Conference USA will be sending a record seven teams to play in bowl games this holiday season. Back-to-back Champion WKU leads the seven squads, joined in the postseason by West Division Champion Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion, North Texas, Southern Miss and UTSA.
WKU enters postseason play on seven-game winning streak when its represents C-USA in the Boca Raton Bowl. The Hilltoppers will face American Athletic Conference foe Memphis in the game, which kicks off at 7 p.m. EST/6 p.m. CST on ESPN. This will be the third straight bowl appearance for a WKU program that has been bowl-eligible six straight seasons after moving to the FBS level in 2007. The Hilltoppers are 10-3 on the season, making them one of eight FBS programs to win 10 or more games each of the past two seasons.
Louisiana Tech will be in a bowl for the third straight season for the first time in school history when it participates in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Friday, Dec. 23 (4:30 p.m. EST/3:30 p.m. CST on ESPN). The Bulldogs will face AAC member Navy in the game, the third all-time meeting between the schools.
Middle Tennessee will participate in the Hawai’i Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 24, marking the sixth bowl game of the FBS era for the Blue Raiders. Middle Tennessee will play Hawai’i of the Mountain West Conference for the first time since 1993 at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST from Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The game will air nationally on ESPN.
North Texas will return to postseason play for the first time since 2013 when it faces Army in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 27 (12 p.m. EST/11 a.m. CST on ESPN). It will be a rare bowl game rematch, as the Mean Green defeated the Black Knights, 35-18, on October 22 in West Point, New York.
Old Dominion will participate in the third annual Popeyes Bahamas Bowl on Friday, Dec. 23, marking the first bowl appearance for the Monarchs in just their second season of being fully-eligible. ODU will play Eastern Michigan of the Mid-American Conference team for the third consecutive season, having won the first two meetings. Kickoff is Noon EST/11 a.m. CST from Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in Nassau and the game will be televised by ESPN.
Southern Miss will be making a second straight bowl trip when it plays in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. The Golden Eagles will be making their 24th all-time bowl appearance (most among C-USA schools) and will face Louisiana-Lafayette in the game. This will be the 52nd time these schools have met, with Southern Miss owning a 39-11-1 lead in the series, which dates back to 1923.
UTSA will play in the postseason in its sixth year of football and fifth year in the FBS, matching South Alabama (2014) and Georgia State (2015) for the earliest a program has played in a bowl. The Roadrunners will make their postseason debut in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl against a New Mexico team that tied for first place in the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. This game is the first of the bowl season, with kickoff in Albuquerque is set for 1 p.m. CST/12 p.m. MST and ESPN televising the contest.
C-USA posted a .600 winning percentage during the 2015-16 bowl season, trailing only the SEC (.800) for the best winning percentage among all leagues. C-USA is 18-8 over the past five years in bowl games.
2016-17 C-USA BOWL SCHEDULE
GILDAN NEW MEXICO BOWL (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Saturday, December 17
UTSA vs. New Mexico
(ESPN) 1 p.m. CST
R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Saturday, December 17
Southern Miss vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
(ESPN) 8 p.m. CST
BOCA RATON BOWL (Boca Raton, Florida)
Tuesday, December 20
WKU vs. Memphis
(ESPN) 6 p.m. CST
POPEYES BAHAMAS BOWL (Nassau, Bahamas)
Friday, December 23
Old Dominion vs. Eastern Michigan
(ESPN) 12 p.m. CST
LOCKHEED MARTIN ARMED FORCES BOWL (Fort Worth, Texas)
Friday, December 23
Louisiana Tech vs. Navy
(ESPN) 3:30 p.m. CST
HAWAI’I BOWL (Honolulu, Hawai’i)
Saturday, December 24
Middle Tennessee vs. Hawai’i
(ESPN) 7 p.m. CST
ZAXBY’S HEART OF DALLAS BOWL (Dallas, Texas)
Tuesday, December 27
North Texas vs. Army
(ESPN) 11 a.m. CST