| Motor City Bowl | |
|---|---|
 Motor City Bowl logo |
|
| Stadium | Ford Field |
| Location | Detroit, Michigan |
| Previous Stadiums | Pontiac Silverdome (1997–2001) |
| Previous Locations | Pontiac, Michigan (1997–2001) |
| Operated | 1997–present |
| Conference Tie-ins | Big Ten, MAC |
| Payout | US$750,000 (As of 2006[update]) |
| Sponsors | |
| Ford, General Motors and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights | |
| Former names | |
| Ford Motor City Bowl (1997) | |
| 2008 Matchup | |
| Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Florida Atlantic Owls (FAU 24, CMU 21) | |
The Motor City Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually since 1997. The first five games (1997–2001) were played at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. However, starting in 2002, the game was moved to 65,000-seat Ford Field in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Ford Field is home to the NFL's Detroit Lions, and played host to Super Bowl XL.
The Motor City Bowl features a bowl-eligible team from the Mid-American Conference (usually the winner of the MAC Championship Game) playing a bowl-eligible team from the Big Ten Conference. If the Big Ten does not have an eligible team, the game will feature a team from the Big East that meets the NCAA requirement of at least six wins. In the event that the Big East does not have an available team, an at-large team can be chosen.
The game was jointly sponsored by the "Big Three" automakers in Detroit from 1998 to 2007 (Ford, General Motors and Chrysler). Starting with the 2008 game Chrysler has been dropped as a presenting sponsor and was replaced by the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights.
The Motor City Bowl marked the first bowl game held in the Detroit area since the Cherry Bowl in 1984–1985. It is the only Division I college bowl game played in the Midwest United States.
The 2007 Motor City Bowl, played December 26, 2007 on ESPN, matched the MAC Champion Central Michigan Chippewas against the Purdue Boilermakers of the Big Ten. After a first half dominated by the Boilermakers, CMU generated a furious comeback, and tied the game late in the fourth quarter. Following two changes of possession, Purdue kicked a field goal as time expired to win. A bowl record crowd of 60,624 fans and a national television audience witnessed the exciting finish to the 11th Motor City Bowl.
On December 4, 2008, Bowl Director Ken Hoffman announced that an arrangement had been made with the Big East football conference to replace the Big 10 team in 2008 if there are not enough Big 10 qualifiers.[1]
Contents |
Bowl highlights
The Motor City Bowl has showcased the talents of:
- Two Heisman Trophy finalists
- Randy Moss (Marshall)
- Chad Pennington (Marshall)
- A Biletnikoff Award winner
- Randy Moss (Marshall)
- A Lou Groza Award winner
- Jonathan Ruffin (Cincinnati)
- A Doak Walker Award winner
- Luke Staley (BYU)
- 20 first and second round NFL Draft picks
- Four nationally-ranked teams
As well, more than 60 current NFL Players have played in the Motor City Bowl.[citation needed]
Bowl matchups and results
| Date | Winning Team | Losing Team | Attendance | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 26, 1997 | Mississippi | 34 | Marshall | 31 | 43,340 | |
| December 23, 1998 | Marshall | 48 | Louisville | 29 | 38,016 | |
| December 27, 1999 | Marshall | 21 | BYU | 3 | 44,449 | |
| December 27, 2000 | Marshall | 25 | Cincinnati | 14 | 44,911 | |
| December 29, 2001 | Toledo | 23 | Cincinnati | 16 | 44,164 | |
| December 26, 2002 | Boston College | 51 | Toledo | 25 | 45,761 | |
| December 26, 2003 | Bowling Green | 28 | Northwestern | 24 | 51,286 | |
| December 27, 2004[2] | Connecticut | 39 | Toledo | 10 | 52,552 | |
| December 26, 2005[3] | Memphis | 38 | Akron | 31 | 45,801 | |
| December 26, 2006[4] | Central Michigan | 31 | Middle Tennessee | 14 | 54,113 | |
| December 26, 2007 | Purdue | 51 | Central Michigan | 48 | 60,624 | |
| December 26, 2008 | Florida Atlantic | 24 | Central Michigan | 21 | 41,399 | |
MVPs
| Year | MVP(s) | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Stewart Patridge | Mississippi | QB |
| 1998 | Chad Pennington | Marshall | QB |
| 1999 | Doug Chapman | Marshall | RB |
| 2000 | Byron Leftwich | Marshall | QB |
| 2001 | Chester Taylor | Toledo | RB |
| 2002 | Brian St. Pierre | Boston College | QB |
| 2003 | Josh Harris | Bowling Green | QB |
| Jason Wright | Northwestern | RB | |
| 2004 | Dan Orlovsky | Connecticut | QB |
| 2005 | DeAngelo Williams | Memphis | RB |
| 2006 | Dan LeFevour | Central Michigan | QB |
| 2007 | Curtis Painter | Purdue | QB |
| 2008 | Rusty Smith | Florida Atlantic | QB |
Most appearances
| Rank | Team | Appearances | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marshall | 4 | 3–1 |
| T2 | Central Michigan | 3 | 1–2 |
| T2 | Toledo | 3 | 1–2 |
| 4 | Cincinnati | 2 | 0–2 |
| T5 | Boston College | 1 | 1–0 |
| T5 | Bowling Green | 1 | 1–0 |
| T5 | Connecticut | 1 | 1–0 |
| T5 | Florida Atlantic | 1 | 1–0 |
| T5 | Memphis | 1 | 1–0 |
| T5 | Mississippi | 1 | 1–0 |
| T5 | Purdue | 1 | 1–0 |
| T5 | Akron | 1 | 0–1 |
| T5 | BYU | 1 | 0–1 |
| T5 | Middle Tennessee State | 1 | 0–1 |
| T5 | Northwestern | 1 | 0–1 |
 |
MCB By Year
See also
External links
Notes
- ^ [1]
- ^ Connecticut received the bid to play in this game as the Big Ten did not field enough teams to qualify for this game.
- ^ Memphis replaced the Big Ten and Big East teams as they did not have enough teams to qualify for this game.
- ^ The Big Ten did not have enough bowl-eligible teams to fulfill their obligation to qualify for this game, so Middle Tennessee filled the Big Ten's spot.
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motorcity bowl 08' (24) mpeg2video
Southfield Lathrup High School Marching Band performing during half time at the Motor City Bowl 2008
Author: robpeo
Keywords: southfield lathrup high school marching band motor city bowl
Added: January 6, 2009
central michigan football 2pt conversion
2008 motor city bowl.
Author: westosseo
Keywords: "central michigan" "motor city bowl"
Added: January 2, 2009
Motor City Bowl XII Central Michigan Big Hit On Cortez Gent
Motor City Bowl XII - 12/26/2008 - Rusty Smith slant pass complete to Cortez Gent for 7 yards to the CMich 28.
Author: Split951
Keywords: Motor City Bowl XII 12 2008 Central Michigan Chippewas Florida Atlantic Ford Field College Football NCAA Detroit
Added: December 31, 2008
20081226210114
MOTOR CITY BOWL 2008, SCENE 23
Author: fausports
Keywords: 20081226210114
Added: December 30, 2008
2008 Motor City Bowl
Opening Kickoff from the 2008 Motor City Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit.
Author: CMUBrent
Keywords: "Motor City Bowl" CMU "Ford Field"
Added: December 29, 2008