Grantland Rice Bowl
The annual college football bowl game -named for Grantland Rice, was one of four regional NCAA college division championships from 1964 to 1972. The Rice Bowl morphed into the Mideast Regional championship and was played in Murfreesboro, Tennessee from 1964 -1968.
The NCAA realigned the Regionals in 1969 and the game shifted to Baton Rouge, Louisiana until 1975.
In 1973, after another restructuring, the game became the national Division II semifinal. The game became the Division II semifinal in Fargo, North Dakota in 1976, and was played in Anniston, Alabama in 1977.
The game ceased to exist with the formation of Division I-AA and a playoff structure.
In the 1968 game, Tommy Spinks of Louisiana Tech set two records when he caught 12 passes for 167 yards. NFL Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw was the Louisiana Tech quarterback in that game.
Since 1981, the NCAA Division I FCS Playoff South Regional Championship (National Quarterfinal) is commonly referred to as the Grantland Rice Bowl in honor of its College Division heritage.
(The game is played at the highest remaining seed in the South Region with the winner advancing to the NCAA Division I FCS Playoff Final Four (National Semifinal).
Tennessee State quarterback Eldridge Dickey led the Tigers to back to back (1965, ’66) Bowls wins. He was the no. 1 draft pick of the Oakland Raiders in 1968, but even after a stellar college career at quarterback, he never played at the position in the pros.
Grantland Rice Bowl Results
Date Results
1964 Middle Tennessee State 20, Muskingum 0
1965 Tennessee State 14, Ball State 14
1966 Tennessee State 34, Muskingum
1967 Eastern Kentucky 27, Ball State 13
1968 Louisiana Tech 33, Akron 13
1969 East Tennessee State 34, Louisiana Tech 14
1970 Tennessee State 26, Louisiana-Lafayette 25
1971 Tennessee State 26, McNeese State 23
1972 Louisiana Tech 35, Tennessee Tech 0
1973 Western Kentucky 28, Grambling 20
1974 Delaware 49, UNLV 11
1975 Western Kentucky 14, New Hampshire 3
1976 Montana State 10, North Dakota State 3
1977 Jacksonville State 31, North Dakota State 7
(South Region Championship — FCS playoffs
1981 South Carolina State 26, Tennessee State 25
1982 Tennessee State 20, Eastern Illinois 19
1983 Western Carolina 28, Holy Cross 21
1984 Louisiana Tech 44, Alcorn State 21
1985 Georgia Southern 28, Middle Tenn. State 21
1986 Georgia Southern 55, Nicholls State 31
1987 Appalachian State 19, Georgia Southern 0
1988 Eastern Kentucky 41, Western Kentucky 24
1989 Georgia Southern 45, Middle Tennessee St. 3
1990 Central Florida 52, William & Mary 38
1991 Marshall 41, Northern Iowa 13
1992 Youngstown State 42, Citadel 17
1993 Youngstown State 34, Georgia Southern 14
1994 Youngstown State 18, Eastern Kentucky 15
1995 Marshall 41, Northern Iowa 24
1996 Marshall 54, Furman 0
1997 Delaware 16, Georgia Southern 7
1998 Georgia Southern 27, Connecticut 21
1999 Florida A&M 17, Troy 10
2000 Appalachian State 17, Western Kentucky 14
2001 Georgia Southern 38, Appalachian State 24
2002 Georgia Southern 31, Maine 7
2003 Wofford 34, Western Kentucky 17
2004 William & Mary 44, Delaware 38
2003 Furman 24, Richmond 20
2004 Appalachian State 38, Montana State 17
2005 Southern Illinois 34, Massachusetts 27
2006 Richmond 33, Appalachian State 13
2009 Appalachian State 35, Richmond 31
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