When former Villanova athletic director A. F. "Bud" Dudley started the Liberty Bowl in 1959, in Philadelphia, it was the only cold-weather bowl game. The attendance showed it. In 1964, the game was moved to Convention Hall in Atlantic City, making it the first indoor bowl game. This was before Astroturf; Convention Hall got a grass-like surface with burlap underneath it over cement. Only a shade more than 6,000 fans saw Utah beat West Virginia.
Finally, in 1965, Dudley moved the game to Memphis, Tenn. Currently, the bowl is a matchup between the top pick in Conference USA against the eighth pick in the SEC. The fifth pick in the AAC is the alternate.
Memorable moments
• In the 1969 game, Colorado's Bob Anderson ran for 254 yards as the Buffaloes beat Alabama 47-33.
• In 1982, Alabama intecepted seven passes and defeated Illinois 21-15 in Bear Bryant's final game.
• The highest-scoring Liberty Bowl happened in 2004, when Louisville ended Boise State's 22-game winning streak. The game's turning point came when UofL safety Kerry Rhodes intercepted a pass in the end zone as time expired.
| YEAR | WINNER | SCORE | LOSER | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Penn State | 7 | Alabama | 0 |
| 1960 | Penn State | 41 | Oregon | 12 |
| 1961 | Syracuse | 15 | Miami (Fla.) | 14 |
| 1962 | Oregon State | 6 | Villanova | 0 |
| 1963 | Mississippi State | 16 | NC State | 12 |
| 1964 | Utah | 32 | West Virginia | 6 |
| 1965 | Ole Miss | 13 | Auburn | 7 |
| 1966 | Miami | 14 | Virginia Tech | 7 |
| 1967 | NC State | 14 | Georgia | 7 |
| 1968 | Ole Miss | 34 | Virginia Tech | 17 |
| 1969 | Colorado | 47 | Alabama | 33 |
| 1970 | Tulane | 17 | Colorado | 3 |
| 1971 | Tennessee | 14 | Arkansas | 13 |
| 1972 | Georgia Tech | 31 | Iowa State | 30 |
| 1973 | NC State | 31 | Kansas | 18 |
| 1974 | Tennessee | 7 | Maryland | 3 |
| 1975 | USC | 20 | Texas A&M | 0 |
| 1976 | Alabama | 36 | UCLA | 6 |
| 1977 | Nebraska | 21 | North Carolina | 17 |
| 1978 | Missouri | 20 | LSU | 15 |
| 1979 | Penn State | 9 | Tulane | 6 |
| 1980 | Purdue | 28 | Missouri | 25 |
| 1981 | Ohio State | 31 | Navy | 28 |
| 1982 | Alabama | 21 | Illinois | 15 |
| 1983 | Notre Dame | 19 | Boston College | 18 |
| 1984 | Auburn | 21 | Arkansas | 15 |
| 1985 | Baylor | 21 | LSU | 7 |
| 1986 | Tennessee | 21 | Minnesota | 14 |
| 1987 | Georgia | 20 | Arkansas | 17 |
| 1988 | Indiana | 34 | South Carolina | 10 |
| 1989 | Ole Miss | 42 | Air Force | 29 |
| 1990 | Air Force | 23 | Ohio State | 11 |
| 1991 | Air Force | 38 | Mississippi State | 15 |
| 1992 | Ole Miss | 13 | Air Force | 0 |
| 1993 | Louisville | 18 | Michigan State | 7 |
| 1994 | Illinois | 30 | East Carolina | 0 |
| 1995 | East Carolina | 19 | Stanford | 13 |
| 1996 | Syracuse | 30 | Houston | 17 |
| 1997 | Southern Miss | 41 | Pittsburgh | 7 |
| 1998 | Tulane | 41 | BYU | 27 |
| 1999 | Southern Miss | 23 | Colorado State | 17 |
| 2000 | Colorado State | 22 | Louisville | 17 |
| 2001 | Louisville | 28 | BYU | 10 |
| 2002 | TCU | 17 | Colorado State | 3 |
| 2003 | Utah | 17 | Southern Miss | 0 |
| 2004 | Louisville | 44 | Boise State | 40 |
| 2005 | Tulsa | 31 | Fresno State | 24 |
| 2006 | South Carolina | 44 | Houston | 36 |
| 2007 | Mississippi State | 10 | UCF | 3 |
| 2009 | Kentucky | 25 | East Carolina | 19 |
| 2010 | Arkansas | 20 | East Carolina | 17 |
| 2010 | UCF | 10 | Georgia | 6 |
| 2011 | Cincinnati | 31 | Vanderbilt | 24 |
| 2012 | Tulsa | 31 | Iowa State | 17 |
| 2013 | Mississippi | 44 | Rice | 7 |
| No game played in 2008. The 2007 game was played in late December while the 2009 game was played in early January. Two games were played in 2010 -- one in early January, one in late December. | ||||
