The Bahamas Bowl is an

NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

that has been contested nine times since 2014 in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...

, at the 15,000-seat

Thomas Robinson Stadium Thomas Robinson Stadium, officially Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Nassau, Bahamas. The largest stadium in the country, it is used primarily for Association football, soccer matches. The stadium is also the ...

. The bowl has tie-ins with the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

and

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

. The game was not played following the 2020 season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the December 2023 edition, the game was temporarily moved to

Jerry Richardson Stadium McColl–Richardson Field at Jerry Richardson Stadium is a college football stadium in University City (Charlotte neighborhood), University City, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States and the home field of the Charlotte 49ers football, Charl ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, due to renovations at Thomas Robinson Stadium. This edition was known as the Famous Toastery Bowl, reflecting the title sponsor of the relocated game. The Bahamas Bowl is not scheduled to be played following the 2025 football season; future plans for the bowl are unclear.

History

The inaugural edition of the Bahamas Bowl, played in 2014, was the first major (FBS or historical equivalent) bowl game to be played outside the United States and Canada between two U.S. teams since the January 1, 1937,

Bacardi Bowl The Bacardi Bowl was a college football bowl game played seven times in Havana, Cuba, at Almandares Park and La Tropical Stadium. The games were also referred to as the Rhumba Bowl and were the foremost event of Cuba’s annual National Sports ...

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. The game featured teams from the

and

; that conference matchup has continued annually. In July 2019, the MAC announced a continuation of its tie-in with the bowl through the 2025–26 football season. From its inception to 2017, the game was sponsored by the

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. is an American multinational chain of fried chicken restaurants founded in 1972 in New Orleans and headquartered in Miami. It is currently a subsidiary of Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International. , Popeye ...

restaurant franchise and officially known as the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl. After

Restaurant Brands International Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI) is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational fast food holding company. It was formed in 2014 by the $12.5 billion merger between American fast food restaurant chain Burger King and Canadian ...

acquired Popeyes in 2017, they declined to renew sponsorship.

Elk Grove Village, Illinois Elk Grove Village is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 32,812. Located northwest of Chicago along the Golden Corridor, the Village of Elk Grove Village was incorporat ...

—"home to the largest industrial park in the United States"—picked up title sponsorship in 2018, with the bowl using the official naming of Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl. The name lasted until Elk Grove Village ended its sponsorship in March 2020. On May 25, 2022, it was announced that HomeTown Lenders would be the new title sponsor of the game. The winning team is presented with a trophy, since 2016 named the Prime Minister's Trophy. The current trophy, in use since the 2018 playing, is approximately tall and weighs nearly . On October 2, 2020, the 2020 edition of the bowl was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and related travel restrictions. On October 26, 2023, it was announced that the 2023 edition would be played at

on the campus of the

University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte, or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs thr ...

due to ongoing renovations at the host venue,

. The game was also temporarily renamed to reflect that it would not be played in the Bahamas. On November 14, 2023, Famous Toastery, a restaurant chain based in

, was named as title sponsor of the relocated Famous Toastery Bowl. The bowl returned to the Bahamas for the edition following the 2024 season, and was played in January for the first time. In early June 2025, the Bahamas Bowl was not included in the announced lineup of bowls scheduled to follow the 2025 season. Future plans for the bowl are unclear.

Game results

Source:

MVPs

Most appearances

Updated through the January 2025 edition (10 games, 20 total appearances). ;Teams with multiple appearances ;Teams with a single appearance Won (3):

FIU Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest uni ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

Lost (5):

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula of the United States, U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said t ...

Charlotte Charlotte most commonly refers to: *Charlotte (given name), a feminine form of the given name Charles ** Princess Charlotte (disambiguation) ** Queen Charlotte (disambiguation) *Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, a city * Charlotte (cake) ...

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

, Miami (OH)

Appearances by conference

Updated through the January 2025 edition (10 games, 20 total appearances). * Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the following calendar year.

Game records

Source:

Media coverage

The bowl has been televised by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

since its inception.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Bowl game navbox 2014 establishments in the Bahamas American football in the Bahamas Sports competitions in the Bahamas College football bowls Recurring sporting events established in 2014 Winter in the Bahamas