The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City (New Jersey) Convention Hall in 1964. Since 1965, the game has been held at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee . Because of the scheduling of the bowl game near the end of the calendar year, no game was played during calendar years 2008 or 2015, while two games were played in calendar years 2010 and 2016.
44-600: Since 2004, the game has been sponsored by Memphis-based auto parts retailer AutoZone and officially known as the AutoZone Liberty Bowl . Previous sponsors include St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (1993–1996) and AXA Financial (1997–2003). A. F. "Bud" Dudley, a former Villanova athletic director , created the Liberty Bowl in Philadelphia in 1959. The game was played at Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium . It
88-578: A computer database. In 1994, AutoZone began using satellites to facilitate communication between stores and the corporate office. Sales hit $ 1.5 billion. In 1995, AutoZone opened its 1,000th store in Louisville, Kentucky . Also, the Duralast trademark made its debut with the Duralast and Duralast Gold batteries. Total of stores is now 1,143 in 26 states. 1996 was the year when the Internet era arrived at
132-564: A computerized store management system (SMS). The Duralast battery line consisting of Sub-Zero, Desert, and long life was released. The total number of stores was 513 in 17 states. In 1991, its stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange using the ticker symbol "AZO." It opened up at $ 27.50 a share. The fifth DC opens in Lafayette, Louisiana . The company also became the first auto parts retailer to register customer warranties in
176-449: A day. The entire process cost about $ 16,000. End zones were only 8 yards long, rather than the regulation 10 yards. 6,059 fans saw Utah rout West Virginia , 32–6. Dudley was paid $ 25,000 from Atlantic City businessmen, $ 60,000 from the gate, and $ 95,000 from television revenues, and cleared $ 10,000 net profit. In 1965, Dudley moved the game to Memphis, Tennessee , where it made its home at Memphis Memorial Stadium to much larger crowds;
220-560: A district manager had told an employee to remove a flag displayed on the company's premises for the sake of improved diversity. AutoZone denies that and claimed that it was the poor means by which the flag was put up, with duct tape and suction cups. In June 2019 AutoZone entered into an $ 11 million settlement against with the State of California to resolve allegations that the company had violated state laws governing hazardous waste, hazardous materials, and confidential consumer information. AutoZone
264-508: A process of internationalization with their first store abroad, which opened in Nuevo Laredo , Mexico. AutoZone closed the 1990s by debuting at the Fortune 500 list in 1999. Steve Odland became AutoZone's third CEO in 2001. Also in 2001, AutoZone sold TruckPro to Paratus Capital Management. In 2002, AutoZone developed a network of "hub, feeder, and satellite" stores to have more product in
308-421: A quality control program for its parts. Total stores were 194 in 13 states. In 1985, Doc Crain coined the term WITTDTJR, which stands for "What it takes to do the job right." The total store count is 263 in 14 states. Peter Formanek stepped in as president. He oversaw the auto parts firm's daily operations and worked on growth strategy. By 1986, expansion had made the company grow into a large store chain across
352-699: A team from the SEC against the fourth pick from the Big 12 Conference . The Liberty Bowl is part of a six-bowl SEC pool arrangement that also involves the Duke's Mayo (formerly Belk) in odd-numbered years or the Las Vegas in even-numbered years, Music City , ReliaQuest , Gator , and Texas bowls; these bowls will choose one representative from the conference each, while the College Football Playoff receiving first choice (usually
396-631: Is an AGM line of batteries. AutoZone also sells tools under the Duralast brand which carry a lifetime warranty. Brake pad labels include (ranging from least to most expensive): Valucraft pads are being phased out, as of early 2015. Duralast GT Street pads introduced early 2018. The Valucraft, Duralast, and Duralast Gold names are used on various other parts and accessories as well. Duralast Elite pads were first trademarked and began being introduced to select markets in early 2020. AutoZone's 7,140 retail outlets as of August 26, 2023 throughout
440-417: Is charged with illegally disposing of millions of hazardous waste items, including used motor oil and automotive fluids, at landfills not authorized to accept hazardous waste. 35°08′32″N 90°03′22″W / 35.14231°N 90.05614°W / 35.14231; -90.05614 2011 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team The 2011 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented
484-685: The C-USA Championship Game to become conference champions. They were invited to the Hawaii Bowl , where they defeated Nevada , 24–17. Fedora resigned at the end of the regular season to become the head coach at North Carolina . He stayed on and coached the Golden Eagles in the Hawaii Bowl and finished at Southern Miss with a four-year record of 34–19. South Carolina assistant head coach Ellis Johnson took over as head coach in 2012. During
