Latest news with #IndependenceBowl
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
2025 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl gets date, time
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The 49th annual Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl on ESPN is set for Tuesday, December 30, at 1 p.m. CST. 'The December 30th afternoon game should provide us with a great opportunity to promote the Independence Bowl, Radiance Technologies, and the Shreveport-Bossier community on the national stage,' said 2025 Independence Bowl Foundation Chair Sarah Giglio. 'We look forward to hosting an exciting Bowl Week for fans after the Christmas holiday and creating an electric atmosphere around Independence Stadium on game day.' Community celebrates LSUS perfect ending, historic season Ticket renewals for fans who have previously bought Independence Bowl tickets are being sent out over the next two weeks. Fans who would like to secure the same seats they have had in the past should apply before Thursday, July 31. Tickets for the general public will go live closer to football season and will be available at Individual tickets will start at $20. Group tickets, Small Business Fan Packs, Family Four-Packs, and other packages will also be available. For ticketing questions, contact the Independence Bowl office at 318-221-0712 or toll-free at 888-414-BOWL (2695). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Which Alabama football players are 2026 College Football Hall of Fame nominees?
The 2026 College Football Hall of Fame class could have a few more Alabama football connections. The National Football Foundation announced 79 players and nine coaches who are in the running for the 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame. The announcement for the class will be made in early 2026. Advertisement Here's a look at the players nominated who have Alabama football connections: Mark Ingram: Alabama football running back Jan 9, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide former running back Mark Ingram on the field prior to the game against the Clemson Tigers in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports Mark Ingram was a unanimous first-team All-American and Alabama's first Heisman Trophy winner. The 2009 SEC Offensive Player of the Year had 3,261 rushing yards and 42 rushing touchdowns in three seasons with the Crimson Tide. Ingram was the No. 28 overall pick of the New Orleans Saints in the 2011 NFL draft. DeMeco Ryans: Alabama football linebacker Oct. 22, 2005; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker DeMeco Ryans (35) celebrates the game ending interception in the final seconds against the Tennessee Volunteers at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama defeated Tennessee 6-3. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports © 2005 John David Mercer DeMeco Ryans was a unanimous first-team All-American and won the Lott IMPACT Trophy. The 2005 SEC Defensive Player of the Year had 76 tackles, 12 tackles-for-loss and 5 sacks for the Crimson Tide before being the No. 33 overall pick of the Houston Texans in the 2006 NFL draft. Dennis Franchione: Alabama football coach 27 Dec 2001 : Alabama head coach Dennis Franchione presents the trophy during post-game celebration of the Independence Bowl game against Iowa State at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. Alabama won 14-13. DIGITAL IMAGE. Mandatory Credit:A two-time NAIA Coach of the Year, Dennis Franchione finished with a 17-8 record as the head coach at Alabama in 2001-02. He led the Crimson Tide to an Independence Bowl win in 2001. Franchione also had head coaching stops at TCU, Texas A&M and Texas State. Advertisement Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@ or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter. This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football players nominated for 2026 College Football Hall of Fame
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Legendary coach Mack Brown returns to Independence Bowl
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — College Football Hall of Fame Coach Mack Brown will be the featured speaker at the 15th Annual Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Kickoff Dinner. Coach Brown, a two-time Coach of the Year and BCS National Champion, coached Tulane in the Independence Bowl in 1987. In 2025, he returns to kick off the season. Coach Brown spent 36 years as a head coach in his 47-year coaching career, first with Appalachian State in 1983. More Independence Bowl news He followed Appalachian State with a stint at Tulane from 1985 to 1987. During his time there, Coach Brown improved the Green Wave from 1-10 in his first season to 6-5 just two years later. Two stints at North Carolina (1988-1997 and 2019-2014) followed. From 1988 to 1997, the Tar Heels had a 69-46-1 record, three 10-win seasons, and made six consecutive bowl games. The team had a Top-Five finish, a Top-10 finish, and two Top-20 finishes. From 2019 to 2024, Brown rejuvenated UNC again, taking them from a two-win season the year before his return to six consecutive bowl games and compiling a 44-33 record. Between his two tenures at North Carolina, he coached the University of Texas from 1998 to 2013. That stint included his two Coach of the Year Awards and the 2005 National Championship, a game widely regarded as one of the best ever. He's also the only coach in college history to win 100 games at two FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) schools and one of the few to lead two programs to Top Five finishes. More local sports news 'I can't wait to kick off the season at the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Kickoff Dinner,' said Brown. 'It will be an exciting way to start the 2025 college football season.' Previous kickoff speakers include Terry Bradshaw, Bobby Bowden, Lou Holtz, Jason Witten, Emmitt Smith, Archie Manning, Herschel Walker, Steve Spurrier, Drew Brees, Devin White, Marcus Spears, Kim Mulkey, Paul Skenes, and Holly Rowe. The Independence Bowl is the 11th most historic bowl game. In the most recent edition, Army West Point defeated Louisiana Tech on December 28, 2024, in the 48th edition of the game. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Louisiana Tech Preview 2025: Can Sonny Cumbie Turn This Around?
