Army West Point Accepts Invitation to 2020 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl

Photo courtesy of Army West Point Athletics

The Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl extended the first bowl invitation of the 2020-2021 Bowl Season to Army West Point on Saturday, and the Black Knights accepted the bid – securing their first trip to Shreveport since 1996.

“We want to thank the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, Chairman Frank Auer and the entire bowl committee for this incredible opportunity to play in this outstanding bowl game,” said Army West Point Director of Athletics Mike Buddie.  “We are very excited to accept the first bowl invitation of the 2020-2021 season and to make our first trip to Shreveport since 1996.”

The invitation extended from the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, which was subsequently accepted by the Army West Point Black Knights, is the first bowl invitation of the 2020 Bowl Season. The Black Knights have enjoyed a great start to their seventh season under head coach Jeff Monken, as they now sport a 6-1 record after a 49-3 win over the Mercer Bears on Saturday. Army has four games remaining on their 2020 football schedule. The 2020 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl will be their fourth bowl game in the Monken era and their fourth in the last five years.

“We are absolutely delighted to extend a bowl invitation to the Army West Point Black Knights football team,” remarked 2020 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Chairman Frank Auer. “The Independence Bowl celebrates the independence and freedoms we enjoy in America, and we are well aware that those freedoms are protected by our Army and the other armed forces. We deeply appreciate the role they play in our national landscape and will roll out the red carpet for them for their trip to Shreveport.”

The Black Knights are slated to face an opponent from the Pac-12 Conference, who will begin their truncated football season on Saturday, November 7. This year is the first of three primary tie-ins with Army and the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl over the next six years, as the bowl and university reached an agreement for a primary tie-in for the years 2020, 2022 and 2024. Army has only one previous Independence Bowl appearance in their program’s history – a 32-29 loss to the Auburn Tigers in 1996. The Black Knights are off to their best start since they began that historic 1996 season with nine consecutive victories.

2020 is the 45th anniversary of the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, and the game will be broadcast on an ESPN network for the 29th consecutive year. ESPN and the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl recently announced a six-year extension to televise the game from 2020 through 2025. The date and time of the 2020 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl will be announced at a later date.

ABOUT THE RADIANCE TECHNOLOGIES INDEPENDENCE BOWL:

The Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl – college football’s 11th-oldest bowl game – will play its 45th edition in 2020, and the game is slated to feature a matchup of Army West Point against a team from the Pac-12 Conference. Louisiana Tech recorded the first shutout in the game’s history with a 14-0 victory over Miami in the 44th Independence Bowl on December 26, 2019. The Independence Bowl Foundation announced a five-year agreement with Radiance Technologies to be the game’s title sponsor on April 21, 2020 and announced new primary agreements in January 2020 that will bring a rotation of Army West Point and BYU to Shreveport to face off against a rotation of the Pac-12 Conference, American Athletic Conference and Conference USA.

The Independence Bowl Foundation is prevalent in the Shreveport-Bossier City area throughout the year, hosting events to help enhance the economic impact and growth of our community. The Mission of the Independence Bowl is to attract and provide quality, nationally recognized football competition oriented to the Ark-La-Tex region. For more information, visit RadianceTechnologiesIndependenceBowl.com or follow the bowl on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @IndyBowl.