The Knute Rockne Bowl (named after football coach Knute Rockne ) was an American college football bowl game founded by the NCAA in October 1969. Along with its counterpart, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl , it was "created by the NCAA ... for its College Division II schools, those 100-plus smallest schools in the NCAA." Eligible schools were divided into an East Region (the Northeast and Middle Atlantic states) and West Region (the rest of the country), with the Knute Rockne Bowl serving as the championship of the East Region.
14-877: The NCAA thus provided postseason opportunities for schools too small to compete for spots in the four College Division regional bowls it had established in 1964 (as of 1969, these were the Camellia Bowl for the West, the Pecan Bowl for the Midwest, the Grantland Rice Bowl for the Mideast, and the Boardwalk Bowl for the East). At least for the sport of football, this accommodation in 1969 foreshadowed
28-831: A four-year hiatus, the bowl returned in 1980 as the NCAA Division I-AA title game . Sacramento's Camellia Bowl Association signed a two-year deal to host the Division I-AA championship, but after the 1980 game drew just 8,157 fans and lost $ 21,659, game organizers appealed to the NCAA to cancel the contract. The NCAA agreed, and the I-AA title game was moved to the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas , for 1981. This college football bowl article
42-544: A playoff game for Division II and Division I-AA . 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
56-617: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to sports in California is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to Sacramento, California is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pioneer Bowl (1971%E2%80%931982) 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
70-657: The Grantland Rice Bowl. The Knute Rockne Bowl was no longer contested after 1977, when the NCAA stopped attaching "bowl" designations to the Division II semifinals. The second, third, and fourth Knute Rockne Bowls (1970 through 1972) were held indoors at Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey , which was also home to the Boardwalk Bowl (1961-1973). In the three seasons that they shared
84-707: The Pecan Bowl for the city in March 1971. The game was renamed the Pioneer Bowl after a name-the-bowl contest, with the winning entry announced in May 1971. 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
98-625: The decision to subdivide the College Division four years later. When the College Division was subdivided into the current Division II and Division III in 1973, the NCAA made the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl the Division III football championship game, and the Knute Rockne Bowl was discontinued. After an absence of three seasons, it was revived as a Division II national semifinal game for 1976 and 1977 , alongside
112-504: The inaugural season of Division I-AA in 1978, the Pioneer Bowl became the new division's title game. Wichita Falls then retained the rights to the Pioneer Bowl name during a two-year hiatus, 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
126-554: 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
140-529: 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. 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. "Pioneer Bowl" was used in 1993 as the name of a fictional bowl game played at the Alamodome in
154-529: The transition from NAIA to NCAA affiliation, announced in January 1964, the game became one of four regional finals in the NCAA College Division . At the time, 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. The intent of the bowl
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#1732780884652168-617: The venue, the games were played two weeks apart. The remaining three Knute Rockne Bowls (1969, 1976, and 1977) were played at the home stadium of one of the participating teams. Camellia Bowl (1961-1980) The Camellia Bowl was an annual college football postseason game in Sacramento, California , which is nicknamed the Camellia City . It was held sixteen times at Hughes Stadium , from 1961 through 1975, and once more in 1980 . The Camellia Bowl
182-823: Was founded in March 1961, when the Sacramento City-County Chamber of Commerce voted unanimously to accept an offer from the National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to move its championship game to the city. For the previous four years, the game had been known as the Holiday Bowl and was played in Saint Petersburg, Florida . The Camellia Bowl served as the NAIA Football National Championship game for three years. After
196-731: Was to match the two best non-major teams from a region consisting of the Pacific Coast and Rocky Mountain states. The other three regional finals were the Tangerine (later Boardwalk ), Pecan (later Pioneer ), and Grantland Rice bowls. When the College Division was subdivided into the current Division II and Division III in 1973, the NCAA made the Camellia Bowl the Division II football championship game. It served in this capacity for three seasons (1973 to 1975). After
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