Dixie Rotary Bowl
The Dixie Rotary Bowl was a college bowl game initiated by the St. George, Utah Rotary Club and hosted at Greater Zion Stadium, the home field of Dixie State Junior College in St. George, Utah. From 1986 to 2005, the game was a junior college bowl sanctioned by the National Junior College Athletic Association, featuring top NJCAA teams. In 2003, the bowl played host to the NJCAA national championship. The bowl transitioned to NCAA Division II from 2006 to 2008 after Dixie State University became a four-year college and transitioned to NCAA Division II. The bowl was canceled before the beginning of the 2009 season, after the home team had failed to appear in consecutive seasons, reducing local interest.[1]
History
Shortly after its creation, the bowl became recognized as one of the top junior college bowl games in the nation. Beginning in 1991, the game was broadcast on the Armed Forces Radio Network. The 1996 game was televised live to 33 states by Prime Sports Network, the first live broadcast of a junior college bowl game.
The bowl began a transition to NCAA Division II in 2006. The NCAA gave Dixie State University special permission to participate in the bowl during the transition years of 2006 and 2007. Dixie State would face the highest-ranked team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference that did not receive a bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs. In 2007 the Dixie Rotary Bowl finalized an agreement to participate in NCAA Division II, signing a participation agreement with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Under the agreement, each conference was to send its highest-ranked team that did not receive a bid to the NCAA Division II football playoffs.[1]
NJCAA National Championships
The Dixie Rotary Bowl twice played host to the NJCAA National Football Championship. The first contest was an unsanctioned championship between #1 Dixie State College and #3 Butler Community College in 1999. Butler pulled off an upset, defeating Dixie State 49-35.
In 2003, the Dixie Rotary Bowl organizing committee received sanctioning from the NJCAA as #1 Butler and #2 Dixie State again met for the national title, Butler winning 14-10.
All-Time Scores
NJCAA Bowl Contests
| Date | Winner | Loser | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Dixie State (UT) | 36 | Butler (KS) | 33 |
| 1987 | Dixie State (UT) | 40 | Independence (KS) | 37 |
| 1988 | Dixie State (UT) | 56 | Inver Hills (MN) | 8 |
| 1989 | Dixie State (UT) | 42 | Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College | 21 |
| 1990 | Dixie State (UT) | 34 | Nassau (NY) | 0 |
| December 7, 1991 | Navarro (TX) | 27 | Dixie State (UT) | 22 |
| 1992 | Grand Rapids (MI) | 42 | Snow College (UT) | 35 |
| December 4, 1993 | Coffeyville (KS) | 60 | Dixie State (UT) | 36 |
| 1994 | Dixie State (UT) | 26 | Garden City (KS) | 21 |
| 1995 | Dixie State (UT) | 42 | Nassau (NY) | 6 |
| 1996 | Dixie State (UT) | 34 | Grand Rapids (MI) | 16 |
| 1997 | Dixie State (UT) | 76 | Lackawanna (PA) | 21 |
| 1998 | Dixie State (UT) | 40 | Snow College (UT) | 20 |
| 1999 | Butler (KS) | 49 | Dixie State (UT) | 35 |
| December 2, 2000 | Dixie State (UT) | 17 | Harper (IL) | 15 |
| December 1, 2001 | Dixie State (UT) | 40 | Rochester CTC (MN) | 14 |
| December 7, 2002 | Dixie State (UT) | 31 | Butler (KS) | 18 |
| December 6, 2003 | Butler (KS) | 14 | Dixie State (UT) | 10 |
| December 4, 2004 | Dixie State (UT) | 27 | Grand Rapids (MI) | 20 |
| December 3, 2005 | Dixie State (UT) | 35 | Garden City (KS) | 31 |
NCAA Division II Bowl Contests
| Year played | Winning team | Losing team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2, 2006 | Fort Lewis (CO) | 24 | Dixie State (UT) | 14 |
| December 1, 2007 | Western Oregon | 26 | Colorado Mines | 12 |
| December 6, 2008 | Western Washington | 25 | Colorado Mines | 10 |