ESPN Events Secures Dates & Times for 2017 Bowl Games

College FootballFootball

ESPN Events Secures Dates & Times for 2017 Bowl Games

  • All games to again air on ESPN or ABC
  • Four bowl games kick off opening day, December 16

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, has locked in the dates, times and networks for each of the company’s 13 owned and operated bowl games for the 2017 season. Four bowls on Saturday, Dec. 16, kick off the bowl season – Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl and Las Vegas Bowl on ABC, as well as the Gildan New Mexico Bowl and Raycom Media Camellia Bowl on ESPN. All games will be aired on ESPN with the exception of the Celebration Bowl and Las Vegas Bowl.

Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) will meet in the third-annual Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 16, pitting the conference champion from these two Historically Black College and University (HBCU) conferences. The game will be played at the brand-new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, at noon on ABC.

Las Vegas Bowl
The Las Vegas Bowl is set for Saturday, Dec. 16, on ABC at 3:30 p.m. The 26th annual game will be played at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas featuring the top choice from the Mountain West against a team from the Pac-12 Conference.

Gildan New Mexico Bowl
The 12th edition of the Gildan New Mexico Bowl will be played Saturday, Dec. 16, from Dreamstyle Stadium on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. The 4:30 p.m. game on ESPN and ESPN Radio will feature a team from the Mountain West against a team from Conference USA.

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
The fourth annual Raycom Media Camellia Bowl will be played on Saturday, Dec. 16, from historic Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala. The 8 p.m. game on ESPN and ESPN Radio will match teams from the Sun Belt Conference against the Mid-American Conference.

Boca Raton Bowl
The fourth edition of the Boca Raton Bowl is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN Radio, from FAU Stadium on the campus of Florida Atlantic University. The Mid-American Conference, Conference USA and American Athletic Conference are the affiliated conferences for the Boca Raton Bowl.

St. Petersburg Bowl
The 10th annual St. Petersburg Bowl will be played Thursday, Dec. 21, at 8 p.m. on ESPN. Conference tie-ins this season for the St. Petersburg Bowl will showcase the American Athletic Conference against Conference USA from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Bahamas Bowl
In its fourth year and third as an ESPN Events owned and operated game, the Bahamas Bowl will be played on Friday, Dec. 22, at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN. The game will be played at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in Nassau and features teams from Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
The 21st annual Famous Idaho Potato Bowl – slated for Friday, Dec. 22, at 4 p.m. on ESPN – will be held at Boise State University’s Albertsons Stadium. The game will feature teams from the Mountain West versus Mid-American Conference.

Birmingham Bowl
The 12th annual Birmingham Bowl will be played on Saturday, Dec. 23, at noon on ESPN. Played at historic Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., the game will pit a team from the American Athletic Conference against a team from the Southeastern Conference.

 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
The Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl will be played on Saturday, Dec. 23, on ESPN. The 15th edition of the postseason college football bowl game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. from Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of TCU, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Hawai’i Bowl
The Hawai‘i Bowl will be played on Christmas Eve (Sunday, Dec. 24) from Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. In its 16th year, the bowl will be aired on ESPN and ESPN Radio at 8:30 p.m. and pits teams from the American Athletic Conference against the Mountain West.

Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl
The eighth annual Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl is set for Tuesday, Dec. 26, at the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium on the grounds of Fair Park. This year’s bowl game will air on ESPN (time TBD).

Texas Bowl
The 12th annual Texas Bowl is set for Wednesday, Dec. 27, at 9 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN Radio. The game will be played at NRG Stadium in Houston and marks the fourth meeting of a six-year agreement between the Big 12 and SEC.

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of 31 collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; FCS opening-weekend game; 13 college bowl games, 11 college basketball events and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 300-plus hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 700,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

Collegiate Football
AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl (Atlanta); Bahamas Bowl (Nassau); Birmingham Bowl (Alabama); Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Camping World Kickoff (Orlando, Fla.); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff (Montgomery, Ala.); Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); MEAC/SWAC Challenge (Baton Rouge, La.); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); St. Petersburg Bowl (Florida); Texas Bowl (Houston); The Home Depot College Football Awards (Atlanta) and Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth) 

Collegiate Basketball
AdvoCare Invitational (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Armed Forces Classic (Ramstein Air Base, Germany); College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s (Los Angeles); Gildan Charleston Classic (South Carolina); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men’s  Classic presented by Corona (New York City); Jimmy V Women’s Classic presented by Corona (TBD); NIT Season Tip-Off (Brooklyn, N.Y.); PK80 (Portland, Ore.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); State Farm Champions Classic (Chicago) and Wooden Legacy (Fullerton, Calif.)

For more information, visit the official website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages.

-30-

 

Rachel Margolis Siegal

A part of the Internal Communications team at ESPN, I began with the network in 2010 as part of the College Sports PR team. Always an avid sports fan and not an athlete – I grew up a huge fan of the Hartford Whalers, while also watching my brother compete at different levels. I became the manager of several high school sports teams and continued that hobby into college. While at Quinnipiac, I worked in the Sports Information Department, which led me to a summer internship at the New Haven Ravens, a AA baseball team, and an eventual job with the Athletic Communications Department at the University of Connecticut. After my five-year stint at Connecticut, I spent six years as Director of Communications at the BIG EAST Conference in Providence, R.I. before joining ESPN.
Back to top button