Grantland Rice Bowl

Grantland Rice Bowl
Location	Murfreesboro, Tennessee (1964–68) Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1969–75) Fargo, North Dakota (1976) Anniston, Alabama (1977)
Operated	1964–1977, 1981–current

The Grantland Rice Bowl was an annual college football bowl game in NCAA's College Division, for smaller universities and colleges. The game was named for Grantland Rice, an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose.

From 1964 to 1972, it was one of four season-ending national quarterfinals which led to the determination of a College Division national champion, by poll. It was the Mideast Regional championship, played in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, from 1964 to 1968. In 1969, the regional alignments shifted and the game was relocated to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where it remained until 1975.

In the 1968 game, Tommy Spinks of Louisiana Tech set two records when he caught 12 passes for 167 yards. Terry Bradshaw was the quarterback for Louisiana Tech in that game.

In 1973, the College Division was realigned into Division II and Division III, with full eight-team playoffs to determine a national champion in both divisions. The Grantland Rice Bowl became a national semifinal in Division II; it was played in 1976 in Fargo, North Dakota, and in Anniston, Alabama in 1977.

With the formation of Division I-AA (renamed FCS in 2006) and the modern playoff structure, the game ceased to exist. After a three-year absence, the game returned in a different form. Since 1981, the NCAA Division I FCS Playoff South Regional Championship (national quarterfinal) is commonly referred to as the Grantland Rice Bowl, in honor of its College Division heritage. The game is played at the highest remaining seed in the South Region with the winner advancing to the NCAA Division I FCS Playoff Final Four (national semifinal).

College Division results

Date	Winner	Score	Loser	Location	Note
December 12, 1964	Middle Tennessee State	20–0	Muskingum	Murfreesboro, Tennessee	College Division quarterfinal
December 11, 1965	Tennessee State	14–14	Ball State
December 10, 1966	Tennessee State	34–7	Muskingum
December 9, 1967	Eastern Kentucky	27–13	Ball State
December 13, 1968	Louisiana Tech	33–13	Akron
December 13, 1969	East Tennessee State	34–14	Louisiana Tech	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
December 12, 1970	Tennessee State	26–25	Southwestern Louisiana
December 11, 1971	Tennessee State	26–23	McNeese State
December 10, 1972	Louisiana Tech	35–0	Tennessee Tech

Division II results

Date	Winner	Score	Loser	Location	Note
December 8, 1973	Western Kentucky	28–20	Grambling State	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Division II semifinal
December 7, 1974	Delaware	49–11	UNLV
December 6, 1975	Western Kentucky	14–3	New Hampshire
December 4, 1976	Montana State	10–3	North Dakota State	Fargo, North Dakota
December 3, 1977	Jacksonville State	31–7	North Dakota State	Anniston, Alabama

Division I FCS results (South Region Championship — FCS playoffs)

formerly Division I-AA (1978-2005)

Date	Winning Team		Losing Team		Note
December 5, 1981	South Carolina State	26	Tennessee State	25	Division I-AA quarterfinal
December 4, 1982	Tennessee State	20	Eastern Illinois	19
December 3, 1983	Western Carolina	28	Holy Cross	21
December 1, 1984	Louisiana Tech	44	Alcorn State	21
December 7, 1985	Georgia Southern	28	Middle Tennessee State	21
December 6, 1986	Georgia Southern	55	Nicholls State	31
December 5, 1987	Appalachian State	19	Georgia Southern	0
December 3, 1988	Eastern Kentucky	41	Western Kentucky	24
December 2, 1989	Georgia Southern	45	Middle Tennessee State	3
December 1, 1990	Central Florida	52	William & Mary	38
December 7, 1991	Marshall	41	Northern Iowa	13
December 5, 1992	Youngstown State	42	The Citadel	17
December 4, 1993	Youngstown State	34	Georgia Southern	14
December 3, 1994	Youngstown State	18	Eastern Kentucky	15
December 2, 1995	Marshall	41	Northern Iowa	24
December 7, 1996	Marshall	54	Furman	0
December 6, 1997	Delaware	16	Georgia Southern	7
December 5, 1998	Georgia Southern	27	Connecticut	21
December 4, 1999	Florida A&M	17	Troy	10
December 2, 2000	Appalachian State	17	Western Kentucky	14
December 8, 2001	Georgia Southern	38	Appalachian State	24
December 7, 2002	Georgia Southern	31	Maine	7
December 6, 2003	Wofford	34	Western Kentucky	17
December 4, 2004	William & Mary	44	Delaware	38
December 3, 2005	Furman	24	Richmond	20
December 1, 2006	Appalachian State	38	Montana State	17	Division I FCS quarterfinal
December 7, 2007	Southern Illinois	34	Massachusetts	27
December 6, 2008	Richmond	33	Appalachian State	13
December 6, 2009	Appalachian State	35	Richmond	31
December 11, 2010	Georgia Southern	23	Wofford	20
December 10, 2011	Sam Houston State	49	Montana State	13
December 8, 2012	North Dakota State	14	Wofford	7
December 14, 2013	New Hampshire	20	Southeastern Louisiana	17
December 13, 2014	Sam Houston State	34	Villanova	31
2015

References

• Grantland Rice Bowl Games