Franciscan Bowl

The Franciscan Bowl is the name given to the Marian–Saint Francis football rivalry. It is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Marian Knights football team of Marian University and the Saint Francis Cougars football team of the University of Saint Francis. The teams compete for the Franciscan Bowl Trophy. The Knights and the Cougars first met in 2007 and have been regular opponents in Mid-States Football Association’s Mideast League (MEL), meeting annually since that first encounter.

Franciscan Bowl
SportCollege football
Teams
First meetingOctober 6, 2007
Saint Francis 57, Marian 7
Latest meetingOctober 15, 2022
Marian 37, Saint Francis 10
Next meeting2023
TrophyFranciscan Bowl trophy
(originated in 2016)
Statistics
Meetings total18
(played annually since 2007,
including 2 playoff meetings)
All-time seriesMarian leads, 11-7
Trophy seriesMarian leads, 6–1 since 2016
Largest victorySaint Francis 57–7 (2007)
Longest win streakMarian, 5 (MU: 2018 - 2022)
Longest unbeaten streakMarian, 5 (MU: 2018 - 2022)
Current win streakMarian, 5 (2018–present)
Franciscan Bowl is located in Indiana
Saint Francis
Saint Francis
Marian
Marian
Locations in Indiana

The rivalry is a contest between two perennial NAIA powerhouses; between them, they have won 4 of the most recent 10 (including three straight from 2015-2017) NAIA national championships (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017), in addition to 4 other national championship appearances by one or the other.

Marian leads the overall series 11-7. Marian won the most recent contest (2022) 37-10 in Fort Wayne. The 2019 victory marked the first time in the four trophy contests that the home team has won the game.

History of the Trophy

A spirited rivalry has developed on the field since the first meeting in 2007. USF President Sister M. Elise Kriss and Marian President Daniel J. Elsener recognized that with two Catholic universities in the Franciscan tradition, this game provided an opportunity to spotlight the schools’ values and the spirit of goodwill in competition. In fact, St. Francis of Assisi was known to challenge the friars who followed him to compete in their own practice of virtue. This same good-natured competition inspired the Franciscan Bowl. [1]

“This game is about more than just winning a trophy,” said Kriss. “USF is excited about having the chance to compete against a university that shares so many of our values and traditions, and we know that Marian feels the same every year when this game shows up on the schedule.”[1]

Series statistics

Statistic Marian Saint Francis
Games played18
Wins117
Ties0
Home wins53
Road wins64
Neutral site wins
Total points scored in the series603523
Most points scored in a game by one team56 (2021)63 (2008)
Most points scored in a game by both teams87 (2015 – USF 45, MU 42)
Fewest points scored in a game by both teams35 (2009 – USF 28, MU 7)
Fewest points scored in a game by one team in a win28 (2019)28 (2009, 2010)
Most points scored in a game by one team in a loss42 (2015)38 (2012)
Largest margin of victory46 (2021)50 (2007)
Smallest margin of victory7 (2012, 2020)     3 (2010, 2015)     
Longest winning streak5 (2018 to 2022)4 (2007 to 2010)

Game results

Marian victoriesSaint Francis victoriesTie games
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
1 10/06/2007 Fort Wayne Saint Francis 57–7
2 10/11/2008 Indianapolis Saint Francis 63–14
3 09/26/2009 Fort Wayne Saint Francis 28–7
4 09/25/2010 Indianapolis Saint Francis 28–25
5 10/15/2011 Fort Wayne Marian 40–13
6 10/13/2012 Indianapolis Marian 45–38
7 11/24/2012* Indianapolis Marian 45–34
8 11/16/2013 Fort Wayne Saint Francis 41–24
9 11/15/2014 Indianapolis Marian 51–18
10 10/03/2015 Indianapolis Saint Francis 45–42
11 12/05/2015* Fort Wayne Marian 45–14
12 10/01/2016 Fort Wayne Marian 35–21
13 09/30/2017 Indianapolis Saint Francis 31–24
14 09/29/2018 Fort Wayne Marian 37–28
15 10/05/2019 Indianapolis Marian 28–10
16 04/10/2021 Fort Wayne Marian 41–34
17 10/16/2021 Indianapolis Marian 56–10
18 10/15/2022 Fort Wayne Marian 37–10
Series: Marian leads 11–7
* denotes postseason, playoff contest

References

  1. "USF and Marian University Begin New Tradition with Franciscan Bowl Game". University of Saint Francis. September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
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