NEW ORLEANS – College football bowl game dates, times, and television networks for the 2017 season have been released on Wednesday.
The Sun Belt’s five bowl partners will see the league play three opening-day games, a weekend affair before Christmas in Mobile, Ala., and a New Year’s Eve weekend game in Tucson, Ariz.
The postseason will begin at the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 16 on ESPN. The Sun Belt has been affiliated with the game since its inception in 2001. Also on Dec. 16 the third editions of the AutoNation Cure Bowl and the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl will take place. The Cure Bowl will be aired live on CBS Sports Network from Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. The Camellia Bowl takes place in Montgomery, Ala. and is played at the Cramton Bowl each year. The Camellia Bowl will air on ESPN.
Mobile, Ala. and Ladd-Peebles Stadium will once again host the Dollar General Bowl as the game will be played Saturday, Dec. 23. Just in time for Christmas, the Dollar General Bowl will air on ESPN.
In its second year as a Sun Belt Bowl Partner, the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl will be played at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. on Sat. Dec. 30. The game will air on the CBS Sports Network.
Bowl partnerships have been significant for the conference, but bowl wins have added an extra level of prestige. In 2016 the league compiled the best record among the "Group of Five" in bowl games with a 4-2 record, one that included wins over teams from the top-rated American Athletic Conference, the second-rated Mountain West and the Mid-American in the postseason. The six bowl teams combined for the second best winning percentage in all of college football – trailing only the Atlantic Coast Conference.
2017 Sun Belt Conference Bowl Games
Saturday, December 16
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – 12 p.m. (ESPN) – Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, La.
AutoNation Cure Bowl - 1:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network) – Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl - 7 p.m. (ESPN) – Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Ala.
Saturday, December 23
Dollar General Bowl – 6 p.m. (ESPN) – Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Ala.
Saturday, December 30
NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl – TBA (CBS Sports Network) – Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Ariz.