I-Bowl’s 50th anniversary celebration begins to recognize game’s best players
JOURNAL SPORTS
With such a rich history over 50 years, the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl is about to begin to celebrate the stars who have come through Independence Stadium throughout the first 49 years of the game and helped fans create the memories they still talk about.
The bowl will begin to reveal the top 50 players in the game’s history on Monday, counting down from 50 until unveiling the top player in the history of college football’s 11th-oldest bowl game.
The list of the top 50 all-time players was compiled by a committee that included local media members and Independence Bowl representatives. Players were nominated and evaluated based on the following criteria:
- 40 percent weight based on their Independence Bowl performance(s)
- 30 percent based on their college career and accolades
- 30 percent based on their pro career and accomplishments
The top 50 players will be released in groups of five every Monday and Thursday through July 23. Afterward the top 20 will be revealed one-by-one every Monday (except for Labor Day) until the player chosen as the bowl’s best all-time figure is announced Dec. 7.
The committee that nominated players for the All-Time Team and ranked them 1-50 consisted of local media members and two Independence Bowl representatives. The full panel:
- Alex Anderson – KTBS 3
- Chris Burns – KTAL News
- Chris Demirdjian – KSLA News 12
- Erik Evenson – Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
- Tim Fletcher – The Tim Fletcher Show
- Pesky Hill – Independence Bowl Foundation
- Doug Ireland – Shreveport Bossier Journal
- Roy Lang III – The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate
- Jimmy Watson – Shreveport Times