Boca Raton Bowl


The Boca Raton Bowl is an annual National Collegiate Athletic Association sanctioned post-season Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played in Boca Raton, Florida, since December 2014 at FAU Stadium on the campus of Florida Atlantic University.
Since 2017, the game has been sponsored by the New York-based beverage company Cheribundi and for sponsorship reasons was the Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl that year; it has been the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl since 2018. The bowl's previous sponsor was the sporting goods company Marmot.

History

The bowl was founded on October 10, 2013, and was first played in December 2014 as one of the 2014–15 bowl games.
The bowl is owned and operated by ESPN Events, and is televised by ESPN as part of its annual "Bowl Week". On October 6, 2015, Marmot, an outdoor clothing and sporting goods company, was announced as the title sponsor of the game. On December 1, 2017, Cheribundi, a New York based beverage company, was announced as the new title sponsor.
In 2016, Kenneth Langone was named "Lifetime Commissioner" of the Boca Raton Bowl. Langone is known to walk around the stands selling LEOs during the game.

Conference tie-ins

The bowl had a tie-in with the Mid-American Conference for 2014 and 2015, to face opponents from Conference USA in the first year and the American Athletic Conference in the second.
In 2014, Northern Illinois, winner of the 2014 MAC Championship Game, was sent as the conference's representative, while C-USA also sent its champion, Marshall. The MAC and C-USA did not have automatic bowl bids for their champions entering 2014; C-USA had lost its contract with the Liberty Bowl, while the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, which usually took the MAC champion, was discontinued after its 2013 playing and the GoDaddy Bowl, which takes a MAC team and has the option to take the conference champion if it desires, did not invite Marshall. In 2015, the MAC sent Toledo and The American sent Temple.
In 2016 and 2017, C-USA and The American had primary tie-ins with the bowl. In 2016, C-USA sent Western Kentucky and The American sent Memphis. In 2017, C-USA sent Florida Atlantic while their opponent, Akron, came from the MAC. A C-USA vs. MAC matchup was again featured in 2018. The "affiliated conferences" for the 2019 game are The American, C-USA and MAC.

Game results

MVPs

The bowl generally selects offensive and defensive MVPs. In the inaugural playing, only a single MVP was designated. In the 2019 playing, there was also a special teams MVP.
YearPlayerPos.TeamRef.
2014Rakeem CatoQBMarshall
2015Phillip ElyQBToledo
2015Ju'Wan WoodleyLBToledo
2016Anthony WalesRBWestern Kentucky
2016Keith BrownLBWestern Kentucky
2017Jason DriskelQBFlorida Atlantic
2017Azeez Al-ShaairLBFlorida Atlantic
2018Xavier UbosiWRUAB
2018Anthony RushNTUAB
2019Chris RobisonQBFlorida Atlantic
2019Rashad SmithLBFlorida Atlantic
2019Matt HayballPFlorida Atlantic

Most appearances

Updated through the December 2019 edition.
;Teams with multiple appearances
;Teams with a single appearance
Won: Marshall, Toledo, UAB, Western Kentucky
Lost: Akron, Memphis, SMU, Temple

Appearances by conference

Updated through the December 2019 edition.

Game records

TeamRecord, Team vs. OpponentYear
Most points scored 52, shared by:
Marshall vs. Northern Illinois
Florida Atlantic vs. SMU
2014
2019
Most points scored 31, Memphis vs. Western Kentucky2016
Most points scored 82, Western Kentucky vs. Memphis2016
Fewest points allowed3, Florida Atlantic vs. Akron2017
Largest margin of victory47, Florida Atlantic vs. Akron2017
Total yards598, Western Kentucky vs. Memphis2016
Rushing yards312, Florida Atlantic vs. Akron2017
Passing yards418, Memphis vs. Western Kentucky2016
First downs29, Florida Atlantic vs. Akron2017
Fewest yards allowed146, Florida Atlantic vs. Akron2017
Fewest rushing yards allowed69, Florida Atlantic vs. Akron2017
Fewest passing yards allowed77, Florida Atlantic vs. Akron2017
IndividualRecord, Player, Team vs. OpponentYear
All-purpose yards
Touchdowns
Rushing yards245, Anthony Wales, Western Kentucky vs. Memphis2016
Rushing touchdowns3, shared by:
Anthony Wales, Western Kentucky vs. Memphis
Devin Singletary, Florida Atlantic vs. Akron
2016
2017
Passing yards373, Tyler Johnston III, UAB vs. Northern Illinois2018
Passing touchdowns4, shared by:
Riley Ferguson, Memphis vs. Western Kentucky
Tyler Johnston III, UAB vs. Northern Illinois
2016
2018
Receiving yards227, Xavier Ubosi, UAB vs. Northern Illinois2018
Receiving touchdowns3, shared by
Anthony Miller, Memphis vs. Western Kentucky
Xavier Ubosi, UAB vs. Northern Illinois
2016
2018
Tackles
Sacks
Interceptions
Long PlaysRecord, Player, Team vs. OpponentYear
Touchdown run41, Kareem Hunt, Toledo vs. Temple2015
Touchdown pass80, Cody Thompson, Toledo vs. Temple2015
Kickoff return93, Deandre Reaves, Marshall vs. Northern Illinois2014
Punt return24, Jalen Young, Florida Atlantic vs. Akron2017
Interception return15, Mykelti Williams, Northern Illinois vs. UAB2018
Fumble return
Punt71, Alex Starzyk, Temple vs. Toledo2015
Field goal42, Nick Vogel, UAB vs. Northern Illinois2018

Media coverage

TV and radio coverage includes play-by-play announcers, color commentators, and sideline reporters.

Television

Radio

Legends Honoree

Each December, the bowl recognizes one person associated with football in the state of Florida with the Palm Beach County Football Legends Award.
YearHonoreeRoleFlorida teamRef.
2014Howard SchnellenbergerCollege & NFL head coachFlorida Atlantic Owls
2015Reidel AnthonyCollege & NFL wide receiverFlorida Gators
2016John CarneyCollege & NFL placekickerCardinal Newman High School
2017Steve WalshCollege & NFL quarterback; High School & CFL coachMiami Hurricanes
2018Brad BanksCollege & CFL quarterback; 2002 Heisman Trophy runner-upGlades Central High School