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#1732852447507528-625: The George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul . In early Jan 2024 Phillip Daniele, was promoted to CEO. AutoZone is incorporated in the state of Nevada . Since October 1995, AutoZone has been headquartered in its J.R. Hyde, III Store Support Center (SSC), a 270,000-square-foot (25,000 m ), eight-story building in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee . As of 2013 there were over 1,200 employees there. The project manager of
572-471: The Independence Bowl before it was cancelled due to a lack of available teams, was named as their replacement. In the 2022 matchup, Kansas made their first bowl game appearance in 14 years, against Arkansas . The Razorbacks took an early 38–13 lead in the game. The Jayhawks then scored 25 unanswered points to send the game into overtime. The teams traded touchdowns in the first and second overtime. In
616-894: The NASCAR Busch Series . AutoZone holds the naming rights to the downtown Memphis baseball stadium that is the home of the Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League . The company also sponsors the AutoZone Liberty Bowl . The AutoZone Liberty Bowl, alongside the College Football Playoff Foundation donated $ 250,136.03 to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital . The AutoZone Liberty Bowl awarded 2018's Distinguished Citizen Award to Priscilla Presley . They are an official sponsor of Bellator MMA ,
660-550: The Sugar Bowl in years it does not serve as a national semifinal) and the Citrus Bowl second choice. The game is televised nationally on ESPN , and is carried nationwide by ESPN Radio , and internationally by ESPN International . The 2010 win by UCF was the program's first-ever bowl victory. The 2011 game matched Coaches' Poll 24th-ranked Cincinnati against upstart Vanderbilt , and unlike most lower tier bowls, it aired on
704-593: The US Virgin Islands . The company is based in Memphis, Tennessee . Originally a division of Memphis-based wholesale grocer Malone & Hyde, the company was known as Auto Shack. After the sale of the grocery operation to the Fleming Companies of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma , the name of the company was changed to AutoZone to better reflect the company focus just prior to the company going public. On July 4, 1979,
748-567: The University of Southern Mississippi in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Golden Eagles were led by fourth-year head coach Larry Fedora and played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium . They are a member of the East Division of Conference USA . They finished the season 12–2, 7–2 in C-USA play. They were champions of the East Division and defeated undefeated Houston , 49–28, in
792-552: The 1981 through 1989 games, including USA Network , Katz Broadcasting , and Raycom . Since 1990, the game has been broadcast predominantly by ESPN , with some editions on ABC . AutoZone AutoZone, Inc. is an American retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories, the largest in the United States . Founded in 1979, AutoZone has 7,140 stores across the United States, Mexico , Puerto Rico , Brazil , and
836-518: The ADAP Discount Auto Parts and Auto Palace nameplates respectively, both being auto parts chains in the northeastern United States with 112 stores, TruckPro L.P., a chain with 43 stores in 14 states, and the 560-store Chief Auto Parts Inc., a chain with a presence in 5 states. At the commencement of fiscal 1999, AutoZone made another acquisition by purchasing 100 Express stores from The Pep Boys—Manny, Moe & Jack . The company began
880-573: The December 2023 edition (65 games, 130 total appearances). As of 2023, every SEC member except Florida has played in the game. Every current, former or future Big 12 member except Oklahoma and Texas have played in the game. A majority of teams that are members of the Power Five conferences have appeared in the game. Source: The earliest editions of the bowl were broadcast by NBC (1959–1963) and ABC (1964–1980). Several different networks carried
924-466: The Liberty Bowl. Though the bowl normally selects a team from the SEC, it invited Iowa State because the SEC did not have enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all of its contracted bowl games. In 2020, after a matchup of West Virginia and Tennessee was announced on December 20, the Tennessee program had to withdraw on December 21 due to positive COVID-19 testing. Army , who had accepted an invitation to
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#1732852447507968-403: The SEC. The American was to provide its fifth-place team as an alternate if the SEC could not provide a team. The SEC was also given veto power for the bowl, and elected to use it in 2011 to block C-USA champion Southern Miss from playing Vanderbilt ; instead, Cincinnati got the spot and Southern Miss accepted an invitation to the 2011 Hawaii Bowl instead. Since 2014, the matchup features
