Birmingham Bowl
The PapaJohns.com Bowl (provisionally called the Birmingham Bowl) is a post-season college football bowl game approved by the NCAA in 2006. The game is played at Legion Field, and matches either a Big East Conference or Mid-American Conference team against a representative of Conference USA. The Big East and MAC alternate years of participation. In the event that that year's representative league does not have any bowl-eligible teams left, the other will take its spot.
The game is owned and organized by ESPN Regional TV. ESPN named Mark Meadows as executive director, Bo Kerr as manager of sales and marketing and Robbie Robertson as chairman of the executive board for the bowl committee. In September the bowl committee made a $25,000 donation to the Monday Morning Quarterback Club's fundraising efforts on behalf of the Crippled Children's Foundation. PapaJohns.com was announced as title sponsor on November 16, 2006.
2007
In preparation for the second Papa Johns.com Bowl, a parade and street festival, sponsored by merchants, ESPN, and Operation New Birmingham, were held in Five Points South Friday afternoon and evening. The parade marched from Powell Avenue to Five Points up 20th Street South. Other entertainment included live bands at 11th Avenue South and 20th Street and a kids' zone. A pre-game party was held Legion Field Saturday morning, attracting roughly 2,000 people.
The game was played at noon on Saturday December 22, 2007 before an estimated crowd of 35,258. The University of Cincinnati defeated Southern Miss by a score of 31-21. Early in the second half the Golden Eagles' punter Britt Barefoot failed to convert a fake punt on 4th and 1. Bearcats receiver Earnest Jackson scored a 29-yard touchdown from a Ben Mauk pass on the next play after the turnover to go ahead 21-7. Southern Miss, which had 205 all-purpose yards from rusher Damion Fletcher, failed to secure an onside kick with 9:37 left, giving Cincinnati a chance to control the clock. 52 of the Bearcats' 78 plays from scrimmage were pass plays. Mauk finished the day 30 for 52 for 334 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.
The game was Jeff Bower's last as coach of the USM Golden Eagles. His overall record at Legion Field is 6-6 with 5 wins over UAB, and 1 over the Alabama Crimson Tide. His first game as head coach at Southern Miss was the 1990 All-American Bowl in which his Brett Favre-led Golden Eagles fell to North Carolina State 31-27.
The Legend of Birmingham Award was presented to Alabama Crimson Tide football great Johnny Musso during the Friday team luncheon at the Sheraton Birmingham. Former Notre Dame and South Carolina head coach Lou Holtz delivered the keynote address.
2006
The first Papa Johns.com Bowl was played at noon on Saturday December 23, 2006. Head coach Jim Leavitt's South Florida Bulls (9-4, 4-3 Big East) defeated Skip Holtz' East Carolina Pirates (7-6, 5-3 C-USA) in the inaugural PapaJohns.com Bowl. South Florida's Benjamin Williams scored twice in the first quarter, leading the Bills to a 24-7 half-time lead and earning MVP honors. The second half was scoreless as USF defended the end zone perfectly after three ECU drives inside the 20. Both starting quarterbacks left the game with mild injuries.
The bowl paid $300,000 to each affiliated conference. Tickets were $30 (or $20 each when buying 4 or more). Early purchasers will be able to renew the same seats for future games. In all, around 41,000 tickets were sold, and the actual attendance was reported as 32,023. Jim Smither of the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau estimated 6,000 out of town visitors and a $4.1 million economic impact for the event.
Players from the opposing teams made visits to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and 16th Street Baptist Church, enjoyed a night of bowling at Vestavia Bowl and a show at the Comedy Club Stardome in Hoover. Team captains, mascots and cheerleaders visited Children's Hospital while the coaches' families made trips to the McWane Science Center and the Renaissance Ross Bridge Resort & Spa. The Friday team luncheon at the Sheraton Birmingham featured keynote speaker Archie Manning and the presentation of the Legend of Birmingham Award to new Samford head coach Pat Sullivan.
14 people were arrested for disorderly conduct by Birmingham Police at Dave's Pub in Five Points South the night before the game. According to Sergeant Joel Brown most of those arrested were visiting from North Carolina.
References
- Melick, Ray. (April 28, 2006). "NCAA approves The Birmingham Bowl." The Birmingham News.
- Solomon, Jon. (November 15, 2006). "Papa John’s signs on as sponsor of Birmingham Bowl." The Birmingham News.
- Solomon, Jon. (December 4, 2006). "Inaugural game dodges inviting .500 team." The Birmingham News.
- Solomon, Jon. (December 22, 2006). "Game could be top 10 in area for economic impact." The Birmingham News.
- Segrest, Doug and Jon Solomon. (December 22, 2006). "Papajohns.com Bowl notes." The Birmingham News.
- Coman, Victoria L. (December 20, 2007). "Parade and street party in works for bowl." The Birmingham News.
- Velasco, Eric. (December 23, 2007). "And the Papajohns.com winner is: Birmingham." The Birmingham News.
- Solomon, Jon (December 24, 2006). "Cheers for Papajohns.com Bowl." The Birmingham News.
- "Some ECU fans arrested." (December 24, 2006). The (Raleigh) News & Observer
External links
- PapaJohns.com Bowl website