Florida Beach Bowl
StadiumDRV PNK Stadium
LocationFort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Operated2023–present
Conference tie-insCIAA, SIAC

The Florida Beach Bowl is an annual American NCAA Division II college football bowl game contested between teams from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), two athletic conferences mostly consisting of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The first edition of the bowl is slated to be played on December 13, 2023, at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Florida Beach Bowl is one of four Division II sanctioned bowl games. The others are the America's Crossroads Bowl, Heritage Bowl, and Live United Texarkana Bowl.

History

DRV PNK Stadium in November 2021

The bowl was announced in September 2023 by organizers and officials with Inter Miami CF, who operate the host stadium.[1][2] Urban Edge Network (UEN) was subsequently announced as the broadcaster for the bowl,[3] and Amerant Bank as the initial title sponsor.[4]

To be eligible for the bowl, a team must have at least six wins,[3] and not be participating in the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs. The inaugural participants were announced in November: the Fort Valley State Wildcats of CIAA and the Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls of SIAC.[5]

The Florida Beach Bowl revives the CIAA–SIAC postseason matchup of the defunct Pioneer Bowl, contested from 1997 to 2012. According to Victor Robenson, bowl CEO, the ultimate goal is to have the game match the champions of the two conferences in a Black college championship for Division II, similar to the way the Celebration Bowl functions as the Black college title game for Division I (the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision or FCS).[6]

Game results

Date played Winning team Losing team notes
December 13, 2023Johnson C. Smith (SIAC) vs. Fort Valley State (CIAA) 

References

  1. ↑ Scouten, Ted (September 14, 2023). "New Florida Beach Bowl game will feature 2 HBCUs during post-season play in Fort Lauderdale". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  2. ↑ "DRV PNK Stadium to Host Inaugural Florida Beach Bowl on Dec. 13". intermiamicf.com. Inter Miami CF Communications Department. October 9, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Mosley, Kyle T. (September 11, 2023). "Florida Beach Bowl, UEN Empowers HBCU Conferences With Postseason Football". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Florida Beach Bowl". Miami Herald. November 2, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  5. ↑ Mosley, Kyle T. (November 13, 2023). "BREAKING: Florida Beach Bowl Announces Teams". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  6. ↑ Smalls II, C. Isaiah (November 17, 2023). "HBCUs to clash in Fort Lauderdale". Miami Herald. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.