Wheat Bowl

The Wheat Bowl was the only National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics endorsed pre-season bowl game that operated from 1995 until 2006. The Wheat Bowl Football Classic was headquartered in the Central Kansas town of Ellinwood and was played in nearby Great Bend annually as the kickoff for the NAIA season.[3]

Wheat Bowl (defunct)
Wheat Bowl Football Classic
The only sanctioned NAIA pre-season bowl game
StadiumGreat Bend High School Memorial Stadium[1]
LocationGreat Bend, Kansas
Previous locationsEllinwood, Kansas
Operated1995–2006
Conference tie-insNAIA
Sponsors
various[2]
2006 matchup
Northwestern Oklahoma vs Lindenwood (14–13)

In 1995 and 1996, the game was played as a "post-season" game. Beginning in 1997, the Wheat Bowl Football Classic was successfully switched to a pre-season contest to eliminate several potential obstacles: the possibility of inclement weather, conflicts with Kansas State University and University of Kansas home games as well as conflicts with high school playoffs.

Due to facilities not being available, no game was played in 2007. The next game was scheduled for August 23, 2008 at the newly renovated Great Bend Memorial Stadium.[4] According to the bowl website, it appears that the game was not played as originally scheduled and the bowl is now considered defunct. The College Fanz First Down Classic preseason bowl began in 2007 and was considered the kick-off of the NAIA season[5] until its final game in 2011.

Game results
YearWinning TeamLosing Team
1995 MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers38 Ottawa Braves0
1996 Southwestern Moundbuilders28 Baker Wildcats20
1997 Sioux Falls Cougars35 Benedictine Ravens10
1998 NW Oklahoma State Rangers40 MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers7
1999 No. 12 NW Oklahoma State Rangers49 Missouri Valley Vikings14
2000 Concordia Bulldogs31 Lindenwood Lions14
2001 No. 19 Peru State Bobcats21 No. 13 Baker Wildcats14
2002 Midland Warriors25 Bacone Warriors15
2003 No. 10 MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers21 Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm14
2004 No. 22 Midland Warriors31 Avila Eagles9
2005 No. 23 Graceland Yellowjackets24 Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm20
2006 NW Oklahoma State Rangers14 No. 15 Lindenwood Lions13

Community College

There was a game called the "Wheat Bowl" played between Kansas Community Colleges from 1948 to 1950. Although the name is the same, the organization was completely different. This particular bowl is now defunct.[6]

References
  1. Memorial Stadium Photo
  2. Wheat Bowl – Great Bend – Kansas – Football
  3. NAIAFOOTBALL.NET-The Nation's Home for NAIA Football
  4. Wheat Bowl – Great Bend – Kansas – Football
  5. CollegeFanz "Avila University Wins College Fanz First Down Classic"
  6. "Games". Archived from the original on 2006-10-20. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.