The 17th edition of the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl will be played on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020 with kickoff set for 10:30 a.m. at TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth on ESPN.
The game is slated to feature schools from the Mountain West Conference and Big Ten Conference.
“The last time our game was post-New Year we had the greatest fourth quarter comeback in the history of NCAA bowl games,” said Brant Ringler, executive director of the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. “This year we look forward to selling out once again and continuing with our run of phenomenal games while honoring all those in the armed forces that make this game possible.”
Last year, a sold-out crowd witnessed the nationally-ranked Army West Point Black Knights match an all-time record for points scored by a team in any bowl game in a 70-14 victory over Houston. The two previous games (2016 and 2017) were decided by final-second heroics and were ranked third in CBSSports.com’s list of best bowl games.
Since 2014, the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl is the highest scoring bowl in the nation with 414 total points, ahead of the Rose Bowl (394). No other bowl has seen more than 350 points scored over the last five seasons. Nine of the 10 teams to play over the last five years have scored at least 34 points.
In addition, the bowl has featured first-round NFL draft picks in two of the last four years with former California quarterback Jared Goff (2016 Draft: No. 1-Los Angeles Rams) and San Diego State running back Rashaad Penny (2018 Draft: No. 27-Seattle Seahawks).
The annual game, played in honor of the armed forces of the United States, is the only collegiate football bowl game that has hosted all three military academy football teams. The U.S. Military Academy (2010, 2017, 2018), the U.S. Air Force Academy (2007-2009, 2012, 2015) and the U.S. Naval Academy (2013, 2016) have all participated in the bowl.
The Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl has featured the “armed forces” theme since 2006. Patriotic overtones recognizing all five branches of the service are prevalent throughout the game. Past Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowls have included fan-fest adventure areas showcasing armed forces hardware; flyovers; demonstrations by several of the military’s top skydiving teams; custom homes awarded to wounded warriors; on-field induction ceremonies; armed forces bands and honor guards; and the annual Great American Patriot Award presented by Armed Forces Insurance.
The game has been played in January once previously, following the 2014 football season (Jan. 2, 2015). Other game dates have been Dec. 23 (2003-06, 2016-17), Dec. 29 (2012, 2015), Dec. 30 (2010-11, 2013) and Dec. 31 (2007-09).
The bowl game also created and operates the Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the Football Writers Association of America. The Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl is one of 15 bowl games owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.
Armedforcesbowl.com