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Armed Forces Bowl

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Armed Forces Bowl
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
StadiumAmon G. Carter Stadium
LocationFort Worth, Texas
Previous stadiumsGerald J. Ford Stadium (2010–2011)
Previous locationsUniversity Park, Texas (2010–2011)
Operated2003–present
Conference tie-insBig 12 (2014, 2016, 2018)
Big Ten (2015, 2017, 2019)
American (2014, 2018)
MWC (2015, 2019)
Navy (2016)
Army (2017)[1]
PayoutUS$1.35 million (2019 season)[2]
Sponsors
PlainsCapital Bank (2003–2004)
Bell Helicopter (2006–2013)
Lockheed Martin (2014–present)
Former names
PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl (2003–2004)
Fort Worth Bowl (2005)
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (2006–2013)
2023 matchup
Air Force vs. James Madison
(Air Force 31–21)
2024 matchup
(December 27, 2024)

The Armed Forces Bowl, formerly the Fort Worth Bowl from 2003 to 2005, is an annual postseason college football bowl game. First played in 2003, the game is normally held at the 45,000-seat Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. The 2010 and 2011 editions were instead played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas, when Amon G. Carter Stadium underwent a reconstruction project. The game features teams from various collegiate football conferences, the independent United States Military Academy (Army) is also eligible to participate. Since 2014, the game has been sponsored by Lockheed Martin and is officially known as the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. Previous sponsors include Bell Helicopter (2006–2013) and PlainsCapital Bank (2003–2004).

The contest is one of 14 bowls produced by ESPN Events (previously ESPN Regional Television) and has been televised annually on ESPN since its inception. Armed Forces Insurance is the official Insurance Partner of the Armed Forces Bowl and has sponsored the Great American Patriot Award, presented at halftime at the bowl, since 2006.[3]

History

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The bowl was first played in December 2003, featuring two ranked teams, No. 18 Boise State and No. 19 TCU. It was the only edition to include a ranked team (per the AP Poll) until No. 22 Army played in December 2018.

In 2010 and 2011 when Amon G. Carter Stadium underwent a reconstruction project, the bowl was moved to Gerald J. Ford Stadium in nearby University Park, Texas.

Through the December 2018 playing, one of the three FBS-playing service academies (Army, Navy, and Air Force) has appeared in the game ten times. Contractual tie-ins with the American Athletic Conference (home of Navy), the Mountain West Conference (home of Air Force) and the independent Army assures that one of those schools could appear in the game every year, if bowl-eligible and not already committed to another bowl.

The 2018 game, between Army and Houston, was the first sellout in the bowl's 16-year history.[4]

Sponsorship

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The bowl game was inaugurated in 2003 as the PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl, reflecting the sponsorship of PlainsCapital Bank. The bank's sponsorship ended after the 2004 edition,[5] and the 2005 game was staged without corporate sponsorship.

In 2006, Fort Worth based Bell Helicopter Textron took over sponsorship, and thus the game became officially known as the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl.[6] The Bell sponsorship ended after the 2013 edition.[7] During this time, the 2010 and 2011 Armed Forces Bowl were held at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the campus of Southern Methodist University in the Dallas enclave of University Park, while Amon G. Carter Stadium was undergoing a major renovation. The game returned to Amon Carter Stadium in Fort Worth in 2012, after construction on that stadium was completed.

Alltel was to assume the title sponsorship and naming rights to the game beginning in 2014, which would have been titled the Alltel Wireless Bowl to promote its mobile division, but the deal fell through.[citation needed] Instead, Lockheed Martin became the game's sponsor.[7] The company has a major presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex: the company's Lockheed Martin Aeronautics division is based in Fort Worth while its Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control division is based in nearby Grand Prairie. In December 2018, Lockheed Martin extended its sponsorship though 2025.[8]

Conference tie-ins

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The bowl's partnership with the Big 12 Conference ended with the 2005 season. From 2006 to 2009, the Mountain West Conference was signed to provide a team to face either a team from the Pac-10 or Conference USA (C-USA), depending on the year; Pac-10 teams would play in odd number years while C-USA teams would play in even numbered years). As such, the 2006 and 2008 games featured C-USA teams Tulsa and Houston, respectively, whereas California represented the Pac-10 in 2007. The Pac-10 was unable to send a representative to the game in 2009, so C-USA sent Houston to the game for a second consecutive year. In 2010, since the Mountain West did not have enough eligible teams and Army was bowl eligible, Army played SMU in the bowl.

