# New Orleans Bowl

The New Orleans Bowl is an NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually since 2001. It is normally held at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans; when the Superdome and the rest of the city suffered damage due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the game was temporarily moved to Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana, and given the name New Orleans Bowl at Lafayette. Since 2006, the bowl has been sponsored by R+L Carriers and officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. The game was previously sponsored by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from 2002 to 2004 and was officially called the Wyndham New Orleans Bowl.

## Conference tie-ins

In 2001, the Sun Belt Conference signed a temporary contract to play against the 5th-ranked team from the Mountain West Conference. Beginning in 2002, the New Orleans Bowl established conference tie-ins with the Sun Belt and Conference USA (C-USA). The Sun Belt usually sends its conference champion to the New Orleans Bowl, but can (and has) sent the champion to what is now known as the 68 Ventures Bowl, such as Arkansas State playing in the 2013 GoDaddy.com Bowl. For the 2021 season, the New Orleans Bowl has first pick in the Sun Belt Conference.
In 2010, Ohio represented the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in the New Orleans Bowl, after the Bowl released UTEP to compete in the regional New Mexico Bowl. In 2011 and 2014, a Mountain West team replaced C-USA as the opponent to the Sun Belt representative.

## History

In the 2001 inaugural game, Colorado State defeated North Texas, 45–20. Starting in 2002, the Sun Belt signed a multi-year contract with Conference USA, and the two conferences began their bowl rivalry with a North Texas defeat of then-Conference USA member Cincinnati.
Due to damage by Hurricane Katrina to the Superdome, where the game is usually played, the 2005 game was played in Lafayette, Louisiana, at Cajun Field on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and was dubbed the New Orleans Bowl at Lafayette. The game returned to the Superdome for the 2006 edition, with a new corporate sponsor in freight company R+L Carriers, renaming the game the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. That game was won by Troy, co-champions of the Sun Belt Conference, over Rice, making their first bowl appearance since the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl.
The 2011 through 2014 games were each won by the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns by a combined score of 115–88 over four different opponents. However, the Ragin' Cajuns later had to vacate their 2011 and 2013 victories, due to major NCAA violations including ACT fraud. The Ragin' Cajuns also played in the 2016 edition of the bowl, losing to Southern Miss, and in the 2021 edition as well where they defeated Marshall.

## Game results

Rankings per AP poll prior to the game being played.
| Date | Winning Team | Winning Team | Losing Team | Losing Team | Attendance | Notes |
| December 18, 2001 | Colorado State | 45 | North Texas | 20 | 27,004 | notes |
| December 17, 2002 | North Texas | 24 | Cincinnati | 19 | 19,024 | notes |
| December 16, 2003 | Memphis | 27 | North Texas | 17 | 25,184 | notes |
| December 14, 2004 | Southern Miss | 31 | North Texas | 10 | 27,253 | notes |
| December 20, 2005 | Southern Miss | 31 | Arkansas State | 19 | 18,338 | notes |
| December 22, 2006 | Troy | 41 | Rice | 17 | 26,423 | notes |
| December 21, 2007 | Florida Atlantic | 44 | Memphis | 27 | 25,146 | notes |
| December 21, 2008 | Southern Miss | 30 | Troy | 27 (OT) | 30,197 | notes |
| December 20, 2009 | Middle Tennessee | 42 | Southern Miss | 32 | 30,228 | notes |
| December 18, 2010 | Troy | 48 | Ohio | 21 | 29,159 | notes |
| December 17, 2011 | Louisiana-Lafayette (vacated) | 32 | San Diego State | 30 | 42,841 | notes |
| December 22, 2012 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 43 | East Carolina | 34 | 48,828 | notes |
| December 21, 2013 | Louisiana-Lafayette (vacated) | 24 | Tulane | 21 | 54,728 | notes |
| December 20, 2014 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 16 | Nevada | 3 | 34,014 | notes |
| December 19, 2015 | Louisiana Tech | 47 | Arkansas State | 28 | 32,847 | notes |
| December 17, 2016 | Southern Miss | 28 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 21 | 35,061 | notes |
| December 16, 2017 | Troy | 50 | North Texas | 30 | 24,904 | notes |
| December 15, 2018 | Appalachian State | 45 | Middle Tennessee | 13 | 23,942 | notes |
| December 21, 2019 | No. 20 Appalachian State | 31 | UAB | 17 | 21,202 | notes |
| December 23, 2020 | Georgia Southern | 38 | Louisiana Tech | 3 | 3,000 | notes |
| December 18, 2021 | No. 16 Louisiana | 36 | Marshall | 21 | 21,642 | notes |
| December 21, 2022 | Western Kentucky | 44 | South Alabama | 23 | 13,456 | notes |
| December 16, 2023 | Jacksonville State | 34 | Louisiana | 31 (OT) | 14,485 | notes |
| December 19, 2024 | Sam Houston | 31 | Georgia Southern | 26 | 13,151 | notes |
Source:
* The 2005 game was played at Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana, due to damage to the Superdome by Hurricane Katrina.
* Louisiana-Lafayette vacated all 9 wins from 2011, including the New Orleans Bowl, and vacated 8 wins from 2013, including the New Orleans Bowl, due to major NCAA violations including ACT fraud.
* Louisiana–Lafayette has been known simply as Louisiana since the 2017 season.

