By TENAJH SWEETING
Tribune Sports Reporter
tsweeting@tribunemedia.net
THE ninth edition of the 2023 HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl will return to Bahamian soil on Saturday, December 16.
The event is set to kick off at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium at 11am to commence the start of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football bowl season.
The event will be televised by ESPN and it will be the earliest kickoff start time in its nine-year history.
Lea Miller-Tooley, executive director of the HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl, talked about her excitement surrounding December’s football extravaganza.
“It’s an honour to be the very first game of bowl season,” she said.
“It’s an action-packed time of year for college football, and the HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl delivers a unique atmosphere with two great teams enjoying a week in one of the most beautiful locations in the world,” she added.
The bowl game will feature teams from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and Conference USA (C-USA).
The HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl is just one of 17 bowl games owned and operated by ESPN events.
In last year’s game, for one of the longest running international bowl games in college football history, the University of Alabama (UAB) Blazers took down the Miami University (Ohio) Redhawks 24-20.
The Blazers won after their Reynard Ellis responded with a defensive tackle on the Redhawks’ receiver Jalen Walker at the two-yard line, disrupting any late game offence as time winded down in the game.
For the Blazers it was their second consecutive bowl game win as they previously took home the win of the 2021 Independence Bowl against Brigham Young University (BYU).
Other previous bowl game winners include the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders who defeated the University of Toledo Rockets in 2021.
The University of Buffalo bested the University of North Carolina 49ers in 2019.
Additionally, the Florida International University (FIU) Panthers got the victory over the Toledo Rockets in 2018.
The Redhawks won in 2017, Old Dominion claimed victory in 2016, Western Michigan got the win in 2015 and Western Kentucky in 2014.
The HomeTown Lenders will once again serve as the title sponsor of the Bahamas Bowl for the second consecutive year after last week’s announcement.
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