Medal of Honor Bowl explained

Medal of Honor Bowl
Defunct:yes
Stadium:Johnson Hagood Stadium
Location:Charleston, South Carolina
Years:2014–2015
Former Names:Legends Bowl (proposed)

The Medal of Honor Bowl was an American college football all-star game played in Charleston, South Carolina, in January 2014 and 2015.[1] The bowl was not sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Primary beneficiaries of the game were the Medal of Honor Museum on the aircraft carrier and, initially, the Wounded Warrior Project.[2]

Background

In 2004, Tommy McQueeney, a former Citadel Board of Visitors member, led an ownership group interested in starting a Charleston-based college bowl game, the "Palmetto Bowl", but was blocked by an NCAA ban on playing postseason games at pre-determined locations in South Carolina due to the Confederate battle flag being flown at a civil war monument on the State House grounds.[3]

History

The Charleston-based bowl attempt was revived as a proposed "Legends Bowl" to begin in 2014 at The Citadel's Johnson Hagood Stadium featuring teams from the Sun Belt and Mid-American conferences, with NBCSN as its broadcasting partner.[3]

The Medal of Honor Bowl was announced by organizers in October 2013,[4] as a college football all-star game in place of the proposed Legends Bowl. The game would not require the NCAA bowl committee's approval, by inviting players who have exhausted their college eligibility.[5] The first game was scheduled for January 11, 2014, at Johnson Hagood Stadium with the expectation of drawing players from SEC and ACC conferences. Organizers reached a five-year agreement with The Citadel for use of its stadium.[6]

The American and National teams for 2014 were chosen from a pool of 300 players by the bowl's executive director, who looked for players with profiles expected to fill NFL draft needs in the fourth to seventh rounds.[6] Pro Player Insiders ranked college football all-star games in September 2014, placing this game fourth.[7] At that time, 64 players from the bowl had been drafted, signed, or had a tryout with an NFL team; there were 7 players on active rosters, 16 players on practice squads, and 2 players on injured reserve.[7] In October 2014, the bowl announced that NBCSN would broadcast the next game on January 10, 2015, starting at 2:30 PM.[8]

Another South Carolina-based game, the College All-Star Bowl, had started in 2013, and was played twice in Greenville.[9] With the similarity in purpose of the College All-Star Bowl and the Medal of Honor Bowl, in July 2014 it was announced that the College All-Star Bowl would cease operations, and that game's founder would join the Medal of Honor Bowl as director of player development.[9] [10] Later that month, Sam Wyche, a College All-Star Bowl board member, was announced as a member of the Medal of Honor Bowl's national board of directors.[11]

On August 27, 2015, after the NCAA lifted its ban on playing postseason games at pre-determined locations in South Carolina (following the State House's July 2015 removal of the Confederate battle flag), bowl organizers announced their intent to apply for NCAA sanctioning as a traditional postseason bowl game featuring FBS college teams, with a tentative game date of December 18, 2016.[12] However, in April 2016, the NCAA announced a moratorium on new bowl games.[13]

Medal of Honor Bowl organizers tentatively set a date of January 7, 2017, for playing the game under its prior all-star format.[14] In September 2016, organizers announced that the bowl would be suspended, due to Johnson Hagood Stadium having "myriad issues related to structural integrity and lead paint mitigation."[14] The announcement included cancellation of the game tentatively planned for January 7, 2017, and a new tentative date of January 13, 2018.[14] As of May 2017, significant renovation work was underway at Johnson Hagood Stadium.[15] As of early January 2018, there have been no press releases or recent updates to the official website;[16] the bowl appears to be on indefinite hold.

