Myrtle Beach Bowl
Myrtle Beach Bowl presented by Engine
Stadium	Brooks Stadium
Location	Conway, South Carolina
Operated	2020–present
Conference tie-ins	Conference USA Mid-American Conference Sun Belt Conference
Website	myrtlebeachbowlgame.com
Sponsors
Engine (2025–present)
2025 matchup
Kennesaw State vs. Western Michigan (Western Michigan 41–6)

The Myrtle Beach Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football bowl game first played in December 2020 in the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area. Coastal Carolina University hosts the game at its Brooks Stadium in Conway, South Carolina, which has a capacity of 20,000 seats following an expansion project completed prior to the 2019 season.^[1]

Owned by ESPN Events, the bowl has tie-ins with Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference and the Sun Belt Conference.^[2] The affiliation contract with ESPN Events has each conference supplying a team four times in a six-year bowl cycle from 2020 to 2025.^[3] The Myrtle Beach Bowl is one of three contemporary bowl games that have never released payout totals for the teams involved in the game (the Fenway Bowl and the LA Bowl are the others).

History

In 2013, "Group of Five" conferences were looking to start bowl games for their leagues, as the Power Five conferences "prefer to play each other in bowl games".^[4] The NCAA had a restriction on championship games, including bowl games, being held in South Carolina due to display of the Confederate flag on State House grounds, which was lifted in July 2015.^[5] Organizers for the Medal of Honor Bowl, an all-star game, announced their intent to apply for NCAA sanctioning as a traditional postseason bowl game featuring FBS college teams, with a tentative game date of December 18, 2016.^[6] However, in April 2016, the NCAA announced a three-year moratorium on new bowl games.^[7]

In June 2018, the NCAA indicated that the Grand Strand area was approved for a bowl game.^[5] The Myrtle Beach Bowl was subsequently announced on November 13, 2018, by ESPN Events,^[8] with tie-ins to three conferences: the Sun Belt Conference, Conference USA (C-USA), and Mid-American Conference (MAC).^[9] During 2017–18 bowl season, there had been three teams that were bowl eligible but did not go to a bowl, as all slots were filled: Western Michigan and Buffalo from the MAC, and UTSA from C-USA.^[3]

The bowl made its debut as part of the 2020–21 bowl season, matching North Texas of C-USA and Appalachian State of the Sun Belt.^[10]

On November 6, 2025, Engine, a business and group travel platform, signed on a sponsor of the game, officially named the Myrtle Beach Bowl presented by Engine.^[11]

Game results

MVPs

Appearances by team

Updated through the December 2025 edition (6 games, 12 total appearances).

Teams with a single appearance

Won (6): Appalachian State, Marshall, Ohio, Tulsa, UTSA, Western Michigan
Lost (6): Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Kennesaw State, North Texas, Old Dominion, UConn

Appearances by conference

Updated through the December 2025 edition (6 games, 12 total appearances).

Independent appearances: UConn (2022)

Media coverage

The bowl has been televised by ESPN since its inception.

Game records

Updated through the December 2024 game.

References

External links

• Official website