The Tribune

WHEN they got the news on Sunday that they will be returning to the Bahamas to represent Conference USA against the Toledo Rockets, associate athletic director Larry Maples said their Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders football team was all “juiced” about the trip.

“We’re a frisky bunch. We started off the season at 1-3, but we fought through our adversities,” said Maples of the Blue Raiders, who finished the season at 6-6 overall and 4-4 in Conference USA.

“We have some guys who are willing to fight. We have some guys who are willing to put it all on the line. The team is juiced. They’re ready to roll and rock. They’re ready to come down here and experience everything that the Bahamas has to offer.”

Maples’ comments came yesterday during the official press conference in the foyer of the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium ahead of the 2021 Bahamas Bowl, set for Friday, December 17 at noon and televised on ESPN and broadcast on Bowl Season Radio.

Returning after an absence last year due to the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, the Bahamas Bowl will kick off the 2021 Bowl Season. It’s still listed as the longest-running international bowl game in college football history, having made its debut in 2014.

Middle Tennessee and Toledo will play for The Prime Minister’s Trophy, awarded to the champion of the Bahamas Bowl. It will be a return to The Bahamas for both schools, as Middle Tennessee participated in the 2015 game, and Toledo played in the 2018 edition.

While the Blue Raiders and the Rockets will clash for the first time, the all-time Bahamas Bowl matchup between Conference USA and the MAC is tied at 3-3.

Although this is the second trip here for Middle-Tennessee, Maples will be viewing his first match-up, but he’s just as excited as the rest of the team, coached by Rick Stockstill, about playing in the Bahamas again.

“I heard about all the wonderful things the team had and so I’m looking forward to experiencing it myself,” Maples said. “I know some of our senior class have been here before, but everybody else will be here for the first time.

“You can think about exposure in general, but it’s good to get our players to travel to taste food and see things they have never seen before. The game of football has taken these guys outside of their comfort zone, so to do this is icing on the cake.”

And as for a prediction of the game, which marks their 13th appearance in Bowl championship, Maples quipped: “Middle Tennessee all day.”

However, Toledo’s deputy athletic director David Nottke said the Rockets will have something different to say about that.

“I know our kids are thrilled to be coming down here. It’s a great bowl, it’s well organised and it’s in a great location, considering the fact that we will be coming out of the snow in Toledo. It will be a welcome change for us,” Nottke said.

“You will see a good game, a great offence, a very good defence. We’re really looking forward to it.”

The Rockets, with Jason Candle coming in for the sixth year as the head coach, will be participating in its 18th bowl game. Toledo was 7-5 overall and 5-3 MAC.

For many of the Toledo players, it’s going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit the Bahamas and they intend to make the most of it.

“That’s what college life is all about, giving them an experience on and off the field that they will never forget,” Nottke said. “So I think it will be a very positive thing for the kids.”

Once they are done with all of the school formalities, including final exams, Nottke said they will board the plane on December 13 for the Bahamas and, at the end of the game, the Rockets “will give it a good shot.”

On hand to welcome the teams to the Bahamas was Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg, who revealed that the game will help to relaunch sports tourism in the Bahamas.

“At the end of the day, this is just a springboard to what the Ministry intends to do as it relates to ensuring that we have an active 52 weeks of activities here on the National Sports Authority’s property,” Bowleg said.

“The mere fact that Toledo and Middle Tennessee were two of the top 30 teams in the country, we should expect a very good game,” said Bowleg, whose ministry, along with the Ministry of Tourism, are partnering to make the event a success.

With the game being free of charge to Bahamians and staged the week before Christmas, Bowleg said he anticipates that there will be a large turnout of spectators to watch the two teams clash. “Once the opportunity arises after this game is played, we are hoping within the next five years to introduce American football into our schools,” Bowleg said. “We will have the conversations with the professionals and to see how best we can implement it. “The blueprint has already been drawn out by the American Football League. I’ve spoken with Obie Roberts and Tony Maycock and they have a plan. The ministry has seen the plan and I support the plan. We just want to get the resources and the equipment to get it started in a few of the schools and hopefully we can build on it from there.”

Richard Giannini, executive director of the Bahamas Bowl, said although some bowls were played last year, they were unable to bring the event here because of COVID-19, but they are eager to have it up and running again.

“We still have COVID- 19 protocols and everything to deal with, but we are going to operate the game. We’re just so excited to be back,” he said. “The main thing is we can showcase the Bahamas and showcase American football.

“We have so many tourists come down here, so this is an opportunity to let the world know through ESPN that the Bahamas is open for business and we want to encourage them to come on back and a good way to do it for this game.”

Giannini said both teams finished their season on a winning note and so they have a lot of momentum coming into the game. He noted they are both well coached and feature a faculty staff that is so easy to work with so they are thrilled to be able to host them again.