The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

WHILE the 2020 Bahamas Bowl was cancelled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, ESPN will still showcase the Bahamas in the game’s traditional time slot.

ESPNU and ESPN Caribbean will re-air the inaugural 2014 Bahamas Bowl game at 7pm on December 24, the lone bowl game of the Football Bowl Association’s “Bowl Season” broadcasted in that time slot.

The inaugural Popeyes Bahamas Bowl between the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Central Michigan Chippewas was the first FBS-level bowl game outside of the United States or Canada since 1937. The Hilltoppers held on for a 49-48 win in one of the most memorable bowl games of the 2014 season. The high scoring matchup drew in an estimated 1.5 million live viewers.

The improbable finish in which Central Michigan scored a 75-yard, three-lateral touchdown as time expired also advanced to the Finals for the 2015 ESPY “Best Play” award.

Since its inception in 2014, the Bahamas Bowl has been a platform for several programmes to achieve their first win in school history and brought postseason football to the Thomas A Robinson stadium. In October, ESPN Events officially announced that the 2020 Bahamas Bowl was one of 17 of its postseason NCAA football bowl games to be cancelled due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions.

“We are disappointed that we aren’t able to stage events at these premier destinations this year,” said Pete Derzis, ESPN senior vice president of college sports programming and ESPN Events, “We are committed to bringing both games back in 2021, and we thank our conference partners, sponsors and the local communities for their ongoing support and understanding.”

The Bahamas Bowl traditionally features teams from the Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference. The game was sponsored by Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen from 2014 - 2016 followed by Elk Grove Village and its business slogan “Makers Wanted” came on board as title sponsor in 2018 and 2019.

The Bahamas Bowl has also produced a total of 26 alumni chosen in the last six NFL Drafts.

Additionally, a total of nine undrafted free agents who participated in the Bahamas Bowl have gone on to play at least one NFL game.

In July 2019, the MAC announced a continuation of its tie-in with the bowl through the 2025–26 football season.