The Shula Bowl is the name given to the Florida Atlantic–Florida International football rivalry.[1] It is an annual college football rivalry game between the only two public universities in the Miami metropolitan area: Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton and Florida International University (FIU) in University Park. The game's winner receives a traveling trophy, the "Don Shula Award," for one year. The current winner is Florida Atlantic, winning 38–20 on September 14, 2024. Florida Atlantic leads the all-time series 17 games to 5.
 | |
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| First meeting | November 23, 2002 Florida Atlantic 31, FIU 21 |
| Latest meeting | September 14, 2024 Florida Atlantic 38, FIU 20 |
| Next meeting | September 13, 2025 |
| Stadiums | FAU Stadium (Florida Atlantic) FIU Stadium (FIU) |
| Trophy | Don Shula Award |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 22 |
| All-time series | Florida Atlantic leads, 17–5 |
| Largest victory | Florida Atlantic, 52–7 (2022) |
| Longest win streak | Florida Atlantic, 7 (2017–present) |
| Current win streak | Florida Atlantic, 7 (2017–present) |
The game and trophy are named after former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula. Don Shula was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 1970 to 1995. Each school's first head coach has previous ties to Don Shula. Florida Atlantic's first head coach Howard Schnellenberger was an assistant of Shula in the 1970s, and FIU's first head coach Don Strock was a player under Shula in the 1970s and 1980s.[2] Don Shula set numerous records as head coach of the Miami Dolphins and his legacy is seen throughout the Miami area. The Shula Bowl pays homage to Shula, to South Florida football and the ties and history of both universities.
Game location
editThe Shula Bowl was first played at Hard Rock Stadium, then known as Pro Player Stadium, in present-day Miami Gardens, Florida, on November 23, 2002. The game now alternates between Florida Atlantic and FIU's home fields. Until 2010, Florida Atlantic used Pro Player Stadium (later renamed Dolphin Stadium in 2006) as its home field, where FIU has almost always used the on-campus venue now known as FIU Stadium as its home field. On one occasion, in 2007, FIU used the Miami Orange Bowl in Little Havana, Miami, as its home field, while FIU Stadium was undergoing an expansion. The 2007 game was played in the final months of the Orange Bowl before being demolished for the construction of LoanDepot Park.[3] Beginning in 2012, Florida Atlantic used its newly built FAU Stadium in Boca Raton as its home field, marking the first time the Shula Bowl was played on both rival schools' campuses.
Television
editFor years the game was telecast on the ESPN family of networks through an agreement to broadcast games in the Sun Belt Conference. In 2013, both schools moved to Conference USA, and the game was instead aired on Fox Sports 1, as C-USA did not air games on the ESPN networks (save for the conference championship game). In recent years the game has aired on Stadium and is carried locally on WSFL-TV The CW South Florida.
Future
editIt was announced in 2021 that FAU was set to leave Conference USA for the American Athletic Conference beginning in the 2023–24 school year, making it unclear whether the rivalry series would continue in the current format.[4] It was presumed that football in particular would be on hiatus until at least 2024, because that would be the next year when both teams would have openings in their non-conference schedules.[5][6]
In a statement announced on September 26, 2022, the FAU and FIU athletics departments inked a four-game series that would continue the Shula Bowl beginning in 2024.[7]
Game results
edit| Florida Atlantic victories | FIU victories | Tie games |
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References
edit- ^ "FAU hosts FIU in annual 'Shula Bowl'".
- ^ "FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY Traditions - FLORIDA ATLANTIC University Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
- ^ "Shula Bowl VI Game Essentials - FIU Athletics". Archived from the original on 2012-04-07. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
- ^ "FAU Accepts Invite to The American". FAUSports.com. October 21, 2021.
- ^ "Future Florida Atlantic Football Non-Conference Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved 9 Jul 2022.
- ^ "Future FIU Football Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
- ^ "FAU and FIU Ink Four-Game Series". FAUSports.com. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- ^ Uter, Stephen. "FAU vs. FIU: The battle of South Florida football". UNIVERSITY PRESS. Retrieved 2024-09-15.