Following the 2013 football season, the Armed Forces Bowl signed multi-year agreements with the American Athletic Conference (The American), Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Mountain West Conference, Army and Navy to set bowl match-ups for the next six seasons (Navy later joined The American, and Army committed to do so beginning with the 2024 football season).[1]

In December 2020, it was announced that the 2020 game would be played between teams from the Pac-12 and SEC, following cancellation of the ESPN Events-owned Las Vegas Bowl (which would have been featuring those tie-ins for the first time) due to complications relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] However, due to a lack of available teams from the Pac-12, Tulsa of the American Athletic Conference was ultimately selected to face Mississippi State of the SEC.

Season Planned Actual
2014* The American Big 12 The American ACC
2015 Mountain West Big Ten Mountain West Pac-12
2016 Navy Big 12 Navy C-USA
2017 Army Big Ten Army Mountain West
2018 The American Big 12 The American Army
2019* Mountain West Big Ten The American C-USA
2020 Pac-12 SEC The American SEC

Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the following calendar year.

Game results

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Air Force Falcons on offense at the 2009 Armed Forces Bowl

Rankings are based on the AP Poll prior to the game being played.

Date played Bowl name Winning team Losing team Attendance
December 23, 2003 Fort Worth Bowl 18 Boise State 34 19 TCU 31 38,028
December 23, 2004 Fort Worth Bowl Cincinnati 32 Marshall 14 27,902
December 23, 2005 Fort Worth Bowl Kansas 42 Houston 13 33,505
December 23, 2006 Armed Forces Bowl Utah 25 Tulsa 13 32,412
December 31, 2007 Armed Forces Bowl California 42 Air Force 36 40,905
December 31, 2008 Armed Forces Bowl Houston 34 Air Force 28 41,127
December 31, 2009 Armed Forces Bowl Air Force 47 Houston 20 41,414
December 30, 2010 Armed Forces Bowl Army 16 SMU 14 36,742
December 30, 2011 Armed Forces Bowl BYU 24 Tulsa 21 30,258
December 29, 2012 Armed Forces Bowl Rice 33 Air Force 14 40,754
December 30, 2013 Armed Forces Bowl Navy 24 Middle Tennessee 6 39,246
January 2, 2015 Armed Forces Bowl Houston 35 Pittsburgh 34 37,888
December 29, 2015 Armed Forces Bowl California 55 Air Force 36 38,915
December 23, 2016 Armed Forces Bowl Louisiana Tech 48 Navy 45 40,542
December 23, 2017 Armed Forces Bowl Army 42 San Diego State 35 35,986
December 22, 2018 Armed Forces Bowl 22 Army 70 Houston 14 44,738
January 4, 2020 Armed Forces Bowl Tulane 30 Southern Miss 13 38,513
December 31, 2020 Armed Forces Bowl Mississippi State 28 22 Tulsa 26   9,000
December 22, 2021 Armed Forces Bowl Army 24 Missouri 22 34,888
December 22, 2022 Armed Forces Bowl Air Force 30 Baylor 15 43,875
December 23, 2023 Armed Forces Bowl Air Force 31 24 James Madison 21 30,828

Source:[10]

MVPs

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From inception through the 2022 edition, an MVP was named for each team. The 2023 game summary published on the bowl's official website only mentions a single MVP.[11]

