The Pioneer Bowl was the name of some December college football

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...

s played in two different eras. Between 1971 and 1982, the game was contested 10 times in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

as an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

College Division regional final, or as a playoff game for Division II or

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

. Between 1997 and 2012, the game was played 14 times in the South between

historically black colleges and universities Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...

(HBCUs).

History

Earlier Pioneer Bowls

The Pioneer Bowl was originally one of the four regional finals in the College Division (which became Division II and

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

in 1973). It was played for this purpose in 1971 and 1972 in

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accord ...

; there were no playoffs as the national champion was determined by poll at the end of the regular season. The game succeeded the Pecan Bowl, which was played in Abilene (1964–67) and Arlington (1968–70). The other three regional finals were the

Boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of brid ...

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 ...

, and

Camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controv ...

bowls. With the launch of Division II in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

and its full playoff system, the Pioneer Bowl was one of the two Division II semifinals (with the Grantland Rice Bowl) for the first three years, and then became the championship game for two years. For the inaugural season of

in 1978, the Pioneer Bowl became the new division's title game. The I-AA title game was played in Florida in 1979 and California in 1980, then returned to Wichita Falls as the Pioneer Bowl in 1981 and 1982.

HBCUs

Starting in 1997, the game was contested between teams from the

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. CIAA institutions mostly consist of historically black coll ...

(CIAA) and the

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Formed in 1913, it consists mostly of historically black c ...

(SIAC), two athletic conferences composed mainly of HBCUs. It was one of only three

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

sanctioned bowl games. No game was played in 2002 or 2008, and the final playing of the game took place in 2012. The 2013 edition was canceled, and the event was indefinitely suspended in 2014.

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

had the most appearances and wins at the Pioneer Bowl, winning 7 times in 10 appearances. Until 2012, Tuskegee's regular season extended longer than most other Division II teams (its last regular season game was the

Turkey Day Classic The Turkey Day Classic is a college football game, traditionally held annually on Thanksgiving Day. Originally, it was played between Alabama State University and Tuskegee University, two historically black universities. The game was originally ...

on Thanksgiving Day), which prevented the team from playing in the NCAA's Division II playoff tournament; the Pioneer Bowl was thus the only way Tuskegee could play in the postseason.

In popular culture

"Pioneer Bowl" was used in 1993 as the name of a fictional bowl game played at the

Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 mil ...

in the television series ''Coach''.

Game results

Earlier Pioneer Bowls

HBCUs

Winning teams and their scores appear in bold font. Of the 14 games played between HBCUs, SIAC teams won 9 and CIAA teams won 5.

Cancelled games

References

{{Reflist

History

Earlier Pioneer Bowls

HBCUs

In popular culture

Game results

Earlier Pioneer Bowls

HBCUs

Cancelled games

See also

References