AutoZone Liberty Bowl
The AutoZone Liberty Bowl is a college football bowl game held each year in Memphis, Tenn. It currently hosts the No. 1 pick from Conference USA against the eighth selection from the Southeastern Conference. Formerly held in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, N.J., the bowl has been in operation since 1959.
Cincinnati defeated Vanderbilt in the 2011 AutoZone Liberty Bowl, 31-24.
The Liberty Bowl was created by Bud Dudley, a former Villanova athletic director. He wanted to see Philadelphia host a bowl game, and the first game was played at Municipal Stadium in 1959. At that time, it was the only cold-weather bowl played, and attendance was always low. Its inaugural game was fairly successful, with 38,000 attendants, but the numbers dropped considerably from there. The 1963 game drew less than 10,000 fans and saw a financial loss of more than $40,000.
In 1964, Dudley was convinced to move the bowl to Atlantic City, N.J., earning $25,000 (plus a portion of bowl profits) in the process. The game was to be played in the city's Convention Hall, becoming the first bowl game held indoors. Because AstroTurf was not yet usable, the organizers had to come up with a creative way to cover the hall's cement floor. They laid a two-inch thick burlap pad over it, with four inches of grass on top of that. Artificial lighting was installed in the hall to keep the grass growing, in a process that cost more than $16,000.
In that first (and only) game in Atlantic City, 6,059 fans attended as Utah routed West Virginia. After that, Dudley decided to move the bowl once again, this time to Memphis in 1965. The bowl moved to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, a larger facility that drew significantly larger crowds. Its success grew exponentially, and it earned a reputation as a top non-BCS bowl.
In the 1980s, the bowl became known as a landing ground for the military academies, as they offered a spot to the winner of the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy as long as that team was bowl eligible. In 1996, the automatic invitation went to the C-USA regular season champion, and since 2005, it has been the winner of the C-USA championship game.
The C-USA opponents changed throughout the 1990s and 2000s, including tie-ins with the Big East, the Western Athletic, or the Mountain West conferences. Since 2006, the C-USA title game winner matches up against the eighth selection from the SEC. Starting in 2010, the Liberty Bowl can select a Big East team if the SEC does not have enough bowl-eligible teams.
In 2009 and 2010, the game was held on Jan. 2, the only two years in its history that it was not held in December. For the 2010-11 bowl season, the game returned to a December date. AutoZone signed on as the game's title sponsor in 2004, replacing AXA Financial, which had sponsored the bowl since 1997.
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium is a football stadium in Memphis, Tenn. The field is located at the Mid-South Fairgrounds and is the home of the annual Liberty Bowl as well as the University of Memphis football team.
The stadium was built in 1965 as the Memphis Memorial Stadium - dedicated to Memphis citizens who served in the world wars and the Korean War. It was built in large part to bring the Liberty Bowl to Memphis, after the game had been moving around several Northern cities in recent years. The first games were so successful that the stadium was renamed in honor of the bowl in 1976.
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Year-by-Year Results
| Year | Winner | Loser | Score | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Cincinnati | Vanderbilt | 31-24 | Isaiah Pead, CIN |
| 2010 | Central Florida | Georgia | 10-6 | Latavius Murray, UCF |
| 2010* | Arkansas | East Carolina | 20-17 | Ryan Mallett, ARK |
| 2009* | Kentucky | East Carolina | 25-19 | Ventrell Jenkins, UK |
