2023 68 Ventures Bowl Timeline
41 EVENTS $23K
Grants to local schools and teachers
68 Ventures Community Outreach
Art Competition
The annual art competition is open to all art students sixth through twelfth grade in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. Cash prizes are awarded to winning students’ art programs and students receive gifts from 68VB and Art Contest Sponsors.
Title sponsor, 68 Ventures, utilized their new sponsorship with the bowl to distributed funds totaling $40,000 and recognize 4 area organization. They included: Veterans Recovery Resource, USS Alabama Battleship Foundation, Equine Therapy Group, Eastern Shore Repertory Theater
1st & 10 Club
Big Day of Giving
$40K+
Funds to Area Community Programs
Team Beach Day
The two visiting teams took a trip to Dauphin Island. There they experienced the beautiful white, sandy beaches of the island, and learned the history and ecology of the Gulf Coast with tours of Fort Gaines and the Alabama Aquarium.
The club held 4 meetings with nationally known keynote speakers.
Community Awards Banquet
Mobile County Spelling Bee
Player Practices
Each participating team practices daily during bowl week.
Press Conference
The 68 Ventures Bowl proudly sponsored the 95th Annual Mobile County Spelling Bee. All local school winners received tickets to the 68 Ventures Bowl Game as well as prize money and a plaque. County winner received a cash prize & 68VB Prizes.
A banquet held to honor our classroom grant recipients, art award winner and scholarship recipients.
Nominate a Teacher
In association with the College Football Playoff Foundation, 11 teachers in the Mobile community received $1,000 grants to be used in their classrooms.
Welcome Event
The competition heated up as the bowl teams went head-tohead during their Welcome Reception. The two visiting football teams took to the stage to compete in a live game show experience, while also enjoying a catered dinner at historic Fort Whiting.
Youth Soccer Clinic
Team Arrival
Game Attendance
Wintzell’s Oyster House
Wives Day Out
The wives of the coaching staff and administration enjoyed a champagne brunch at Mobile’s own Wintzell’s Oyster House.
Venues Visited
Merchants & Marine Bank Flight Works Tour
Greer’ Markets/This is Alabama Mardi Gras Parade, Pep Rally, Street Party
The skies of downtown Mobile filled with beads, moon pies and more as 68VB presented Mobile’s largest Mardi Gras parade with floats from 15 mystical societies. Both institutions held their official pep rallies from Mardi Gras Park.
25th Anniversary Party
Heritage House Tour
The players learned Mobile history with a tour of the Heritage House and recovered items from the Clotilda wreckage.
Players from both participating football teams attended Flight Works with Team Focus members. They toured the museum and participated in a classroom lesson. Press Conference Band Battleship Tour Tailgate w/Tailgreeter
Player Service Projects
Players from both participating football teams headed out to Prodisee Pantry & Feeding the Gulf Coast food banks to help pack and sort food. They also visited and did service projects at the Mulherin Home.
Party Kids Zone Parade Riders Reception
Player Hospitality Reception
The teams and invited guests were invited to a reception filled with fun and southern hospitality. The party featured games and barbers to have our guests rolling into bowl week in style.
Game Day
A nationally televised audience tuned into ESPN for the 25th Annual 68 Ventures Bowl. This year’s game was a face off between the University of South Alabama and Eastern Michigan University.
Other Annual Events/Programs:
1st & 10 Club: The club hosts four dinner meetings with keynote speakers who address the club membership and local media. The meetings also include the attendance and recognition of local high school athletic players of the month, as well as a Team Focus member of the month.
• Meeting 1: August 21, 2023, University of South Alabama Head Football Coach Kane Wommack
• Meeting 2: September 11, 2023, Former University of Georgia Head Football Coach, Jim Donnan
• Meeting 3, : October 2, 2023, Auburn University Head Football, Coach Hugh Freeze
• Meeting 4: October 23, 2023, University of Alabama Football Analyst Derek, Dooley
Big Day of Giving and Nominate a Teacher: September 19, 2023 was the Big Day of Giving in which every bowl office awarded a $1,000 classroom grant to an area public school teacher. The grant was awarded to teacher Amanda Delaney from Barton Academy. The grant will impact the Barton Academy student body through the learning resources purchased by Mrs. Delaney. An additional ten $1,000 grants were awarded to Mobile County Public School teachers during the bowl game. The additional ten grant recipients were selected from nominations by parents and former students through the Nominate a Teacher Program. Through our partnership with College Football Playoff Foundation, we have donated more than $33,000 in the last three years to Mobile County Public Schools through classroom grants. Educators are nominated by the community, and this year approximately 600 nominations were submitted.
2023 68 Ventures Bowl Events in Review
Art Competition: This program gives $1800 annually to area schools’ art programs. It is open to all students grades 6-12 in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. Prizes are also awarded to the students, and one of the winning pieces of art is used as the bowl game program’s cover art.
68 Ventures funding of local organizations:
Continuing the title sponsor tradition of charitable giving through a partnership with the annual Bowl game, title sponsor 68 Ventures, presented 4 area organizations with $10,000 each, for a total of $40,000 donated to the community. These groups included the USS ALABAMA Battleship Foundation, Veterans Recovery Resources, Equine Therapy Group, and Eastern Shore Repertory Theatre.
