Seven Independence Bowl Alumni Head to Super Bowl LVII

SHREVEPORT, La. – The Philadelphia Eagles are set to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII on February 12, and seven players between the two rosters will represent the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl. Chiefs’ head coach Andy Reid is also an Independence Bowl alum himself.

Before his long, successful coaching career in the NFL, Reid cut his teeth in college football. He was the offensive line coach for the UTEP Miners in the 1988 Independence Bowl – facing off against Brett Favre’s Southern Miss team.

Seven Different Independence Bowl Teams Represented

Between Reid and the seven former Independence Bowl players set to play in Super Bowl LVII, seven different colleges are represented – Louisiana Tech being the only former Independence Bowl school with two representatives. UTEP (1988), Miami (2014), South Carolina (2014), Florida State (2017), Southern Miss (2017), Duke (2018) and Louisiana Tech (2019) are the former I-Bowl teams represented on the Eagles and Chiefs.

Chiefs Start Three Independence Bowl Alumni

Of the seven players, three of them are starters – all three on the Chiefs. Tight end Noah Gray (Duke, 2018), defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (Florida State, 2017) and defensive back L’Jarius Sneed (Louisiana Tech, 2019) all start for Kansas City. Sneed left the game with an injury in the first quarter of the AFC Championship Game, so his status for the Super Bowl is uncertain. In total, the Chiefs have four Independence Bowl alumni on the defensive side of the ball.

Recent Conference USA Teams Represented on Eagles

Both Eagles’ Independence Bowl representatives hail from schools that played in the I-Bowl under the C-USA flag – wide receiver Quez Watkins (Southern Miss, 2017) and Milton Williams (Louisiana Tech, 2019).

ABOUT THE RADIANCE TECHNOLOGIES INDEPENDENCE BOWL™

Established in 1976, the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl™ is college football’s 11th most-historic bowl game – celebrating its 47th edition in 2023. The Houston Cougars defeated the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 23-16 in the 46th playing of the bowl in 2022. The Independence Bowl Foundation announced a one-year extension with Radiance Technologies – ensuring they will be the title sponsor through 2025. The bowl’s conference, team, and television agreements also run through the 2025 season. Army West Point and BYU are slated to match up against a rotation of the Pac-12 Conference, American Athletic Conference and Conference USA, which will be televised on an ESPN network.

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.