| Game Name: | Grantland Rice Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | December 11 |
| Year Game Played: | 1965 |
| Football Season: | 1965 |
| Football Division: | NCAA College Division |
| Stadium: | Horace Jones Field |
| City: | Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Attendance: | 12,000 |
| Visitor School: | Ball State University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Ball State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Cardinals |
| Visitor Conference: | Indiana Collegiate Conference |
| Visitor Coach: | Ray Louthen |
| Visitor Record: | 9–0 |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 14 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home School: | Tennessee A&I State College |
| Home Name Short: | Tennessee A&I |
| Home Nickname: | Tigers |
| Home Conference: | Midwestern Conference |
| Home Coach: | John Merritt |
| Home Record: | 9–0 |
| Home 1Q: | 6 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 8 |
The 1965 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA College Division game following the 1965 season, between the Ball State Cardinals and the Tennessee A&I Tigers.[1] Ball State quarterback Frank Houk was named the game's most outstanding player.
Multiple players from Tennessee A&I were selected in the 1966 NFL draft – wide receiver Willie Walker, defensive tackle Franklin McRae, wide receiver Johnnie Robinson, and guard Jim Carer. Ball State running back Jim Todd was also selected. Tennessee A&I players selected in later drafts include running back Bill Tucker and return specialist Noland Smith in the 1967 NFL/AFL Draft, also defensive end Claude Humphrey and quarterback Eldridge Dickey in the 1968 NFL/AFL Draft. Humphrey was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014. Ball State quarterback Frank Houk was a 1985–86 inductee to his university's hall of fame.[2]
Tennessee A&I head coach John Merritt was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.