| Camellia Bowl | |
| Stadium: | Cramton Bowl (25,000) |
| Location: | Montgomery, Alabama |
| Years: | 2014–present |
| Conference Tie-Ins: | MAC, Sun Belt, C-USA (alternate) |
| Payout: | 300,000 (2019)[1] |
| Prev Matchup Year: | 2022 |
| Prev Matchup Season: | 2022 |
| Prev Matchup Teams: | Georgia Southern vs. Buffalo |
| Prev Matchup Score: | Buffalo 23–21 |
| Next Matchup Year: | 2023 |
| Next Matchup Season: | 2023 |
| Next Matchup Teams: | Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois |
| Next Matchup Date: | Northern Illinois 21–19 |
The Camellia Bowl is an annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctioned FBS college football bowl game played in Montgomery, Alabama, at the Cramton Bowl.[2] [3] The game features teams from the Sun Belt Conference and the Mid-American Conference (MAC).[2] [3] The bowl game was announced in August 2013 and first played in December 2014. The game is owned and managed by ESPN Events and is named after the camellia, which is the state flower of Alabama.
The bowl was sponsored at its inception by Raycom Media, a major owner of television stations in the southeastern United States with heavy involvement in college sports broadcasting, and was officially known as the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl.[4] In June 2018, Gray Television announced its intent to acquire Raycom[5] [6] The acquisition was completed in January 2019,[7] and the 2019 and 2020 editions of the bowl were played without a title sponsor.
On November 24, 2021, TaxAct was named as the new title sponsor of both the Camellia Bowl and the Texas Bowl.[8]
| Date | Winning Team | Losing Team | Attendance | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 20, 2014 | Bowling Green | 33 | 28 | 20,256 | notes | ||
| December 19, 2015 | Appalachian State | 31 | 29 | 21,395 | notes | ||
| December 17, 2016 | Appalachian State | 31 | 28 | 20,300 | notes | ||
| December 16, 2017 | Middle Tennessee | 35 | 30 | 20,612 | notes | ||
| December 15, 2018 | Georgia Southern | 23 | 21 | 17,710 | notes | ||
| December 21, 2019 | Arkansas State | 34 | 26 | 16,209 | notes | ||
| December 25, 2020 | Buffalo | 17 | 10 | 2,512 | notes | ||
| December 25, 2021 | Georgia State | 51 | 20 | 7,345 | notes | ||
| December 27, 2022 | Buffalo | 23 | 21 | 15,322 | notes | ||
| December 23, 2023 | Northern Illinois | 21 | 19 | 11,310 | notes | ||
The bowl's MVP receives the Bart Starr Most Valuable Player Award; Starr was born and raised in Montgomery, where the Camellia Bowl is played.[11]
| Year | MVP | Team | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | James Knapke | Bowling Green | QB | |
| 2015 | Marcus Cox | Appalachian State | RB | |
| 2016 | Taylor Lamb | Appalachian State | QB | |
| 2017 | Middle Tennessee | OLB | ||
| 2018 | Shai Werts | Georgia Southern | QB | |
| 2019 | Omar Bayless | Arkansas State | WR | |
| 2020 | Kevin Marks | Buffalo | RB | |
| 2021 | Darren Grainger | Georgia State | QB | |
| 2022 | Justin Marshall | Buffalo | WR | |
| 2023 | Northern Illinois | QB |
Updated through the December 2023 edition (10 games, 20 total appearances).
| Rank | Team | Appearances | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 1–2 | |
| 2 | 2 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | 2–0 | ||
| 2 | 1–1 |
Updated through the December 2023 edition (10 games, 20 total appearances).
| Conference | Record | Appearances by season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | W | L | Win pct. | Won | Lost |
| 9 | 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021 | 2014, 2017, 2022, 2023 | |||
| 8 | 2014, 2020, 2022, 2023 | 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021 | |||
| 3 | 2017 | 2019, 2020 |
| Team | Record, Team vs. Opponent | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most points scored (one team) | 51, Georgia State vs. Ball State | 2021 | |
| Most points scored (losing team) | 30, Arkansas State vs. Middle Tennessee | 2017 | |
| Most points scored (both teams) | 71, Georgia State vs. Ball State | 2021 | |
| Fewest points allowed | 10, Marshall vs. Buffalo | 2020 | |
| Largest margin of victory | 31, Georgia State vs. Ball State | 2021 | |
| Total yards | 525, Arkansas State vs. FIU | 2019 | |
| Rushing yards | 331, Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan | 2018 | |
| Passing yards | 393, Arkansas State vs. FIU | 2019 | |
| First downs | 31, Arkansas State vs. FIU | 2019 | |
| Fewest yards allowed | 248, Marshall vs. Buffalo | 2020 | |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | 74, Ball State vs. Georgia State | 2021 | |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | 33, Eastern Michigan vs. Georgia Southern | 2018 | |
| Individual | Record, Player, Team | Year | |
| All-purpose yards | 180, Omar Bayless (Arkansas State) | 2019 | |
| Touchdowns (all-purpose) | 2, multiple players—most recently: Corey Rucker (Arkansas State) | 2023 | |
| Rushing yards | 162, Marcus Cox (Appalachian State) | 2015 | |
| Rushing touchdowns | 2, multiple players—most recently: Shai Werts (Georgia Southern) | 2018 | |
| Passing yards | 393, Layne Hatcher (Arkansas State) | 2019 | |
| Passing touchdowns | 4, Layne Hatcher (Arkansas State) | 2019 | |
| Receiving yards | 180, Omar Bayless (Arkansas State) | 2019 | |
| Receiving touchdowns | 2, multiple players—most recently: Corey Rucker (Georgia State) | 2023 | |
| Tackles | 18, Maleki Harris (South Alabama) | 2014 | |
| Sacks | 2, shared by: Bryan Thomas (Bowling Green) Eric Black (Buffalo) Jamil Muhammad (Georgia State) | 2014 2020 2021 | |
| Interceptions | 2, BJ Edmonds (Arkansas State) | 2017 | |
| Long Plays | Record, Player, Team | Year | |
| Touchdown run | 45 yds., Terelle West (Middle Tennessee) | 2017 | |
| Touchdown pass | 79 yds., Joshua Thompson from Kyle Vantrease (Georgia Southern) | 2022 | |
| Kickoff return | 94 yds., Darrynton Evans (Appalachian State) | 2016 | |
| Punt return | 25 yds., Corey Jones (Toledo) | 2016 | |
| Interception return | 55 yds., Antavious Lane (Georgia State) | 2021 | |
| Fumble return | 54 yds., D. J. Sanders (Middle Tennessee) | 2017 | |
| Punt | 61 yds., shared by: Cody Grace (Arkansas State) Robert LeFevre (Marshall) Anthony Venneri (Buffalo) | 2017 2020 2022 | |
| Field goal | 52 yds., José Borregales (FIU) | 2019 |
The bowl has been televised by ESPN since its inception.