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)
2022 matchup
Air Force vs. Baylor (Air Force 30–15)
2023 matchup
Air Force vs. James Madison
(Air Force 31–21)

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

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

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. 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

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.

SeasonPlannedActual
2014*The AmericanBig 12The AmericanACC
2015Mountain WestBig TenMountain WestPac-12
2016NavyBig 12NavyC-USA
2017ArmyBig TenArmyMountain West
2018The AmericanBig 12The AmericanArmy
2019*Mountain WestBig TenThe AmericanC-USA
2020Pac-12SECThe AmericanSEC

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

Game results

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, 2003Fort Worth Bowl18 Boise State3419 TCU3138,028
December 23, 2004Fort Worth BowlCincinnati32Marshall1427,902
December 23, 2005Fort Worth BowlKansas42Houston1333,505
December 23, 2006Armed Forces BowlUtah25Tulsa1332,412
December 31, 2007Armed Forces BowlCalifornia42Air Force3640,905
December 31, 2008Armed Forces BowlHouston34Air Force2841,127
December 31, 2009Armed Forces BowlAir Force47Houston2041,414
December 30, 2010Armed Forces BowlArmy16SMU1436,742
December 30, 2011Armed Forces BowlBYU24Tulsa2130,258
December 29, 2012Armed Forces BowlRice33Air Force1440,754
December 30, 2013Armed Forces BowlNavy24Middle Tennessee639,246
January 2, 2015Armed Forces BowlHouston35Pittsburgh3437,888
December 29, 2015Armed Forces BowlCalifornia55Air Force3638,915
December 23, 2016Armed Forces BowlLouisiana Tech48Navy4540,542
December 23, 2017Armed Forces BowlArmy42San Diego State3535,986
December 22, 2018Armed Forces Bowl22 Army70Houston1444,738
January 4, 2020Armed Forces BowlTulane30Southern Miss1338,513
December 31, 2020Armed Forces BowlMississippi State2822 Tulsa26  9,000
December 22, 2021Armed Forces BowlArmy24Missouri2234,888
December 22, 2022Armed Forces BowlAir Force30Baylor1543,875
December 23, 2023Armed Forces BowlAir Force3124 James Madison2130,828

Source:[10]

MVPs

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, 2003Ryan DinwiddieBoise StateQBBrandon HassellTCUQB
December 23, 2004Gino GuidugliCincinnatiQBJosh DavisMarshallWR
December 23, 2005Jason SwansonKansasQBKevin KolbHoustonQB
December 23, 2006Louie SakodaUtahP/KPaul SmithTulsaQB
December 31, 2007Kevin RileyCaliforniaQBShaun CarneyAir ForceQB
December 31, 2008Bryce BeallHoustonRBJared TewAir ForceFB
December 31, 2009Asher ClarkAir ForceRBTyron CarrierHoustonWR
December 30, 2010Stephen AndersonArmyLBDarius JohnsonSMUWR
December 30, 2011Cody HoffmanBYUWRDexter McCoilTulsaDB
December 29, 2012Jordan TaylorRiceWRAustin NiklaasAir ForceLB
December 30, 2013Keenan ReynoldsNavyQBT. T. BarberMiddle TennesseeLB
January 2, 2015Kenneth FarrowHoustonRBChad VoytikPittsburghQB
December 29, 2015Jared GoffCaliforniaQBKarson RobertsAir ForceQB
December 23, 2016Trent TaylorLouisiana TechWRZach AbeyNavyQB
December 23, 2017Ahmad BradshawArmyQBRashaad PennySan Diego StateRB
December 22, 2018Kelvin Hopkins Jr.ArmyQBRomello BrookerHoustonTE
January 4, 2020Justin McMillanTulaneQBQuez WatkinsSouthern MissWR
December 31, 2020Lideatrick GriffinMississippi StateWR/KRChristian WilliamsTulsaDB
December 22, 2021Arik SmithArmyLBBrady CookMissouriQB
December 22, 2022Haaziq DanielsAir ForceQBDillon DoyleBaylorLB
December 23, 2023Emmanuel MichelAir ForceRB 

Source:[12][13]

Most appearances

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.
1Air Force73–4.429
2Houston52–3.400
3Army44–01.000
4Tulsa30–3.000
5California22–01.000
Navy21–1.500
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

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

Conference Record Appearances by season
Games W L Win pct. Won Lost
C-USA1248.3332004, 2008, 2012, 20162003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2019*
Mountain West945.4442006, 2009, 2022, 20232007, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2017
Independents6601.0002010, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2021 
The American523.4002014*, 2019*2016, 2018, 2020
Pac-122201.0002007, 2015 
Big 12211.50020052022
SEC211.50020202021
WAC1101.0002003 
ACC101.000 2014*
MAC101.000 2004
Sun Belt101.000 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

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 yards221, Rashaad Penny (San Diego State)2017
Rushing touchdowns5, Kelvin Hopkins Jr. (Army)2018
Passing yards467, Jared Goff (California)Dec. 2015
Passing touchdowns6, Jared Goff (California)Dec. 2015
Receiving yards233, Trent Taylor (Louisiana Tech)2016
Receptions12, Trent Taylor (Louisiana Tech)2016
Receiving touchdowns3, most recently:
Kenny Lawler (California)
Dec. 2015
Tackles23, Marcus McGraw (Houston)2009
Sacks3.5, James Nachtigal (Army)2018
Interceptions3, Anthony Wright (Air Force)2009
Long Plays Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent Year
Touchdown run81 yds., Rashaad Penny (San Diego State)2018
Touchdown pass64 yds., Zach Abey to Darryl Bonner (Navy)2016
Kickoff return100 yds., Jonathan Warzeka (Air Force)2009
Punt return85 yds., Brian Murph (Kansas)2005
Interception return90 yds., Emmanuel Forbes[14] (Mississippi State)Dec. 2020
Fumble return55 yds., Josh McNary (Army)2010
Punt60 yds., most recently:
Logan Piper (Houston)

Jan. 2015
Field goal52 yds., Chris Blewitt (Pittsburgh)Jan. 2015

Source:[15]

Media coverage

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

  1. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "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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