copper Bowl. BYU had one of its better bowl outings in the 1994 Copper Bowl. According to Wikipedia, this bowl game is still active meaning the same ownership group still hosts a bowl. It goes under the name Cactus Bowl and is played in Phoenix, Arizona. When BYU played, it was held in Tucson. New location + New name = New bowl game, in my book. The Copper Bowl was played in Tucson from 1989-99.
5. Motor City Bowl. BYU went to Detroit, Michigan at the end of the 1999 season to play in this bowl game. It was also known as the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl. This bowl lasted from 1997-2013.
6. Miami Beach Bowl. The Cougars made the trip all the way to Miami, Florida, for the inaugural game in 2014. Little did they know, two years later it would be sold and moved to Frisco, Texas. There were just three games from 2014-16.
7. Poinsettia Bowl. The little brother to the Holiday Bowl, BYU played in this bowl twice in recent history (2012 and 2016). The San Diego Bowl Game Association decided in January to retire this bowl after a 12 year run from 2005-16.
Every bowl game that BYU played in from 1986-1994 that was not the Holiday Bowl no longer exists.
Two other bowls games that BYU has played in have been renamed. In 1976, BYU played in the Tangerine Bowl, which is now the Citrus Bowl. BYU played in this bowl under the current name in 1985. The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl that BYU played in following the 2013 season now goes by the name Foster Farms Bowl.
The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com
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