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.

LIBERTY BOWL RESULTS
YEARWINNERSCORELOSERSCORE
1959Penn State7Alabama0
1960Penn State41Oregon12
1961Syracuse15Miami (Fla.)14
1962Oregon State6Villanova0
1963Mississippi State16NC State12
1964Utah32West Virginia6
1965Ole Miss13Auburn7
1966Miami14Virginia Tech7
1967NC State14Georgia7
1968Ole Miss34Virginia Tech17
1969Colorado47Alabama33
1970Tulane17Colorado3
1971Tennessee14Arkansas13
1972Georgia Tech31Iowa State30
1973NC State31Kansas18
1974Tennessee7Maryland3
1975USC20Texas A&M0
1976Alabama36UCLA6
1977Nebraska21North Carolina17
1978Missouri20LSU15
1979Penn State9Tulane6
1980Purdue28Missouri25
1981Ohio State31Navy28
1982Alabama21Illinois15
1983Notre Dame19Boston College18
1984Auburn21Arkansas15
1985Baylor21LSU7
1986Tennessee21Minnesota14
1987Georgia20Arkansas17
1988Indiana34South Carolina10
1989Ole Miss42Air Force29
1990Air Force23Ohio State11
1991Air Force38Mississippi State15
1992Ole Miss13Air Force0
1993Louisville18Michigan State7
1994Illinois30East Carolina0
1995East Carolina19Stanford13
1996Syracuse30Houston17
1997Southern Miss41Pittsburgh7
1998Tulane41BYU27
1999Southern Miss23Colorado State17
2000Colorado State22Louisville17
2001Louisville28BYU10
2002TCU17Colorado State3
2003Utah17Southern Miss0
2004Louisville44Boise State40
2005Tulsa31Fresno State24
2006South Carolina44Houston36
2007Mississippi State10UCF3
2009Kentucky25East Carolina19
2010Arkansas20East Carolina17
2010UCF10Georgia6
2011Cincinnati31Vanderbilt24
2012Tulsa31Iowa State17
2013Mississippi44Rice7
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.