Date Winning team MVP Losing team MVP
Player Team Position Player Team Position
December 23, 2003 Ryan Dinwiddie Boise State QB Brandon Hassell TCU QB
December 23, 2004 Gino Guidugli Cincinnati QB Josh Davis Marshall WR
December 23, 2005 Jason Swanson Kansas QB Kevin Kolb Houston QB
December 23, 2006 Louie Sakoda Utah P/K Paul Smith Tulsa QB
December 31, 2007 Kevin Riley California QB Shaun Carney Air Force QB
December 31, 2008 Bryce Beall Houston RB Jared Tew Air Force FB
December 31, 2009 Asher Clark Air Force RB Tyron Carrier Houston WR
December 30, 2010 Stephen Anderson Army LB Darius Johnson SMU WR
December 30, 2011 Cody Hoffman BYU WR Dexter McCoil Tulsa DB
December 29, 2012 Jordan Taylor Rice WR Austin Niklaas Air Force LB
December 30, 2013 Keenan Reynolds Navy QB T. T. Barber Middle Tennessee LB
January 2, 2015 Kenneth Farrow Houston RB Chad Voytik Pittsburgh QB
December 29, 2015 Jared Goff California QB Karson Roberts Air Force QB
December 23, 2016 Trent Taylor Louisiana Tech WR Zach Abey Navy QB
December 23, 2017 Ahmad Bradshaw Army QB Rashaad Penny San Diego State RB
December 22, 2018 Kelvin Hopkins Jr. Army QB Romello Brooker Houston TE
January 4, 2020 Justin McMillan Tulane QB Quez Watkins Southern Miss WR
December 31, 2020 Lideatrick Griffin Mississippi State WR/KR Christian Williams Tulsa DB
December 22, 2021 Arik Smith Army LB Brady Cook Missouri QB
December 22, 2022 Haaziq Daniels Air Force QB Dillon Doyle Baylor LB
December 23, 2023 Emmanuel Michel Air Force RB  

Source:[12][13]

Most appearances

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Air Force Falcons quarterback Shea Smith in the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl

Updated through the December 2023 edition (21 games, 42 total appearances).

Teams with multiple appearances
Rank Team Appearances Record Win pct.
1 Air Force 7 3–4 .429
2 Houston 5 2–3 .400
3 Army 4 4–0 1.000
4 Tulsa 3 0–3 .000
5 California 2 2–0 1.000
Navy 2 1–1 .500
Teams with a single appearance

Won (9): Boise State, BYU, Cincinnati, Kansas, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, Rice, Tulane, Utah
Lost (10): Baylor, James Madison, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Missouri, Pittsburgh, San Diego State, SMU, Southern Miss, TCU

Appearances by conference

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Updated through the December 2023 edition (21 games, 42 total appearances).

Conference Record Appearances by season
Games W L Win pct. Won Lost
C-USA 12 4 8 .333 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2019*
Mountain West 9 4 5 .444 2006, 2009, 2022, 2023 2007, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2017
Independents 6 6 0 1.000 2010, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2021  
The American 5 2 3 .400 2014*, 2019* 2016, 2018, 2020
Pac-12 2 2 0 1.000 2007, 2015  
Big 12 2 1 1 .500 2005 2022
SEC 2 1 1 .500 2020 2021
WAC 1 1 0 1.000 2003  
ACC 1 0 1 .000   2014*
MAC 1 0 1 .000   2004
Sun Belt 1 0 1 .000   2023
  • Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the following calendar year.
  • Pac-12 record includes appearances when the conference was known as the Pac-10 (before 2011).
  • The WAC no longer sponsors FBS football.
  • Independent appearances: Army (2010, 2017, 2018, 2021), BYU (2011), Navy (2013)

Game records

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Team Record, Team vs. Opponent Year
Most points scored (one team) 70, Army vs. Houston 2018
Most points scored (losing team) 45, Navy vs. Louisiana Tech 2016
Most points scored (both teams) 93, Louisiana Tech (48) vs. Navy (45) 2016
Fewest points allowed 6, Navy vs. Middle Tennessee 2013
Largest margin of victory 56, Army (70) vs. Houston (14) 2018
Total yards 592, Army vs. Houston 2018
Rushing yards 507, Army vs. Houston 2018
Passing yards 467, California vs. Air Force Dec. 2015
First downs 31, shared by:
Louisiana Tech vs. Navy
Army vs. San Diego State

