Pioneer Bowl (1971–1982)
{{distinguish|Pioneer Bowl (HBCU)||||text=the Pioneer Bowl (HBCU), a defunct NCAA Division II bowl game (1997–2012)|selfref=}}
{{Infobox college football bowl game
| name = Pioneer Bowl
| full_name =
| nickname =
| defunct = y
| logo =
| image_size =
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| stadium = Memorial Stadium
| previous_stadiums =
| location = Wichita Falls, Texas
| previous_locations =
| years = 1971–1978, 1981–1982
| previous_tie-ins =
| conference_tie-ins =
| payout =
| sponsors =
| former_names =
}}
File:Pioneer_Bowl_1971_program.jpg
The Pioneer Bowl was an annual college football postseason game held at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas, from 1971 through 1978 and again in 1981 and 1982. The game originated as an NCAA College Division regional final, then became a playoff game for Division II and Division I-AA.
History
The Pioneer Bowl originated as one of the four regional finals of the College Division, before it was subdivided into Division II and Division III in 1973. The game served as the championship for the Midwest Region in 1971 and 1972, at a time when there were no playoffs at any level of NCAA football. For the smaller colleges and universities, as for the major programs, the national champion was determined by polls conducted by the leading news wire services.
As Midwest Region final, the game succeeded the Pecan Bowl, which was played in Abilene, Texas from 1964 to 1967 and Arlington, Texas, from 1968 to 1970. At the time, the other three regional finals were the Boardwalk, Grantland Rice, and Camellia bowls.
The Wichita Falls Board of Commerce and Industry (BCI) secured the Pecan Bowl for the city in March 1971.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/780904588/?match=1&clipping_id=137728699|first=Ted |last=Buss |title=Pecan Bowl Picks City As New Site|newspaper=Wichita Falls Times|date=March 16, 1971 |access-date=December 30, 2023 |via=newspapers.com}} The game was renamed the Pioneer Bowl after a name-the-bowl contest, with the winning entry announced in May 1971.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/781027848/?match=1&clipping_id=137728227|title=New Name Picked For NCAA Classic |newspaper=Wichita Falls Times|date=May 6, 1971 |access-date=December 30, 2023 |via=newspapers.com}}
After the launch of Division II in 1973 and its full playoff system, the Pioneer Bowl became one of the two Division II semifinals (along with the Grantland Rice Bowl) for the first three years, and then became the championship game for two years. For the inaugural season of Division I-AA in 1978, the Pioneer Bowl became the new division's title game.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/466705468/?match=1&clipping_id=137705950|title=Pioneer Bowl Wins Approval Of NCAA |newspaper=Times Record News |location=Wichita Falls, Texas|date=July 22, 1978 |access-date=December 30, 2023 |via=newspapers.com}} Wichita Falls then retained the rights to the Pioneer Bowl name during a two-year hiatus,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31420560/the_name_of_the_game/ |title=The name of the game |first=Phil |last=Coffin |newspaper=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |page=B 11 |date=December 12, 1979 |access-date=May 10, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} while the I-AA championship was decided in Florida in 1979, and in the Camellia Bowl in California in 1980. The Pioneer Bowl again hosted the I-AA title game in 1981 and 1982.
The game never quite sold out its 14,500-seat venue, though in most years the stadium was nearly full. If local press is any indication, the crowd of "only 11,257 fans" that attended the 1982 game was considered a disappointment.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/781718914/?match=2&clipping_id=137708788|title=Pioneer Bowl fans want game to return|newspaper=Wichita Falls Times|date=December 19, 1982 |access-date=December 30, 2023 |via=newspapers.com}} The bowl folded after a group from Charleston, South Carolina, outbid the Wichita Falls BCI for the next contract to host the I-AA championship.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/781718914/?match=2&clipping_id=137708788|title=Pioneer Bowl taken from city again|newspaper=Wichita Falls Times|date=January 14, 1983 |access-date=December 30, 2023 |via=newspapers.com}}
=In popular culture=
"Pioneer Bowl" was used in 1993 as the name of a fictional bowl game played at the Alamodome in the television series Coach.{{Cite web|title="Coach" The Pioneer Bowl (TV Episode 1993)|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0543633/|access-date=2021-07-21|website=IMDb|language=en-US}}
Game results
{{dagger}} The University of West Alabama was known as Livingston University until 1995