With a rally and ‘Fan Fest,’ lots of off-the-grid action preceded annual Boca Bowl
By: Dale King
There’s always plenty of action on the field when the annual RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl, now in its ninth year, draws a major crowd and a couple of college grid powerhouses to the Florida Atlantic University Stadium each December.
This year’s competition Tuesday night didn’t disappoint as the Rockets from the University of Toledo squeaked out a two-point victory over the Liberty University Flames, 21-19.
But fans didn’t have to wait until the evening’s head-to-head slugfest to enjoy some football-related activities. Patrons gathered outside the stadium Tuesday afternoon for the annual Fan Fest filled with tailgating spirit that led up to opening ceremonies and kick-off of Palm Beach County’s only annual NCAA-sanctioned college football bowl.
The popular Fan Fest featured family-friendly interactive games and activities for fans of all ages, rides, food trucks, giveaways and contests, a live band and an entertaining face-off performance between the two college bowl team bands and cheerleader squads.
Tuesday afternoon’s event was the second get-together in two days for local gridiron enthusiasts and those who traveled to Boca for the competition between Lynchburg, Virginia-based Liberty University and the team from Toledo named for its hometown in Ohio.
On Monday evening, a crowd got together in and around the Mizner Park Amphitheater for a different kind of competition – one which pit the bands, spirit squads and cheerleaders from each of the schools against each other.
The ensembles from Liberty, boasting 250 bandmembers, and Toledo, touting a sizable 120-man band of its own, performed their fight songs and other melodies, and the cheerleader teams enlivened the show with acrobatics. School mascots Sparky the Eagle and Rocky the Rocket also joined in the festivities to pump up the crowd.
Among the list of tunes attendees got to hear were “U of Toledo,” the fight song the Rockets’ marching band performs at every home sporting event. Liberty’s fight song, “Fan the Flames,” also reverberated when the Flames’ marching band took the stage.”
“We encouraged everyone to come early because we didn’t want anyone to miss a minute of the fanfare,” noted Doug Mosley, executive director of the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl. “It was a great opportunity for our Palm Beach County community to roll out the red-carpet welcome for these visiting teams and their fans gathering in celebration of Boca’s annual holiday-timed Bowl tradition.”
The community, Toledo Rockets fans, Liberty Flames devotees and college football fans of all stripes filled the Mizner Park grounds to cheer their respective squads. Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer welcomed the crowd, addressing them from the amphitheater stage.
“On behalf of the entire city, 100,000 residents and 13,000 businesses, it is our pleasure to welcome two of the best universities in the nation and two of the most outstanding football teams to play in our city in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl for the Howard Schnellenberger trophy,” Singer said.
Athletic directors from both schools addressed the fans and expressed gratitude at the opportunity to compete for the Schnellenberger Trophy, named after the college coach who founded the football program for Florida Atlantic University in 1999 and was its first field mentor. He also gained an iconic reputation for his work with the universities of Miami, Oklahoma and Louisville in addition to holding a variety of assistant coaching positions. Schnellenberger, who died in 2021, was also on staff of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins.
The Flames finished the regular season 8-4, with three straight losses to close out play. Toledo finished its regular season as the victor of the MAC Conference for the 2022 season with an overall record of 8-5.
The teams left the FAU Stadium Tuesday night with overall season totals of 8-5 for Liberty and 9-5 for Toledo.
Again, this year, the Roof.Claim.com Boca Raton Bowl Charity Partner Spirit of Giving offered free tickets to nonprofits, schools and veterans groups who registered in advance of game day. The tickets were offered on a first-come, first-served basis with no area or section of the stadium guaranteed for seating. Those who got complimentary tickets also received complimentary snacks and refreshments.
The Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl is one of 17 bowl games owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN. The RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl debuted in 2014 and twice held the distinction of matching up two conference champions – Marshall University vs. Northern Illinois University (2014) and UAB vs. Northern Illinois (2018).
In all, six conference champions and another three conference division champions have played in the game. Among the Bowl’s alumni who have moved on to the NFL are current New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson (BYU, 2020), Buffalo Bills running back Devin Singletary (FAU, 2017) and Philadelphia Eagles kicker Jake Elliott (Memphis, 2016).