| 2007 | Mississippi St. | Central Florida | 10-3 | Derek Pegues, MSST |
| 2006 | South Carolina | Houston | 44-36 | Blake Mitchell, SCAR |
| 2005 | Tulsa | Fresno St. | 31-24 | Paul Smith, TLSA |
| 2004 | Louisville | Boise St. | 44-40 | Stefan LeFors, LOU |
| 2003 | Utah | Southern Miss | 17-0 | Brandon Warfield, UTAH |
| 2002 | TCU | Colorado St. | 17-3 | LaTarence Dunbar, TCU |
| 2001 | Louisville | BYU | 28-10 | Dave Ragone, LOU |
| 2000 | Colorado St. | Louisville | 22-17 | Cecil Sapp, USM |
| 1999 | Southern Miss | Colorado St. | 23-17 | Adalius Thomas, USM |
| 1998 | Tulane | BYU | 41-27 | Shaun King, TULN |
| 1997 | Southern Miss | Pittsburgh | 41-7 | Sherrod Gideon, USM |
| 1996 | Syracuse | Houston | 30-17 | Malcolm Thomas, SYR |
| 1995 | East Carolina | Stanford | 19-13 | Chad Holcomb, ECU |
| 1994 | Illinois | East Carolina | 30-0 | Johnny Johnson, ILL |
| 1993 | Louisville | Michigan St. | 18-7 | Jeff Brohm, LOU |
| 1992 | Ole Miss | Air Force | 13-0 | Cassius Ware, MISS |
| 1991 | Air Force | Mississippi St. | 38-15 | Rob Perez, AFA |
| 1990 | Air Force | Ohio St. | 23-11 | Rob Perez, AFA |
| 1989 | Ole Miss | Air Force | 42-29 | Randy Baldwin, MISS |
| 1988 | Indiana | South Carolina | 34-10 | Dave Schnell, IND |
| 1987 | Georgia | Arkansas | 20-17 | Greg Thomas, ARK |
| 1986 | Tennessee | Minnesota | 21-14 | Jeff Francis, TENN |
| 1985 | Baylor | LSU | 21-7 | Cody Carlson, BAY |
| 1984 | Auburn | Arkansas | 21-15 | Bo Jackson, AUB |
| 1983 | Notre Dame | Boston College | 19-18 | Doug Flutie, BC |
| 1982 | Alabama | Illinois | 21-15 | Jeremiah Castille, ALA |
| 1981 | Ohio St. | Navy | 31-28 | Eddie Myers, NAVY |
| 1980 | Purdue | Missouri | 28-25 | Mark Herrmann, PUR |
| 1979 | Penn St. | Tulane | 9-6 | Roch Hontas, TULN |
| 1978 | Missouri | LSU | 20-15 | James Wilder, MIZZ |
| 1977 | Nebraska | North Carolina | 21-17 | Matt Kupec, UNC |
| 1976 | Alabama | UCLA | 36-6 | Barry Krauss, ALA |
| 1975 | USC | Texas A&M | 20-0 | Ricky Bell, USC |
| 1974 | Tennessee | Arkansas | 14-13 | Randy White, UMD |
| 1973 | NC State | Kansas | 31-18 | Stan Fritts, NCST |
| 1972 | Georgia Tech | Iowa St. | 31-30 | Jim Stevens, GT |
| 1971 | Tennessee | Maryland | 7-3 | Joe Ferguson, ARK |
| 1970 | Tulane | Colorado | 17-13 | Dave Abercrombie, TULN |
| 1969 | Colorado | Alabama | 47-33 | Bobby Anderson, COLO |
| 1968 | Ole Miss | Virginia Tech | 34-17 | Steve Hindman, MISS |
| 1967 | NC State | Georgia | 14-7 | Jim Donnan, NCST |
| 1966 | Miami (FL) | Virginia Tech | 14-7 | Jimmy Cox, MIA |
| 1965 | Ole Miss | Auburn | 13-7 | Tom Bryan, AUB |
| 1964 | Utah | West Virginia | 32-6 | Ernest Allen, UTAH |
| 1963 | Mississippi St. | NC State | 16-12 | Ode Burrell, MSST |
| 1962 | Oregon St. | Villanova | 6-0 | Terry Baker, ORST |
| 1961 | Syracuse | Miami (FL) | 15-14 | Ernie Davis, SYR |
| 1960 | Penn St. | Oregon | 41-12 | Dick Hoak, PSU |
| 1959 | Penn St. | Alabama | 7-0 | Jay Huffman, PSU |
| *Game played in January | ||||
NEWS RESULTS FOR LIBERTY BOWL
-
AutoZone Liberty Bowl set for New Year's Eve afternoon
Associated PressThe Liberty Bowl in Memphis is staying on New Year's Eve, and the 54th annual game will kick off in the afternoon.
Story | Conversation | April 23, 2012 -
Butch Jones of Cincinnati Bearcats gets contract extension
Associated PressCoach Butch Jones has received a three-year contract extension and a raise for leading Cincinnati to a share of the Big East title and a victory in the Liberty Bowl.
Story | Conversation | January 24, 2012 -
Big East lunchtime links
Brian Bennett, Big EastLet's see what West Virginia's got. Ralph David Abernathy IV played the role of hero in the Liberty Bowl win for Cincinnati. UConn has begun a s...
Story | January 04, 2012 -
Top SEC bowl performers
Edward Aschoff, SECThe SEC still has three bowl teams left, but we're going to take a look at some players who have already seen their seasons come to an end. It was ...
