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Home > Archive > Oct 19, 2006

Dixie Rotary Bowl Transitions to NCAA Division Play
By Doug Radunich
Staff Writer
The Dixie Rotary Bowl Association announced last week the Dixie Rotary Bowl is making a transition from the NJCAA to the higher NCAA Division II.

With this transition, the bowl committee also unveiled a new logo, designed to bring better focus to Rotary International, patriotism and great football.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Dixie State College to have the bowl move to NCAA,” said Dixie Rotary Bowl Vice President of Public Relations Richard Isom. “This is also a great community event because it will get more people out to the games.” 

The history of the Dixie Rotary Bowl goes back to 1985, when St. George Rotary Club President Tom McArthur appointed Randy Wilkinson and Jerry Lewis to serve as a two-man committee for a Rotary project that could further the club's service goals. The bowl was officially sanctioned by the National Junior College Athletics Association in March 1986, and the initial structure of the bowl activities was put into place.

“The Rotary Bowl started 20 years ago as also a community involvement project to help Dixie College evolve into something more,” said Dixie Rotary Bowl Assistant Director Ray Robinson. “We’ve become so big that now we involve teams from all around the country, and we’ve even had times when Dixie didn’t even play.”

In 1986, The Dixie Rotary Bowl became the first sanctioned post-season college bowl game in Utah, and over the past 20 years, it has enjoyed the reputation of being the biggest and best junior college bowl game in the nation. In 2003, the bowl was honored to be the NJCAA 2003 National Championship Football Game.

“Another reason for the name change is the fact that Dixie isn’t a junior college anymore, and we want to keep moving up in the right direction,” Robinson said. “We also have a new motto: ‘Rising to the Challenge.’”  

This year’s bowl will feature the Dixie State College Rebels and the top-ranked team from the RMAC not invited to the Division II football playoffs.

The game is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 2, with a noon kickoff. Events will begin with a welcome banquet on Nov. 30, followed by a traditional golf tournament, 23rd Army Band concert, parade and a tailgate party.

Isom said he hopes the Dixie Rotary Bowl will eventually develop the same distinction in the NCAA as it did in the NJCAA.

“In the future, we hope to be the biggest, or one of the biggest NCAA Division II games in the country,” Isom said.

For more information on the Dixie Rotary Bowl, call Richard Isom at 632-1725, or visit www.rotarybowl.com.

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