Why a college football bowl game chose Charlotte as a stand in for the Bahamas
This year’s Bahamas Bowl will be played in north Charlotte.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Organizers of the Bahamas-based game, the only collegiate bowl played outside the United States, have announced that the 2023 version of the contest will be played at Jerry Richardson Stadium, home of the Charlotte 49ers.
Kickoff will be at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 18.
The game is being moved by its organizer, ESPN Events, because of ongoing renovations at Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas. The game is expected to be returned to Nassau next year.
So as to avoid any confusion between the climate in the Bahamas and that in Charlotte in mid-December, ESPN officials say they will change the name of this year’s game. A final announcement on that is due within a few weeks.
That puts Charlotte among a group of seven metropolitan areas with more than one bowl game.
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Dec. 27 at Bank of America Stadium, pitting an ACC team against an SEC school.
The Bahamas Bowl annually selects one team each from the Mid-American Conference and from Conference USA.
Other metro areas with multiple bowl games are Los Angeles, Phoenix, New Orleans, Houston, Tampa, Orlando (which has three) and Dallas (four games).
“We appreciate the support and willingness of Charlotte and its administration, specifically Director of Athletics Mike Hill, to work with us on relocating this game to Jerry Richardson Stadium,” said Clint Overby, ESPN Events vice president.
“We are fortunate to have great partners who understand the importance of the college football postseason and the positive impact these games have on both student-athletes and the participating programs,” Overby added.
This isn’t the first time a North Carolina location has served as a stand-in for a more tropical place.
During the height of the COVID epidemic in the 2020-21 college basketball season, the Maui Invitational was moved from Hawaii to Asheville.
Coincidentally, the Charlotte 49ers’ only football bowl appearance was in the Bahamas Bowl.
The 49ers lost, 31-9, to Buffalo in the 2019 game.
Moving the game to Charlotte had a ripple effect on another Carolinas-based bowl game.
The Myrtle Beach Bowl, which had been scheduled for Dec. 21, has been moved to the date and time slot originally occupied by the Bahamas Bowl — 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 16.
Both the Bahamas and Myrtle Beach bowls, along with the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, will be televised by ESPN.
Past Bahamas Bowl games
2014: Western Kentucky 49, Central Michigan 48
2015: Western Michigan 45, Middle Tennessee 31
2016: Old Dominion 24, Eastern Michigan 20
2017: Ohio 41, UAB 6
2018: Florida International 33, Toledo 32
2019: Buffalo 31, Charlotte 9
2020: no game, due to COVID
2021: Middle Tennessee 31, Toledo 24
2022: UAB 24, Miami 18