Game results

DateAmericanNationalAttendanceRef.
Coach Score Coach Score
January 11, 2014 20 35,135 [17]
January 10, 2015 14 26 12,578 [18] [19]
January 7, 2017 cancelled
January 13, 2018 proposed, but not played

2014: American 20, National 3

 [20]

2015: National 26, American 14

 [18] [21] [22] [23] [24]

MVPs

DateAmericanNationalRef.
Player Pos. College Player Pos. College
January 11, 2014 WR Deon Furr LB [25] [26]
January 10, 2015 Quinn Backus LB Ryan Williams QB [27]

Notes and References

  1. News: Medal of Honor Bowl on hold . . September 15, 2016 . May 20, 2017 . newspapers.com.
  2. Web site: Game Beneficiaries . mohbowl.com . May 21, 2017.
  3. News: New bowl game, same obstacles . Hartsell . Jeff . . . August 9, 2013 . May 20, 2017.
  4. Web site: Citadel to Host Medal of Honor Bowl Game . Andy . Solomon . Citadel Athletics . October 5, 2013 . May 20, 2017.
  5. News: Game not subject to flag flap . October 1, 2013 . May 20, 2017 . . . Hartsell . Jeff.
  6. News: Iacobelli. Pete. All-ACC Whitlock aiming to raise draft chances. October 29, 2014. AP. January 8, 2014.
  7. News: Mahler. Melissa. Draft Insider. Is the College Football ALL-STAR Game Pecking Order Shifting?. Pro Player Insiders. September 5, 2014. October 28, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141028194102/http://proplayerinsiders.com/nfl-player-team-news-features/melissa-mahleris-the-college-football-all-star-games-pecking-order-shifting/. October 28, 2014. dead.
  8. Medal of Honor Bowl to be Televised Nationally on NBCSN . mohbowl.com . October 29, 2014 . May 20, 2017.
  9. News: Robinson . Mandrallius . College All-Star Bowl won’t be back . July 9, 2014 . . . October 29, 2014.
  10. News: SC down to 1 college all-star game . . . July 10, 2014 . October 29, 2014.
  11. News: Ex-NFL coach Wyche joins Medal of Honor Bowl board. October 29, 2014. The Washington Times. AP. July 21, 2014.
  12. News: Medal of Honor Bowl now a 'traditional' bowl game . Hartsell . Jeff . . . August 26, 2015 . August 29, 2015.
  13. News: NCAA approves three-year halt to new bowl games . Brett . McMurphy . . April 11, 2016 . May 21, 2017.
  14. News: Medal of Honor Bowl Suspends 2017 Game . Citadel Athletics . September 14, 2016 . May 21, 2017 . WCBD.
  15. News: Demolition of east side of Citadel's Johnson Hagood Stadium has begun . Hartsell . Jeff . . . May 6, 2017 . May 21, 2017.
  16. Web site: Medal of Honor Bowl . mohbowl.com . February 7, 2017 . January 2, 2018.
  17. News: Sapakoff. Gene . Sapakoff: Grading helmets, QBs, rosters and the Medal of Honor Bowl debut. October 29, 2014. The Post and Courier. January 11, 2014.
  18. News: Iacobelli . Pete . Miami QB Williams returns in Medal of Honor Bowl; National wins 26-14 . . . . January 11, 2015 . February 7, 2015.
  19. News: Duke . Michaele . Charlie Brown coaches in Medal of Honor Bowl. The News . . January 13, 2015 . February 7, 2015.
  20. Web site: Scoring Summary (Final) . mohbowl.com . January 11, 2014 . May 22, 2017.
  21. Second Half Surge Lifts National Team Past American, 26-14, in 2nd Annual Medal of Honor Bowl . mohbowl.com . January 12, 2015 . May 21, 2017.
  22. News: Drummond in Medal of Honor . . . January 11, 2015 . May 22, 2017 . newspapers.com.
  23. Web site: David Frazier - Medal of Honor Bowl Highlights . Kyle Kron . January 13, 2015 . May 22, 2017 . YouTube.
  24. Web site: Dodd Sports Network: Medal of Honor Bowl 2015 . Dodd Sports Network . January 11, 2015 . May 22, 2017 . YouTube.
  25. News: All-Star game off to good start . Jeff . Hartsell . . . January 12, 2014 . May 21, 2017 . newspapers.com.
  26. American Team Defeats National in Medal of Honor Bowl . mohbowl.com . January 13, 2014 . May 21, 2017.
  27. News: Miami QB Williams returns in Medal of Honor Bowl . Pete . Iacobelli . . . January 11, 2015 . May 21, 2017 . newspapers.com.