The Tribune

THE fourth Bahamas Bowl has been set for 12:30pm on Friday, December 22.

The game, to be held in Nassau’s 15,000-seat Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, will be broadcast by ESPN in the United States for the fourth consecutive year.

For the second straight year, the game date falls at the start of a long holiday weekend in the Bahamas, allowing for an early Friday afternoon game.

“Our move to Friday for the 2016 game was a success as more Bahamians and their families attended the game. That gave us an opportunity to keep the game on Friday again this year as schools will be out of session and many workers will have the day off before the long holiday weekend,” said Richard Giannini, executive director of the Bahamas Bowl.

“Our bowl has been successful over the first three years with exciting games, and it is a yearly showcase of the Bahamas to US television audiences. Thanks to the assistance of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Atlantis, we know that the 2017 bowl will build on that success.”

Crowds of over 13,000 each year in Nassau have watched the only current bowl game played outside of the United States.

The inaugural game in 2014 saw WKU beat Central Michigan 49-48 in a memorable offensive shootout. In 2015, Western Michigan beat Middle Tennessee 45-31 and last year, Old Dominion held off Eastern Michigan 24-20.

As with the first three editions, the 2017 Bahamas Bowl will feature teams from Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference. For more information on the Bowl, visit BahamasBowl.com. The game is one of 13 postseason bowl games owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.