2016
2017
Fewest yards allowed 134, Cincinnati vs. Marshall 2004
Fewest rushing yards allowed –3, Cincinnati vs. Marshall 2004
Fewest passing yards allowed 6, San Diego State vs. Army 2017
Individual Record, Player, Team Year
Total yards
Touchdowns (all-purpose) 5, Kelvin Hopkins Jr. (Army) 2018
Rushing yards 221, Rashaad Penny (San Diego State) 2017
Rushing touchdowns 5, Kelvin Hopkins Jr. (Army) 2018
Passing yards 467, Jared Goff (California) Dec. 2015
Passing touchdowns 6, Jared Goff (California) Dec. 2015
Receiving yards 233, Trent Taylor (Louisiana Tech) 2016
Receptions 12, Trent Taylor (Louisiana Tech) 2016
Receiving touchdowns 3, most recently:
Kenny Lawler (California)
Dec. 2015
Tackles 23, Marcus McGraw (Houston) 2009
Sacks 3.5, James Nachtigal (Army) 2018
Interceptions 3, Anthony Wright (Air Force) 2009
Long Plays Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent Year
Touchdown run 81 yds., Rashaad Penny (San Diego State) 2018
Touchdown pass 64 yds., Zach Abey to Darryl Bonner (Navy) 2016
Kickoff return 100 yds., Jonathan Warzeka (Air Force) 2009
Punt return 85 yds., Brian Murph (Kansas) 2005
Interception return 90 yds., Emmanuel Forbes[14] (Mississippi State) Dec. 2020
Fumble return 55 yds., Josh McNary (Army) 2010
Punt 60 yds., most recently:
Logan Piper (Houston)

Jan. 2015
Field goal 52 yds., Chris Blewitt (Pittsburgh) Jan. 2015

Source:[15]

Media coverage

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The bowl has been televised on ESPN since its inception. Radio coverage was initially on ESPN Radio, and is currently carried nationally via Bowl Season Radio.

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Matchup". armedforcesbowl.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014.
  2. ^ "2019 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  3. ^ "Great American Patriot Award". armedforcesbowl.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  4. ^ "Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Sold Out". Armed Forces Bowl. Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  5. ^ Schmadtke, Alan (August 2, 2005). "Conference USA: The Beat". Orlando Sentinel. p. D5. Retrieved December 23, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "New name". The Salina Journal. Salina, Kansas. August 24, 2006. p. 16. Retrieved December 23, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "Lockheed Martin Corp. Takes Over as Armed Forces Title Sponsor". The Oklahoman. February 8, 2014. p. 7B. Retrieved December 23, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Lockheed Martin Extends Title Sponsorship of Armed Forces Bowl for Six Years". armedforcesbowl.com (Press release). December 21, 2018. Archived from the original on December 23, 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  9. ^ "Armed Forces Bowl announces Pac-12, SEC partnership". 247Sports. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  10. ^ "Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl" (PDF). Bowl/All Star Game Records. NCAA. 2023. p. 14. Retrieved December 18, 2023 – via NCAA.org.
  11. ^ Phillips, Troy (December 23, 2023). "Michel Runs Air Force Past James Madison in Locheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl". armedforcesbowl.com. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  12. ^ "Our History – Past MVPs". armedforcesbowl.com. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  13. ^ @ArmedForcesBowl (December 23, 2023). "The @ArmedForcesBowl MVP is Emmanuel Michel. 203 yards and @AF_Football bowl record" (Tweet). Retrieved December 23, 2023 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "AFB Postgame Notes". armedforcesbowl.com/. December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  15. ^ 2018 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Program. Armed Forces Bowl.
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