## MVPs

| Year | MVP | Team | Position |
| 2001 | Justin Gallimore | Colorado State | DB$^{(D)}$ |
| 2002 | Kevin Galbreath | North Texas | RB |
| 2003 | Danny Wimprine | Memphis | QB |
| 2004 | Michael Boley | Southern Miss | LB$^{(D)}$ |
| 2005 | Shawn Nelson | Southern Miss | TE |
| 2006 | Omar Haugabook | Troy | QB |
| 2007 | Rusty Smith | Florida Atlantic | QB |
| 2008 | Austin Davis | Southern Miss | QB |
| 2009 | Dwight Dasher | Middle Tennessee | QB |
| 2010 | Corey Robinson | Troy | QB |
| 2011 | Blaine Gautier | Louisiana-Lafayette‡ | QB |
| 2012 | Terrance Broadway | Louisiana-Lafayette | QB |
| 2013 | Orleans Darkwa | Tulane† | RB |
| 2014 | Terrance Broadway | Louisiana-Lafayette | QB |
| 2015 | Kenneth Dixon | Louisiana Tech | RB |
| 2016 | Allenzae Staggers | Southern Miss | WR |
| 2017 | Brandon Silvers | Troy | QB |
| 2018 | Zac Thomas | Appalachian State | QB |
| 2019 | Darrynton Evans | Appalachian State | RB |
| 2020 | Shai Werts | Georgia Southern | QB |
| 2021 | Levi Lewis | Louisiana | QB |
| 2022 | Austin Reed | Western Kentucky | QB |
| 2023 | Ron Wiggins | Jacksonville State | RB |
| 2024 | Jaylon Jimmerson | Sam Houston | DB$^{(D)}$ |
$^{(D)}$ MVP was a defensive player † MVP's team did not win the game ‡ MVP's team later vacated its victory

## Most appearances

Updated through the December 2024 edition (24 games, 48 total appearances).

### Teams with multiple appearances

| Rank | Team | Appearances | Record |
| 1 | Louisiana | 7 | 3–2* |
| 2 | Southern Miss | 5 | 4–1 |
| 2 | North Texas | 5 | 1–4 |
| 4 | Troy | 4 | 3–1 |
| 5 | Appalachian State | 2 | 2–0 |
| 5 | Georgia Southern | 2 | 1–1 |
| 5 | Louisiana Tech | 2 | 1–1 |
| 5 | Memphis | 2 | 1–1 |
| 5 | Middle Tennessee | 2 | 1–1 |
| 5 | Arkansas State | 2 | 0–2 |
* Record excludes two vacated wins by Louisiana (known as Louisiana–Lafayette prior to the 2017 season).

### Teams with a single appearance

Won (5): Colorado State, Florida Atlantic, Jacksonville State, Sam Houston, Western Kentucky
Lost (10): Cincinnati, East Carolina, Marshall, Nevada, Ohio, Rice, San Diego State, South Alabama, Tulane, UAB

## Appearances by conference

Updated through the December 2024 edition (24 games, 48 total appearances).
| Conference | Record | Record | Record | Record | Appearances by season | Appearances by season | Appearances by season |
| Conference | Games | W | L | Win pct. | Won | Lost | Vacated |
| Sun Belt | 24 | 12 | 10 | .545 | 2002, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 | 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2022, 2023, 2024 | 2011, 2013 |
| C-USA | 20 | 9 | 11 | .450 | 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2022, 2023, 2024 | 2002, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 | |
| Mountain West | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 2001 | 2011, 2014 | |
| MAC | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | | 2010 | |
* Two vacated wins are excluded from the Sun Belt's win–loss record and winning percentage.

