Relocated Bahamas Bowl — now Famous Toastery Bowl — brings ODU, Western Kentucky to Charlotte

Steve Lyttle
·2 min read

Two teams that are no strangers to playing football in Charlotte will square off in the Queen City’s second bowl game later this month.

Old Dominion and Western Kentucky were named to play in the Famous Toastery Bowl, which will be played Dec. 18 at the Charlotte 49ers’ Jerry Richardson Stadium.

They join North Carolina and West Virginia in visiting Charlotte for the holidays, as the Tar Heels and Mountaineers will meet Dec. 27 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium.

Charlotte has two bowl games this season because stadium construction in Nassau forced officials to move the Bahamas Bowl to the Queen City. Famous Toastery signed on as the sponsor.

The game is set for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff on the Monday before Christmas weekend, with live coverage on ESPN.

Officials say they expect the bowl game to return to the Bahamas in 2024.

Old Dominion (6-6) and Western Kentucky (7-5) each have played several times at Jerry Richardson Stadium, as fellow members with the 49ers in Conference USA.

Old Dominion has moved to the Sun Belt Conference, but Western Kentucky remains a C-USA members.

The 49ers moved this year to the American Athletic Conference.

Western Kentucky has a 6-1 record all-time against Old Dominion, with each of those meetings coming on Conference USA.

Each team has won a Bahamas Bowl championship — Western Kentucky in 2014, and Old Dominion in 2016.

“We are thrilled to work with Old Dominion and Western Kentucky again,” said Lea Miller-Tooley, executive director of the Bahamas Bowl and Famous Toastery Bowl. “They are exciting teams with great fan bases within driving distance of Charlotte. It will be a wonderful experience.

Old Dominion is in its second bowl game in three seasons under head coach Ricky Rahne. The Monarchs scrambled to become bowl eligible, scoring 17 points in the final 1:37 to beat Georgia State 25-24 in the regular-season finale Nov. 25. Monarchs’ linebacker Jason Henderson, who leads the nation in tackles with 170, won all-America honors last season.

Western Kentucky is in a bowl game for the fifth straight year and the 10th time in 12 years, under head coach Tyson Helton. They are led by wide receiver Malachi Corley, who had a school-record 255 catches this season.

Ticket information for the game will be announced soon.