The Sun Belt Conference will be one of five leagues sharing a rotation for the new Bahamas Bowl, giving South Alabama and its conference rivals another potential postseason destination beginning in 2014.
The Sun Belt will rotate with the Mountain West Conference, the Mid-American Conference, the American Athletic Conference and Conference USA under an agreement that runs for six seasons beginning in 2014.
Game Set for Nassau
The inaugural Bahamas Bowl is scheduled for December 2014 at Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau. The stadium, named for the Bahamian Olympic track and field athlete, currently seats 15,000 and can be expanded to hold as many as 30,000.
“The Sun Belt Conference is thrilled to be part of this new football bowl game,” Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson said. “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.”
Growing List of Bowl Ties
The Bahamas Bowl agreement is the latest addition to the Sun Belt’s postseason lineup. Earlier this year, the conference secured a tie-in with the new Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Ala.
Other leagues in the rotation have also been adding games. Conference USA was included last week in the rotation for the new Boca Raton Bowl, and a new bowl game at Marlins Park in Miami is expected to be created with the American Athletic Conference as its anchor.
South Alabama is in its second season of Sun Belt Conference football play and plays its home games at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile under head coach Joey Jones.