Story | January 03, 2012 -
Big East lunchtime links
Brian Bennett, Big EastTime to check in with the other teams in the Big East. ... Style points don't matter in Cincinnati's Liberty Bowl win. Former Clemson receiver B...
Story | January 02, 2012
CINCINNATI AT A GLANCE
Conference: Big East
2011 W-L: 10-3
All-time Bowl W-L: 6-6
Last Bowl Game: Won 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
VANDERBILT AT A GLANCE
Conference: SEC
2011 W-L: 6-7
All-time Bowl W-L: 2-2-1
Last Bowl Game: Lost 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
TOP STORY
QUICK FACTS
Cincinnati 31, Vanderbilt 24
Stadium: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
First played: 1959
Conferences: C-USA, SEC
Payout: $1,700,000
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2011-12 BOWL GAMES
| Bowl | Date | TV |
|---|---|---|
| Gildan New Mexico Temple 37, Wyoming 14 |
Dec. 17 2 ET |
|
| Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Ohio 24, Utah St. 23 |
Dec. 17 5:30 ET |
|
| R+L Carriers New Orleans UL-Lafayette 32, SDSU 30 |
Dec. 17 9 ET |
|
| Beef 'O' Brady's St. Pete. Marshall 20, FIU 10 |
Dec. 20 8 ET |
|
| SDCCU Poinsettia TCU 34, La. Tech 27 |
Dec. 21 8 ET |
|
| MAACO Las Vegas Boise St. 56, Arizona St. 24 |
Dec. 22 8 ET |
|
| Sheraton Hawaii Southern Miss 24, Nevada 17 |
Dec. 24 8 ET |
|
| Independence Missouri 41, North Carolina 24 |
Dec. 26 5 ET |
|
| Little Caesars Purdue 37, Western Mich. 32 |
Dec. 27 4:30 ET |
|
| Belk Bowl NC State 31, Louisville 24 |
Dec. 27 8 ET |
|
| Military Bowl Toledo 42, Air Force 41 |
Dec. 28 4:30 ET |
|
| Bridgepoint Education Holiday Texas 21, Cal 10 |
Dec. 28 8 ET |
|
| Champs Sports Florida St. 18, Notre Dame 14 |
Dec. 29 5:30 ET |
|
| Valero Alamo Baylor 67, Washington 56 |
Dec. 29 9 ET |
|
| Bell Helicopter Armed Forces BYU 24, Tulsa 21 |
Dec. 30 Noon |
|
| New Era Pinstripe Rutgers 27, Iowa State 13 |
Dec. 30 3:20 ET |
|
| Music City Mississippi St. 23, Wake Forest 17 |
Dec. 30 6:40 ET |
|
| Insight Oklahoma 31, Iowa 14 |
Dec. 30 10 ET |
|
| Meineke Car Care Texas A&M 33, Northwestern 22 |
Dec. 31 Noon |
|
| Hyundai Sun Utah 30, Georgia Tech 27 |
Dec. 31 2 ET |
|
| AutoZone Liberty Cincinnati 31, Vanderbilt 24 |
Dec. 31 3:30 ET |
|
| Kraft Fight Hunger Illnois 20, UCLA 14 |
Dec. 31 3:30 ET |
|
| Chick-fil-A Auburn 43, Virginia 24 |
Dec. 31 7:30 ET |
|
| TicketCity Houston 30, Penn State 14 |
Jan. 2 Noon |
|
| Outback Michigan St. 33, Georgia 30 |
Jan. 2 1 ET |
|
| Capital One South Carolina 30, Nebraska 13 |
Jan. 2 1 ET |
|
| Taxslayer.com Gator Florida 24, Ohio State 17 |
Jan. 2 1 ET |
|
| Rose Bowl Game Oregon 45, Wisconsin 38 |
Jan. 2 5 ET |
|
| Tostitos Fiesta Oklahoma St. 41, Stanford 38 |
Jan. 2 8:30 ET |
|
| Allstate Sugar Michigan 23, Virginia Tech 20 |
Jan. 3 8:30 ET |
|
| Discover Orange West Virginia 70, Clemson 33 |
Jan. 4 8:30 ET |
|
| AT&T Cotton Arkansas 29, Kansas State 16 |
Jan. 6 8 ET |
|
| BBVA Compass SMU 28, Pittsburgh 6 |
Jan. 7 1 ET |
|
| GoDaddy.com N. Illinois 38, Arkansas St. 20 |
Jan. 8 9 ET |
|
| Allstate BCS Championship Alabama 21, LSU 0 |
Jan. 9 8:30 ET |



