Local group submits LR bowl application

The eastern entrance to War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
The eastern entrance to War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

Local organizers have taken a big step toward War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock hosting a bowl game.

A group of "government, civic and business leaders" in central Arkansas submitted an application to the NCAA on Wednesday for a bowl game to be played in December at War Memorial Stadium, group spokesman Rex Nelson said.

If approved, the game will be between teams from the Sun Belt and American Athletic conferences and played at War Memorial in December.

"We think a college bowl game will be the perfect addition to the event schedule at War Memorial," said Kevin Crass, chairman of the War Memorial Stadium Commission said in a news release.

"Arkansans love college football, and I have no doubt this game will be a success."

The name, title sponsor and television network will be announced "at a later date," if the game is approved, the release states. The NCAA is expected to make a decision in May.

Little Rock failed in an effort to obtain a bowl game two years ago, when the Sun Belt and Mid-American Conference agreed to a game in Montgomery, Ala., instead. Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson said last month that the league has maintained an interest in Little Rock.

"It's a great stadium and it's in the Sun Belt footprint," Benson said in March.

If approved, it will be the Sun Belt's fifth bowl tie-in, joining the New Orleans Bowl, the GoDaddy Bowl, the Camellia Bowl and the Cure Bowl.

Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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