CAMELLIA BOWL, MONTGOMERY BOWL SET FOR CRAMTON BOWL

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The city of Montgomery will host two college football bowl games this season.

The Montgomery Bowl and Camellia Bowl will both be played at the historic Cramton Bowl.

“In a unique season, we have a unique opportunity to host two bowl games in Montgomery this year,” Camellia Bowl executive director Johnny Williams said. “We have a great relationship with ESPN and we are thankful for the opportunity to continue our bowl tradition during this pandemic season. We had a successful FCS Kickoff Classic in August, and we expect the same with our two bowl games in December.”

The Montgomery Bowl will be played on Wednesday, Dec. 23 with kickoff set for 6 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised by ESPN or ESPN2.

The seventh annual Camellia Bowl will be played on Friday, Dec. 25 with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised by ESPN.

“Our partnership with ESPN continues paying dividends and diversifying an already broad array of entertainment and cultural assets that bolster our growing tourism industry,” Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said. “A second bowl game in the River Region is the perfect complement to the Camellia Bowl. Above all, I commend our staff for successfully reimagining how to host primetime events amid a worldwide pandemic and prioritizing the health and safety of the players, staff and limited fans visiting the Cramton Bowl.”

The city of Montgomery is synonymous with Christmas Day bowl games. The annual Blue-Gray Football Classic was played at the historic Cramton Bowl from 1939-2003.  The inaugural game was played on Jan. 1, 1939. The Blue-Gray Football Classic was first played on Christmas Day in 1954. The event became an annual Christmas Day tradition beginning in 1979.

“Christmas has come early for Montgomery County! In a year that has been unique to say the least, we are being gifted with not one but two college football games that will be nationally televised on ESPN. We are thrilled to once again host the Camellia Bowl as we know the tradition and value it brings to Montgomery. This year, for the first time, we will host the Montgomery Bowl named after our great county. These two bowl games will help Montgomery tremendously with both the economic impact and national exposure. Montgomery will again be in the national spotlight and we can’t wait,” said Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton Dean. “We are grateful to ESPN for choosing Montgomery and thankful for the hard work by our residents to bring these bowl games here.

Playing on Christmas Day adds to the excitement of Camellia Bowl, which has had some thrilling games with the first six games decided by 25 total points. All six games were decided in the fourth quarter, with three games decided on the final play.

Ticket information for both the Montgomery Bowl and Camellia Bowl will be announced at a later date.

 

CAMELLIA BOWL ALL-TIME RESULTS:

Bowling Green 33, South Alabama 28 (Dec. 20, 2014)

Appalachian State 31, Ohio 29 (Dec. 19, 2015)

Appalachian State 31, Toledo 28 (Dec. 17, 2016)

Middle Tennessee 35, Arkansas State 30 (Dec. 16, 2017)

Georgia Southern 23, Eastern Michigan 21 (Dec. 15, 2018)

Arkansas State 34, FIU 26 (Dec. 21, 2019)

 

ESPN Events 

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of 35 collegiate sporting events nationwide. The roster includes four early-season college football games, 17 college bowl games, 11 college basketball events, a college softball event and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 400 hours of live programming, reaches nearly 64 million viewers and attracts over 800,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in more than 10 markets across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

For more information, visit the official website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages.