Camellia Bowl (defunct)
NAIA Championship
(1961–1963)
NCAA College Division regional final
(1964–1972)
NCAA Division II championship
(1973–1975)
NCAA Division I-AA championship
(1980)
StadiumHughes Stadium
LocationSacramento, California
Operated1961–1975, 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.

History

The Camellia Bowl 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.[1] The Camellia Bowl served as the NAIA Football National Championship game for three years.

After the transition to NCAA play, announced in January 1964,[2] 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 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 a four-year hiatus, the bowl returned in 1980 as the NCAA Division I-AA title game.[3][4]

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.[5] The NCAA agreed, and the I-AA title game was moved to the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas for 1981.

Game results

DateWinning teamLosing teamPlayoffRef.
December   9, 1961Pittsburg State12Linfield7NAIA Championship[6]
December   8, 1962Central State (OK)28Lenoir–Rhyne13
December 14, 1963Saint John's (MN)33Prairie View A&M27
December 12, 1964Montana State29Sacramento State7College Division Regional Final[7]
December 11, 1965Cal State Los Angeles18UC Santa Barbara10[8]
December 10, 1966San Diego State28Montana State7[9]
December   9, 1967San Diego State34San Francisco State6
December 14, 1968Humboldt State29Fresno State14[10]
December 13, 1969North Dakota State30Montana3[11][12]
December 12, 1970North Dakota State31Montana16[13]
December 11, 1971Boise State32Chico State28[14][15]
December 10, 1972North Dakota38Cal Poly21[16]
December 15, 1973Louisiana Tech34Western Kentucky0NCAA Division II Championship[17]
December 14, 1974Central Michigan54Delaware14[18]
December 13, 1975Northern Michigan16Western Kentucky14[19]
December 20, 1980Boise State31Eastern Kentucky29NCAA Division I-AA Championship[3][4][15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Camellia Bowl for Capital". Stockton Evening and Sunday Record. March 8, 1961. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "NCAA Selects Camellia Bowl For Regional". The Fresno Bee. January 7, 1964. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 "Broncos squeak by Colonels, take title". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. December 21, 1980. p. B2.
  4. 1 2 "Boise gets title". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. December 22, 1980. p. 28.
  5. ↑ "Backers Vote To Drop Camellia Bowl". Sacramento Bee. March 3, 1981. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  6. ↑ Archived October 29, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Archived December 15, 2004, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Archived October 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ JIM CNOCKAERT Chronicle Sports Writer (July 28, 2007). "Jan Stenerud: The man, the myths". The Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Sports. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Camellia Bowl Recap – Fresno State Official Athletic Site". Gobulldogs.com. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Bison drop Montana 30-3 in Camellia". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 14, 1969. p. 16.
  12. ↑ "1969 - Camellia Bowl". Bisonville. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Bentson-led Bisons defeat Montana 31-16 in Camellia". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 13, 1970. p. 1, sports.
  14. ↑ "Boise State 32 Chico State 28". Toledo Blade. Ohio. Associated Press. December 12, 1971. p. E2.
  15. 1 2 "Scout.com: Boise State's History Of Big Plays". Boisestate.scout.com. May 9, 2007. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  16. ↑ "North Dakota Football Postseason Appearances". Siouxsports.com. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  17. ↑ The Fresno Bee, Dec 16, 1973, page D10
  18. ↑ The Modesto Bee, Dec 15, 1974, page A19
  19. ↑ The Modesto Bee, Dec 14, 1975, page B1


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