The inaugural Bahamas Bowl will kick off in December 2014 at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium. Named for the Bahamian Olympian track & field star, the stadium currently has a capacity of 15,000, but the facility has the ability to be expanded to hold as many as 30,000.
“To be able to bring these five conferences together who have such strong commitments to academics and athletics is an honor,” Lea Miller, founder of Complete Sports Management, said. “To be able to create a new college football Bowl game with them with the support of the entire country of the Bahamas in a historic venue is a dream come true. As the college sporting world knows, this is yet another sporting event we’re bringing to the Bahamas after two highly successful years of the Battle 4 Atlantis, college basketball’s premier early-season basketball tournament.”
Commissioners from Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference and Sun Belt Conference, and a representative from the American Athletic Conference were on hand for the official announcement with the Bahamas Minister of Tourism.
“As we have learned with our other bowls, student-athletes, coaches and fans get excited about a great destination. It’s hard to imagine a better destination than this wonderful country for a bowl game,” Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky said.
“We are thankful for the support of The Bahamas Minister of Tourism and Lea Miller in providing not only a great venue, but a fantastic opportunity to showcase the hard work and dedication of our teams.”
“The Mid-American Conference is proud to partner in the creation of the Bahamas Bowl beginning with the 2014 season and to feature the only bowl game outside of the United States,” said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, Mid-American Conference Commissioner. “This will truly be a one-of-its-kind bowl experience for our student-athletes, coaches and fans. The Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium will be a wonderful host venue and the accommodations with the Atlantis Resort will certainly be a destination to reward our football programs.”
“The Bahamas Bowl is an innovative event under excellent and experienced management that will be an immediate success and will provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our student-athletes,” American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco stated. “We know that our fans will enjoy following their teams to one of the most popular travel destinations in the world and will enjoy watching them, along with a national television audience, in a high-quality game in a state-of-the-art stadium.”
“The Bahamas Bowl will provide a wonderful bowl destination for deserving student-athletes,” said Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson. “In addition to the competitive opportunity, the cultural experience and the chance to travel abroad will make this game unique in the postseason college football landscape.”
“The Sun Belt Conference is thrilled to be part of this new football bowl game,” said Commissioner Karl Benson. “Our student-athletes and fans look forward to being able to enjoy the history and traditions of Nassau and the country of the Bahamas while at the same time being part of the history that will come with this event.”
Richard Giannini, retired athletic director at Southern Miss, is serving as a consultant to Miller and the Bahamas Bowl. Giannini founded the Blockbuster Bowl in Miami/Fort Lauderdale in 1990 and spent three terms on the NCAA Postseason Football Committee
About Complete Sports Management
Complete Sports Management is an all-encompassing sports marketing agency led by founder and president Lea Miller. The core capabilities of the agency include the creation of sporting events, event management, sponsorship & hospitality package sales and ticket promotion. Through Miller’s global connections, she seized the opportunity to take collegiate sports outside of the United States. She put together a preseason college basketball tournament, Battle 4 Atlantis, in Paradise Island, Bahamas. In only two years, Battle 4 Atlantis has turned into the most successful pre-season men’s Division I college basketball tournament in history, while providing unprecedented exposure for both the Atlantis Resort and the Bahamas. She also negotiated sponsorship agreements and media contracts with NBC Sports Network, ESPN, and AXS TV. Complete Sports Management is now bringing college’s most popular sport to the Bahamas for the country’s first college football bowl game, The Bahamas Bowl.
About The Bahamas
Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas, officially known as the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, has prospered through tourism, international banking, and investment management. The Bahamas relies on tourism to generate most of its economic activity and features world-renowned resorts.The country consists of more than 700 islands, cays, and islets over 100,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean just 50 miles off the coast of Florida. The capital of city of the Bahamas, Nassau, is located on the island of New Providence. The Prime Minister of the Bahamas is Perry Christie.
About Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium
The Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium opened in 2011 and was named for Thomas Augustus Robinson, who competed in four consecutive Summer Olympic Games as a sprinter. The stadium has Olympic and international certification and has been designed to accommodate most sporting events, including American football, rugby, soccer and track & field. It has a capacity of 15,000 with plans of significant expansion. This $30 million state-of-the-art facility provides economic benefits and opportunities for sports tourism and hosting international events