## Game records

| Team | Performance vs. Opponent | Year |
| Most points scored | 50, Troy vs. North Texas | 2017 |
| Fewest points allowed | 3, shared by: Louisiana–Lafayette vs. Nevada Louisiana Tech vs. Georgia Southern | 2014 2020 |
| Margin of victory | 35, Georgia Southern vs. Louisiana Tech | 2020 |
| First downs | 31, Jacksonville State vs. Louisiana | 2023 |
| Rushing yards | 322, Georgia Southern vs. Louisiana Tech | 2020 |
| Passing yards | 522, Western Kentucky vs. South Alabama | 2022 |
| All-purpose yards | 791, Louisiana Tech vs. Arkansas State | 2015 |
| Most points scored (losing team) | 34, Louisiana–Lafayette vs. East Carolina | 2012 |
| Most points scored (both teams) | 80, Troy vs. North Texas | 2017 |
| Fewest yards allowed | 232, Louisiana Tech vs. Georgia Southern | 2020 |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | -8, Troy vs. North Texas | 2017 |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | 95, Southern Miss vs. Louisiana–Lafayette | 2016 |
| Individual | Player, Team | Year |
| Points scored | 24, Kenneth Dixon (Louisiana Tech) | 2015 |
| Passing touchdowns | 5, Rusty Smith (Florida Atlantic) | 2007 |
| Rushing yards | 201, Dwight Dasher (Middle Tennessee) | 2009 |
| Passing yards | 497, Austin Reed (Western Kentucky) | 2022 |
| Receiving yards | 230, Allenzae Staggers (Southern Miss) | 2016 |
| All-purpose yards | 283, Darryl Surgent (Louisiana–Lafayette) | 2011 |
| Receptions | 11, shared by: Allenzae Staggers (Southern Miss) Damion Willis (Troy) Devin Voisin (South Alabama) Malachi Corley (Western Kentucky) | 2016 2017 2022 2022 |
| Touchdowns (all-purpose) | 4, Kenneth Dixon (Louisiana Tech) | 2015 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 3, shared by: Orleans Darkwa (Tulane) Shai Werts (Georgia Southern) Rasheen Ali (Marshall) | 2013 2020 2021 |
| Receiving touchdowns | 3, shared by: Teblarus Gill (Troy) Colin Lockett (San Diego State) | 2010 2011 |
| Tackles | 18, K.C. Ossai (Louisiana) | 2023 |
| Sacks | 3.0, Ja’Boree Poole (Southern Miss) | 2016 |
| Interceptions | 2, shared by: Elbert Mack (Troy) Sean Thomas (Louisiana–Lafayette) Reed Blankenship (Middle Tennessee) Justin Birdsong (Georgia Southern) Jaylon Jimmerson (Sam Houston) | 2006 2013 2018 2020 2024 |
| Long Plays | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Touchdown run | 68 yds., Alonzo Harris (Louisiana–Lafayette) | 2012 |
| Touchdown pass | 65 yds., Shai Werts to Khaleb Hood (Georgia Southern) | 2020 |
| Kickoff return | 98 yds., Blaise Taylor (Arkansas State) | 2015 |
| Punt return | 87 yds., Darryl Surgent (Louisiana–Lafayette) | 2011 |
| Interception return | 82 yds., Corey Trim (Louisiana–Lafayette) | 2013 |
| Fumble return | 56 yds., Colton McDonald (North Texas) | 2017 |
| Punt | 70 yds., Jarre Humphrey (Memphis) | 2007 |
| Field goal | 50 yds., shared by: Michael Taylor (Troy) Brett Baer (Louisiana–Lafayette) Jonathan Barnes (Louisiana Tech) | 2010 2011, 2012 2015 |

## Media coverage

The bowl has been carried on ESPN2 or ESPN since inception.