Touchdown for Teachers:
A new program through the bowl’s partnership with College Football Playoff Foundation’s charity, Extra Yard for Teachers, the Bowl presented an additional $1,000 grant to a MCPSS teacher every time a touchdown was scored during the 68 Ventures Bowl game. A total of an additional $10,000 in grants were presented through this program, bringing the total grants awarded to MCPSS in 2023 to $21,000 and impacting the 52,000 students in the MCPSS system.
Mobile County Spelling Bee: The annual Bee is hosted and sponsored by the Bowl each year. Approximately 100 students, each representing their elementary and middle school, participate in the county-wide Spelling Bee. Breakfast, snacks and prizes are provided. The bee is broadcast on MCPSS television. There is local media coverage of the event.
2023 68 Ventures Bowl Events in Review
Bowl Week:
University Teams’ Welcome Reception and Press Conf: A welcoming reception for the University of South Alabama and Eastern Michigan University which took place at Fort Whiting. Attended by the entire team and travel party (approximately 500-600 individuals), along with invited guests and bowl sponsors. The event included a catered meal, and the teams got to participate in The Big Game Show, competing against each other in a live game show experience like Family Feud, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader, etc. Prior to the event a press conference was held and attended by media from both University’s markets.
SBC Team Hospitality Party: A hospitality party for the University of South Alabama at the Riverview Plaza Hotel. Attended by the entire team and travel party (approximately 250 individuals) and invited guests and bowl sponsors. The event included a meal, entertainment and activities including player award selections (required by the NCAA), barbers, live DJ, arcade games and billiards.
MAC Team Hospitality Party: A hospitality party for Eastern Michigan at the Battlehouse Hotel. Attended by the entire team and travel party (approximately 250 individuals) and invited guests and bowl sponsors. The event included a meal, entertainment and activities including player award selections (required by the NCAA), barbers, live DJ, arcade games and billiards.
SBC & MAC Beach Day: Both participating teams and travel parties (approximately 500-600 individuals) enjoyed a trip to Dauphin Island where they experienced the white, sandy beaches on the island, and then toured Fort Gaines and the Alabama Aquarium. Lunch was provided before the teams departed the island.
Community Giveback: Both participating institutions sent players into the community to volunteer at area non-profits. These included players boxing food for the holidays at both Prodisee Pantry and Feeding the Gulf Coast and a visit to the residence of Mulherin Home. The greater Mobile community was served through these outreach projects. Events received media coverage on social platforms, print and television in the local markets, as well as the South Alabama and Eastern Michigan markets.
2023 68 Ventures Bowl Events in Review
Flight Works Alabama Tour: A group of players from Eastern Michigan partnered with members of Team Focus to tour and learn about aviation at the interactive museum and learning facility. Approximately 60 individuals attended. This event is part of the bowl’s Community Service Day.
Heritage House Tour:
A group of players went on a tour of the Africatown Heritage House sponsored by the Africatown Heritage Foundation. Inside, the players were able to learn and explore the Clotilda exhibit. Approximately 60 individuals attended this event.
Battleship Tour: Both participating team bands toured the Battleship USS Alabama, Aircraft Pavilion and the USS Drum Submarine. Both participating institutions’ bands were also invited to tour. Approximately 500 guests took part in the tours.
Wives Day Out: The spouses of both participating institutions’ coaching and administrative staff were treated to a champagne luncheon and tour at Mobile’s own Wintzell’s Oyster House.
Official Team Press Conference: Hosted at Hancock Whitney Stadium, both athletic directors and head football coaches, as well as the Mayor of Mobile, addressed print, radio and television media. Media included representatives from both South Alabama and Eastern Michigan markets, as well as the local market.
Parade, Street Party and Pep Rally: The Bowl’s Mardi Gras Parade which draws between 40-60,000 people, the LoDa Street Party and team pep rallies, which all take place the night before the game, are a highlight for our local community as well as the thousands of out-of-town fans from both schools. These events are covered by local and visiting media.
25th Annual
68 Ventures Bowl: The 68 Ventures Bowl game was nationally televised on ESPN, live streamed on ESPN Plus, radio broadcast on SiriusXM satellite Radio (channel 81) on the Audacy, TuneIn Radio, Varsity Network apps for Apple’s iOS and Google’s Andriod platforms, and on radio stations across the U.S. via distribution by the Bowl Season Radio Network and the Westwood One satellite platform.
December 23, 2023
Hancock Whitney Stadium
Final Score: Eastern Michigan 10, South Alabama 59
Game Attendance: 20,926
Gio Lopez, Quarterback - Game MVP:
• 192 Passing Yards
• 3 Touchdowns
• Completed 14 of 19 passes
• 1 Run of 27 yard for a touchdown
• 98 Rushing Yards
Overall Social Media (8/15-1/9):
• Facebook Reach- 140,212
• Instagram Reach- 9,742
• Facebook Likes- 14,979
• Instagram Likes- 8,382
• Shares/Retweets- 900
• Profile Clicks- 2,598
• Twitter Impressions- 235,900