1012-676: The South and the Midwest. That year, Darren Reltherford, manager of Auto Shack's Memphis, Tennessee store, received the first Extra Miler award, which has since been given to AutoZoners who show their dedication to customer satisfaction by "going the extra mile" for customer service. The Duralast line of alternators and starters was released. The Loan-A-Tool program began allowing customers to borrow specific tools for jobs. The fourth distribution center in Greenville, South Carolina opened. The total number of stores
1056-455: The United States, Mexico and Brazil stock a variety of aftermarket parts as well as some OEM parts. All AutoZone stores are corporately owned; the company does not have franchise operations. In 2004, AutoZone celebrated its 25th anniversary and announced a corporate sponsorship agreement with auto racing association NASCAR . In 2007, AutoZone sponsored Kevin Harvick and Timothy Peters in
1100-554: The broadcast network ABC rather than its cable brethren ESPN . Cincinnati defeated Vanderbilt in a second-half comeback. The 2012 Liberty Bowl featured an unusual rematch of a regular season game between the Iowa State Cyclones (9th place in the Big 12 ) and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (C-USA champions). Iowa State had defeated Tulsa, 38–23, in the season's first weekend, however Tulsa defeated Iowa State, 31–17, in
1144-457: The building's construction was Rob Norcross, a principal at LRK Inc. The building has the capability to withstand a 9.0 magnitude earthquake because it has a special base isolation system that had a price tag of $ 950,000. Valucraft, Duralast, and Duralast Gold are AutoZone's private label brands for lead-acid automotive batteries (manufactured primarily by Johnson Controls , but also East Penn, Exide, and other manufacturers). Duralast Platinum
1188-534: The company, when AutoZone opened its company Web site. The new commercial program debuted in Germantown, Tennessee . ALLDATA , a software company based in Elk Grove, California that provides automotive diagnostic and repair information, was acquired. Company founder Pitt Hyde retired as chairman and CEO in 1997. John Adams became the new chairman and CEO. In 1998, AutoZone acquired ADAP Inc, who had stores under
1232-408: The first major (University Division, now Division I ) bowl game played indoors. AstroTurf was still in its developmental stages and was unavailable for the game. Convention Hall was equipped with a 4-inch-thick (100 mm) grass surface with 2 inches (51 mm) of burlap underneath it (as padding) on top of concrete. To keep the grass growing, artificial lighting was installed and kept on 24 hours
1276-458: The first store opened in Forrest City, Arkansas under the name of Auto Shack. Doc Crain was the store's first manager. Sales that first day totaled $ 300.00. In 1981, Express Parts or VDP was implemented to get the customers hard to find parts by special ordering them through wholesalers. The total stores were 73 in 7 states. In 1984, the company became the first auto parts retailer to create
1320-571: The largest retailer of automotive parts in North America for three consecutive years. As of August 2017, AutoZone had 5,465 locations in the United States, 524 locations in Mexico, and 46 locations in Brazil, for a total of 6,035. On October 22, 2018, Pitt Hyde announced that he would be stepping down from AutoZone's board of directors. In late May 2020, two AutoZone stores were destroyed by arson during
1364-403: The limited success of service academy football during this era, the only academy to appear in the Liberty Bowl as a result of this arrangement was Air Force , which appeared in four consecutive games, 1989–1992. Beginning in 1996, the Liberty Bowl began an affiliation with the newly launched Conference USA (C-USA), offering its champion an automatic bid. Beginning in 2005, the winner of C-USA
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1408-727: The losing team was Kwame Ellis of Stanford in 1995. Quarterback Rob Perez of Air Force was named MVP twice, in 1990 and 1991. Source: † indicates the MVP played on the losing team Updated through the December 2023 edition (65 games, 130 total appearances). Won (12): Baylor , Cincinnati , Georgia Tech , Indiana , Kentucky , Nebraska , Notre Dame , Oklahoma State , Oregon State , Purdue , Texas Tech , USC Lost (15): Army , Boise State , Boston College , Fresno State , Maryland , Michigan State , Minnesota , North Carolina , Oregon , Pittsburgh , Rice , Stanford , UCLA , Vanderbilt , Villanova Source: Updated through
1452-455: The market area, while reducing inventory investment. Sales hit $ 5.33 billion. In 2003, the Duralast tool line was introduced. This was a year of important negotiations for AutoZone, as the company partnered with other important auto parts industry companies, such as CarMax and Midas. AutoZone de Mexico opens the first DC in Nuevo Laredo , Mexico. Total stores number 3,219 in 48 states and 49 in Mexico. In 2004, founder J.R. "Pitt" Hyde III