College Sports Louisiana Tech Preview 2025: Can Sonny Cumbie Turn This Around? Why isn't this working?Louisiana Tech won plenty of games under Skip Holtz - a Bulldog win in a minor bowl game became an annual norm - Sonny Cumbie is a brilliant offensive coach, and, we're all adults here and can speak freely, Conference USA has been triple-awful after being raided in over the last three seasons under Cumbie the program is 11-26. Louisiana Tech was thrown a pity bid to the Independence Bowl last year after Marshall couldn't go - it wasn't a pretty 27-6 loss to Army - and now it's been five seasons since the program has known a winning almost all Group of Five programs, the Bulldogs lost a slew of key players to the transfer portal, but some decent parts are still around - depth is the issue in key spots - Cumbie really is a good offensive coach, and it's still Conference USA. The schedule is really, why isn't this working? Horrible D in 2023, solid O. Horrible O in 2024, fixed the D and it was No. 1 in CUSA. There's just no consistency, and this year it starts with ... Louisiana Tech Bulldogs College Football Preview 2025 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Preview 2025: Offense X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN- It's Sonny Cumbie. The offense will be better, but it won't happen unless there's more from the line. The Bulldogs have to get far more production from the front five, and that's been tough over the last few years. There wasn't a push for the ground game, the pass protection wasn't there, and it'll take more work after losing guard Ja'Marion Kennedy to Wake Forest and center Zarian McGill to Colorado. The starting five has enough experience to be okay - helped by guard Jonathan Denis coming in from Central Missouri - but the backfield needs more time to work.- Quarterback Evan Bullock had a nice run in his freshman season with over 2,100 yards with 14 touchdown passes and just three picks. He won't run, but he's a big passer who can stretch it deep. The same goes for 6-5, 224-pound backup Blake Baker - he saw time as the No. 2 top wide receivers are gone, but tight end Eli Finley was third on the team with 25 catches, Jay Wilkerson averaged over 20 yards per catch, and there are enough decent options to play with the rotation.- The ground game isn't an afterthought in this attack - it just didn't produce. Omiri Wiggins and Amani Givens combined for well over 800 yards with six touchdowns. They can both catch. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Preview 2025: Defense - The defense was more than just a pleasant surprise. It was No. 1 in CUSA and 12th in the nation allowing 308 yards and 21 points per game. It would've enjoyed more attention if the offense had helped the cause.- Top pass rusher David Blay is off to Miami. He was great in the interior, and now the tackle situation is very, very thin. The ends should be okay - Kansas State transfer Donovan Rieman has to matter on one side.- The linebacking corps should be terrific with Kolbe Fields a tough tackler and Sifa Leota about to be a stat-sheet filler in the secondary will also be a positive once again around - arguably - CUSA's best safety combination in Jacob Fields and Blake Thompson. The corners are good, but the defensive backs as a whole need to come up with more picks. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Key to the Season Get more big plays out of the passing midrange throws are nice considering there's no ground attack, but the Bulldogs went 4-2 when averaging ore than 6.6 yards per pass attempt and 1-6 when they didn't. In those two losses, one was a wild overtime game against Jacksonville State, the other a good fight against NC State. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Key Player Jay Wilkerson, WR former JUCO transfer stepped in and became a decent deep threat - even if he wasn't used much over the second half of the season. He'll have a bigger role now on the outside coming off a 13-catch season, and now the Bulldogs desperately need him - or someone - to be a true No. 1 target. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss Top Transfer In: Noah Biglow, CB used much over the last four years at Pitt, Biglow has the skills and upside to be an instant starter and key veteran. If he can make plays on the other side of veteran Cedric Woods, the secondary will be Transfer Out: David Blay Jr., DT hard enough to find pass rushers. It's harder to find 300-pound pass rushers who can play inside or out. Blay stepped up last season with 46 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and 11 tackles for loss. Now he'll be taking his talents to South Beach to play for Miami. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Key Game Liberty, Nov. 22It's asking a whole lot to be strong in every CUSA game, but the conference slate is beyond manageable. If the Bulldogs can show just a little more offense, they should be favored in every CUSA game except for a home date against WKU. Beat Liberty, and it will be a great season.- 2025 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Schedule Breakdown Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Top 10 Players 1. Kolbe Fields, LB Sr.2. Jacob Fields, S Jr.3. Sifa Leota, LB Sr.4. Evan Bullock, QB Soph.5. Blake Thompson, S Jr.6. Omiri Wiggins, RB Jr.7. Zion Nason, DT Sr.8. Eli Finley, TE Jr.9. Ashanti Cole, OT Jr.10. Jay Wilkerson, WR Jr. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 2024 Fun Stats - Kickoff Returns: Louisiana Tech 26 for 389 yards, Opponents 4 for 58 yards- Sacks: Opponents 41 for 250 yards, Louisiana Tech 22 for 148 yards- Fumbles: Louisiana Tech 23 (lost 13), Opponents 21 (lost 12) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 2025 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen Last year's schedule wasn't that bad, and Louisiana Tech still managed to lose at home to a bad Tulsa team, lost on the road to a worse FIU team, and … Five of the eight losses were by a touchdown or less, one of the others was at NC State, another was to Arkansas, and the third was in the bowl to Army. Turning this thing from a losing program to a winner will take a tweak, not an overhaul. The defense should be okay as long as the injuries aren't coming in waves, but this year is all about the offense. If the attack can be back to pre-2024 form - and even better - the Bulldogs will be a factor in the CUSA The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Win Total At … 6.5Likely Wins: New Mexico State, Southeastern50/50 Games: at Delaware, at Kennesaw State, Liberty, at Missouri State, Sam Houston, Southern Miss, at UTEP, WKULikely Losses: LSU, at Washington State © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved. This story was originally published May 5, 2025 at 11:41 PM.
NBC Sports
29-04-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Marshall won't renew contract of AD Christian Spears, will start search for replacement
HUNTINGTON, — Marshall will not renew the contract of athletic director Christian Spears when it expires next year, the school announced Tuesday. Marshall said the decision was mutual and it will begin an immediate search for a replacement for Spears, who was hired in February 2022. 'It has been my honor to serve this incredible university,' Spears said in a statement. Spears guided Marshall's transition from Conference USA to the Sun Belt Conference in 2022. 'We are grateful for Christian's passionate leadership and substantial contributions to Marshall Athletics,' Marshall President Brad Smith said in a statement. 'From championship seasons to key facility upgrades, Christian is leaving the athletic department in a strong position. We wish him continued success in his next venture.' The Thundering Herd won the Sun Belt football championship last December. The next day, football coach Charles Huff departed for Sun Belt rival Southern Miss. Dozens of players then entered the transfer portal, prompting Marshall to opt out of playing in the Independence Bowl. The Sun Belt fined Marshall $100,000 for the decision, which Spears had said was done 'for all the right reasons.' Huff's four-year contract at Marshall was up after the 2024 season and there had been no agreement on a new deal. Spears has said Huff entertained coaching offers at other schools while at Marshall and that Spears wanted someone who 'truly wants to be at Marshall.' Less than an hour after Huff's hiring at Southern Miss was announced, Marshall named Tony Gibson as its football coach. Gibson had signed a memorandum of understanding at Marshall five days before Huff's departure. Among other coaches hired by Spears was women's basketball coach Kim Caldwell, who led the Thundering Herd to the NCAA Tournament in her only season before leaving for Tennessee.
