| Knute Rockne Bowl(defunct) | |
|---|---|
| NCAACollege Division II East Region Championship (1969–1972) NCAA Division II Semifinal (1976–1977) | |
| Stadium | Atlantic City Convention Hall (1970–1972), campus sites (1969, 1976–1977) |
| Location | Atlantic City, New Jersey (1970–1972), campus sites (1969, 1976–1977) |
| Operated | 1969–1972, 1976–1977 |
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TheKnute Rockne Bowl (named after football coachKnute Rockne) was an Americancollege footballbowl game founded by theNCAA in October 1969.[1] Along with its counterpart, theAmos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, it was "created by the NCAA ... for itsCollege Division II schools, those 100-plus smallest schools in the NCAA."[2] Eligible schools were divided into an East Region (the Northeast and Middle Atlantic states) and West Region (the rest of the country), with the Knute Rockne Bowl serving as the championship of the East Region.
The NCAA thus provided postseason opportunities for schools too small to compete for spots in the four College Division regional bowls it had established in 1964 (as of 1969, these were theCamellia Bowl for the West, thePecan Bowl for the Midwest, theGrantland Rice Bowl for the Mideast, and theBoardwalk Bowl for the East). At least for the sport of football, this accommodation in 1969 foreshadowed the decision to subdivide the College Division four years later.
When the College Division was subdivided into the currentDivision II andDivision III in 1973, the NCAA made the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl theDivision III football championship game, and the Knute Rockne Bowl was discontinued. After an absence of three seasons, it was revived as a Division II national semifinal game for1976 and1977, alongside the Grantland Rice Bowl.[3] The Knute Rockne Bowl was no longer contested after 1977, when the NCAA stopped attaching "bowl" designations to the Division II semifinals.
The second, third, and fourth Knute Rockne Bowls (1970 through 1972) were held indoors atConvention Hall inAtlantic City, New Jersey, which was also home to the Boardwalk Bowl (1961–1973). In the three seasons that they shared the venue, the games were played two weeks apart. The remaining three Knute Rockne Bowls (1969, 1976, and 1977) were played at the home stadium of one of the participating teams.
| Date | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Score | Location | notes | NCAA playoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 29, 1969 | Randolph–Macon | 47 | Bridgeport | 28 | Bridgeport, Connecticut | [4] | College Division II East Region Championship |
| November 28, 1970 | Montclair State | 7 | Hampden–Sydney | 6 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | [5][6] | |
| November 26, 1971 | Bridgeport | 17 | Hampden–Sydney | 12 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | [7] | |
| November 24, 1972 | Bridgeport | 27 | Slippery Rock | 12 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | [8] | |
| December 4,1976 | Akron | 29 | Northern Michigan | 26 | Akron, Ohio | [9] | Division II Semifinal |
| December 3,1977 | Lehigh | 39 | UC Davis | 30 | Davis, California | [10] |