1496-524: The opponent for the C-USA champion was the Mountain West champion. There were two exceptions: In 1999, the Mountain West Conference did not have an outright champion, as three teams tied for the conference lead. The conference's bid for the game was given to Colorado State . The bowl's contract from 2006 until 2013 pitted the winner of the C-USA championship game against the eighth pick from
1540-585: The third overtime, with teams alternating two-point conversion attempts per NCAA overtime rules, the Razorbacks scored on their attempt and stopped the Jayhawks' attempt, resulting in a 55–53 Arkansas win. Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels set a Kansas single-game record and a Liberty Bowl record for passing yards, with 544. The first five editions (1959–1963) were played in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . The 1964 game
1584-459: The venue was renamed as Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in December 1975. Having been played every college football season since 1959, the game has established itself as one of the oldest non- New Year's Six bowls. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Liberty Bowl offered an automatic invitation to the winner of the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy , if that team was bowl eligible . Due to
1628-460: The verdict. The Wall Street Journal ' s Jacob Gershman suggested that the verdict would be scaled back, noting that the jury verdict is not the end-all be-all. A Georgia woman was fired after a customer insulted her and used multiple racial epithets against her. She alleges that the district manager told her to "suck it up," and she is filing a lawsuit against AutoZone for violating her civil rights. AutoZone came under fire from allegations that
1672-411: The world's second largest Mixed Martial Arts promotion. AutoZone paid $ 3.3 million to settle a lawsuit by the families of a family who was killed due to being rear-ended by an AutoZone-owned truck. The suit alleges that AutoZone was negligent in training the driver of the truck. AutoZone faced a lawsuit for gender discrimination in which the plaintiff alleged that men treated her differently when she
1716-467: Was 339 in 15 states. In 1986, Auto Shack was sued by Radio Shack for trademark infringement. In 1987 Auto Shack announced plans to change its name to AutoZone. The first AutoZone store was in Enid, Oklahoma . That year also, the company introduced WITT-JR, an electronic catalog used to look up parts and keep warranty information. The total number of stores was 459 in 16 states. In 1989, the company began using
1760-672: Was determined by the newly created C-USA championship game . The winner of that game was customarily offered the bowl berth from 2005 to 2013. In 1996 and 1997, the opponent for the C-USA champion was a team from the Big East . In 1998, the Liberty Bowl replaced the Holiday Bowl in a shared contract with the Cotton Bowl and had second choice between the WAC champion and a team from the SEC . From 1999 to 2005,
1804-1170: Was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. In 2005, William C. Rhodes III was named president and CEO. Steve Odland left to become the chairman and CEO of Office Depot . In 2007, Bill Rhodes, then 42, was named chairman, president and chief executive officer of AutoZone, Inc. on June 6. In 2008, AutoZone opened their 4,000th store in Houston , Texas . Sales hit $ 6.2 billion. On December 15, 2011, ALLDATA LLC , an operating unit of AutoZone, expanded its direct presence in Canada to better serve its growing customer base. On August 17, 2012, AutoZone expanded into their 49th state Alaska by opening their 5,000th store in Wasilla, Alaska . In 2012 AutoZone opened their first store in Brazil. In December 2012, AutoZone purchased AutoAnything.com, an e-commerce leader in aftermarket automotive parts based in San Diego, California . By April 2017, AutoZone had been
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1848-511: Was played in Atlantic City, New Jersey . All subsequent editions have been played in Memphis, Tennessee . Rankings are based on the AP Poll prior to the game being played. Source: The bowl has named a single MVP for each game, since inception. In nine instances, the MVP has played on the losing team, including four instances in a seven-game span during 1977–1983. The most recent MVP to play on
1892-557: Was promoted and that she feared revealing a pregnancy to her superior. When the pregnancy was discovered, she alleges that her district manager pressured her to step down from her position. She was demoted in February 2006 and fired in November 2011. The jury on the case ruled in 2014 in favor of the plaintiff, awarding her $ 185 million in punitive damages as well as approximately $ 873,000 in back wages. AutoZone has announced its intention to appeal
1936-431: Was the only cold-weather bowl game of its time, and was plagued by poor attendance. The first game was the most successful of the five held in Philadelphia, as 38,000 fans watched Penn State beat Alabama , 7–0, in the bowl's inaugural edition . A group of Atlantic City businessmen convinced Dudley to move his game from Philadelphia to Atlantic City's Convention Hall for 1964 and guaranteed Dudley $ 25,000. It would be
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