The 1966

Grantland Rice Bowl The Grantland Rice Bowl was an annual college football bowl game from 1964 through 1977, in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's College Division, for smaller universities and colleges, and later NCAA Division II, Division II. The ...

was an

NCAA College Division The NCAA College Division was a historic subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) consisting of member schools competing at a lower level of college sports. The NCAA initially divided schools into a College Division and a ...

game following the 1966 season, between the

Tennessee State Tigers The Tennessee State Tigers and Lady Tigers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee State University (TSU), located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The Tigers athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and ...

and the

Muskingum Fighting Muskies Muskingum University is a private liberal arts college in New Concord, Ohio. Chartered in 1837 as Muskingum College, the institution is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Collectively, the university's alumni are referred to as the ...

. Tennessee State

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Eldridge Dickey Eldridge Reno Dickey (December 24, 1945 – May 22, 2000) was an American football player. After playing for Tennessee State University from 1965 to 1968, he was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round of the 1968 NFL/AFL Draft. Dicke ...

was named the game's most valuable player.

Notable participants

Multiple players from Tennessee State were selected in the

1967 NFL/AFL Draft The 1967 National Football League draft was conducted March 14–15, 1967, at the Gotham Hotel in New York City. It was the first common draft with the AFL, part of the AFL–NFL merger agreement of June 1966. This draft was delayed as new guid ...

–

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Bill Tucker,

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

Alvin Coleman,

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

Noland Smith Noland "Super Gnat" Smith (born October 20, 1943) is a former American football wide receiver/return specialist for the History of the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Chiefs (1967–1969) in the American Football League (AFL) and San Francisco 49 ...

, defensive back Leon Moore, running back Eugens Bowens, and defensive back Howard Finley. Additional Tennessee State players were selected in the

1968 NFL/AFL Draft The 1968 National Football League draft was part of the common draft, in the second year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. It took place at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City on January 30–31, 1968. The Minn ...

–

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Claude Humphrey Claude B. Humphrey (June 29, 1944 – December 3, 2021) was an American professional football player who played as a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles. Humphrey was inducted into t ...

, quarterback Eldridge Dickey, wide receiver John Robinson, wide receiver Leo Johnson, and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

Tommy Davis. Humphrey was inducted to the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

in 2014. Running back Cid Edwards was not drafted, but later played in the NFL. Muskingum running back Rick Harbold was inducted to his university's hall of fame in 1985. Both head coaches have been inducted to the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

– John Merritt of Tennessee State in 1994, and

Ed Sherman Edgar A. Sherman (July 13, 1912 – September 29, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Muskingum College from 1945 to 1966, compiling a record of 141–43–7, a winning percentage of .757. He ...

of Muskingum in 1996.

Scoring summary

Play set a TSU record for longest touchdown reception.

References

{{Tennessee State Tigers bowl game navbox

Grantland Rice Bowl Muskingum Fighting Muskies football bowl games Tennessee State Tigers football bowl games Murfreesboro, Tennessee December 1966 sports events in the United States

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice wa ...