Tom Bowl
Encyclopedia
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
bowl game scheduled to be played annually at Frank A. Schafer Field in Beal City, Michigan
Beal City, Michigan
Beal City is an unincorporated community in Isabella County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place for statistical purposes, but is not an incorporated municipality. The population was 345 at the 2000 census...
that is not sanctioned by the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
. It annually invites the #1 and #2 teams in the nation to play in a college football championship game. However, although the group formally invites college teams every year to play in the bowl, no school has ever accepted an invitation. However, some athletic directors and conference presidents/commissioners have sent response letters, declining while sarcastically telling the group that it was an honor to be invited. They also sometimes include tongue in cheek good luck wishes.
The Tom Bowl started in 1989 by a group of fans with invitations extended to the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
and the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
. Colorado declined the invitation and alternate teams of Middle Tennessee State
Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University, commonly abbreviated as MTSU, is a public university located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States....
and Eastern Michigan
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
were invited. Since then the Tom Bowl has annually invited the top two teams unless those teams are already going to play. In those years the Tom Bowl has elected to have alternative games such as a battle between the #3 and #4 teams to determine the "true #2" or as in 2002, the Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
Championship when Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
and Ohio State
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
didn't play during the regular season.
Following the 2005 season
2005 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the least amount of controversy surrounding the Bowl Championship Series title game in many years.To an extent it was a return to classic football...
, the Tom Bowl broke with tradition and used a BCS
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
-like formula to invite three teams: USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, Texas
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, and Penn State
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
to play in Tom Bowl XVII.http://www.tombowl.com/tom_bowl_formula_breakdown.htm Predictably, none of the teams showed up (though the Pac-10
Pacific Ten Conference
The Pacific-12 Conference is a college athletic conference that operates in the Western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition...
replied, apparently accepting the invitation but pledging not to show up on behalf of USC) and only twelve spectators did. The game was declared a 0-0-0 tie.
In 2007 the Tom Bowl devised a new format where the top three teams were invited to play in a round-robin tournament style game with each team playing each other for a half. The Tom Bowl has used this formula ever since although in 2009 invites were extended to six different teams including Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
which boasts of being undefeated since 1836 because they do not have a football team. The Tom Bowl returned to the three team format in 2010.
Tom Bowl Game-by-Game Results
1989 Middle Tennessee St. 0; Eastern Michigan 0*
1990 University of Colorado ?; Notre Dame ?
1991 University of Washington 0; University of Miami 0
1992 Florida St. 0; University of Miami 0
1993 Florida St. 0; West Virginia 0
1994 University of Nebraska 0; Penn St. 0
1995 University of Nebraska 0; Northwestern 0
1996 Arizona State University 0; Florida St. 0
1997 University of Nebraska 0; University of Michigan 0
1998 Kansas State University 0; Ohio State University 0+
1999 University of Nebraska 0; University of Wisconsin 0&
2000 University of Oklahoma 0; University of Miami 0
2001 University of Miami 0; University of Colorado 0
2002 University of Iowa 0; Ohio State 0@
2003 University of Southern California 0; Louisiana State University 0
2004 University of Southern California 0; University of Oklahoma 0; Auburn University 0%
2005 University of Southern California 0; University of Texas 0; Penn State University 0
2006 University of Michigan 0; Ohio State University 0
2007 University of Hawaii 0; University of Kansas 0; Ohio State University 0
2008 University of Florida 0; University of Oklahoma 0; University of Texas 0^
2009 University of Alabama 0; University of Texas 0; University of Cincinnati 0; Texas Christian University 0; Boise State University 0; Emory 0
2010 University of Oregon 0; Auburn University 0; Texas Christian University 0
* 1989 contest featured alternates after Colorado declined an invitation to face Miami-FL.
+ 1998 contest featured #3 OSU vs. #4 K-State due to Fiesta Bowl (#1 Tenn. vs. #2 FSU)
@ 2002 contest featured the Big 10 championship due to #1 Miami vs. #2 OSU. (Iowa and OSU did not play each other during regular season.
% 2004 Three way contest between three undefeated teams
^ 2007 Undefeated (Hawaii) vs. Once-Defeated (Kansas and Ohio State)
External links
- http://www.tombowl.com
- http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/pete_mcentegart/12/09/ten.spot/index.html
- http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_/ai_n15955997
- http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/football/stories/2007/12/20/gameplan1220.ART_ART_12-20-07_C2_K58R1MV.html?sid=101