Upcoming 68 Ventures Bowl dates
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
What the 68 Ventures Bowl is
The 68 Ventures Bowl is a college football bowl game played every December in Mobile, Alabama, at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the University of South Alabama campus. It matches teams from the Group of Five conferences (the FBS leagues outside the Power Four), most often the Sun Belt Conference and the Mid-American Conference. The 2026 game, the 28th edition, is set for Saturday, December 26, with a 4:30 p.m. Central kickoff on ESPN.
Tie-ins change, so treat any matchup forecast loosely. Wikipedia lists the Sun Belt and the MAC as current partners, while the bowl's own announcement for 2026 names a pool of the Sun Belt, Conference USA and the MAC. The practical result is the same: expect two teams from the Southeast or Midwest, often with a regional fan base that can drive or make a short flight to Mobile.
If the name is unfamiliar, the game probably is not. This is the same bowl many fans still call the GoDaddy Bowl or the LendingTree Bowl. The naming history is explained further down the page.
Hancock Whitney Stadium and where to sit
Hancock Whitney Stadium opened on September 12, 2020, as the home of the South Alabama Jaguars, and it took over the bowl in 2021. It seats 25,450, which makes it one of the smaller stadiums in the bowl lineup. That size is the main thing to understand before buying: there are no truly distant seats, and the top rows of the sideline stands are closer to the field than the middle rows of most 60,000-seat stadiums.
How to choose a section
- Sideline seats between the 30-yard lines give the best view of both offenses and the clearest look at the video board. They carry the strongest demand.
- Upper rows on the sidelines are the value pick. Height helps you read plays as they develop, and the stadium is too compact for those rows to feel remote.
- End zone and corner seats usually cost the least. They work well for fans who want to sit with their team's band and student section and do not mind judging yardage from behind the play.
- Premium spaces include 11 suites, 42 loge boxes and a terrace standing area with drink rails, according to stadium descriptions. These suit groups more than fans focused on the game itself.
Sitting with your team
In a stadium this size, the two fan bases tend to cluster near their bands and team benches. If you care about sitting among your own fans, check which sideline each team is assigned once the matchup is announced, which usually happens in early December after conference championship weekend.
Kickoff times, weather and timing your purchase
The kickoff slot moves from year to year. The 2025 game was played on a Wednesday night, December 17, at 7:30 p.m. Central, while the 2026 game moves to the day after Christmas with a late-afternoon start. A late-afternoon game in Mobile can begin in daylight and finish under the lights, so a layer for the second half makes sense even on the Gulf Coast.
Demand follows the matchup. Before teams are selected, listings reflect only general interest. Once the pairings are announced, prices tend to rise for matchups with a short drive to Mobile or a large traveling fan base, and soften for teams coming from far away. A team with a big alumni presence along the Gulf Coast can tighten the sideline inventory quickly. Because the stadium is small, the best sideline seats are the first to thin out.
Bowl week in Mobile
Mobile treats the game as part of its parade calendar. For the 2025 game, the city's visitor bureau described a downtown parade the night before kickoff as Mobile's largest Mardi Gras parade, followed by a pep rally with both teams' bands and cheerleaders. Expect floats, marching bands and a crowd lining the downtown streets.
On game day the bowl runs a pregame street party in the stadium parking area. In 2025 the schedule included a Kidzone, a player parade (the teams walking through the crowd to the stadium) and a battle of the bands. A separate, ticketed tailgate package was also sold through a third-party tailgate company. Event names and times change each year, so confirm the current schedule on the bowl's site.
The bowl also runs community programs through the year, including a flag football tournament, youth sports clinics, a student art contest and a county spelling bee.
Parking, entry and game day rules
Hancock Whitney Stadium sits on the west side of Mobile at 500 Stadium Drive, inside the University of South Alabama campus, rather than downtown. Plan on driving or using a rideshare.
- Parking: For the 2025 game, lots were grouped by campus entry. Lots off John Counts Drive and Stadium Drive required advance purchase, lots off Jaguar Boulevard were sold on game day, and a set of free lots off USA South Drive had no shuttle service. RV and bus parking had to be bought in advance.
- Bags: As of the 2025 game, the stadium allowed clear plastic bags up to 12 by 6 by 12 inches, one-gallon clear zip-top bags and small clutches up to 4.5 by 6.5 inches, plus medical and diaper bags. Backpacks, coolers and large purses were not allowed.
- Payment: The stadium is cashless. Parking, concessions and merchandise are card or mobile pay only.
- Tailgating: Glass containers and open fires were prohibited in the lots in 2025.
These rules can change from season to season. Check the bowl's game day page for the current parking map and policies before you go.
History and the naming-sponsor story
The game began on December 22, 1999, as the Mobile Alabama Bowl, when TCU beat East Carolina 28 to 14 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, a city-owned stadium that opened in 1948. It stayed at Ladd-Peebles through the 2020 game before moving to the new campus stadium in 2021, the same year the Senior Bowl made the move.
Six names in 27 years
- Mobile Alabama Bowl (1999): the original, unsponsored name.
- GMAC Bowl (2000 to 2010): the longest-running sponsor, the auto finance company GMAC.
- GoDaddy Bowl (2011 to 2015): the web hosting company, whose name many fans still use.
- Dollar General Bowl (2016 to 2018): the discount retailer.
- LendingTree Bowl (2019 to 2022): the online lending marketplace. For several months of 2019 the game briefly went back to the Mobile Alabama Bowl name before LendingTree signed.
- 68 Ventures Bowl (2023 to present): the current title sponsor.
The schedule shifted along with the names. From the 2006 through 2014 games, the bowl was played in early January. It returned to December in 2015.
Notable games
The 2001 game remains the reference point. Marshall, led by quarterback Byron Leftwich and his 576 passing yards, came back from a 38 to 8 deficit to beat East Carolina 64 to 61 in double overtime, one of the highest-scoring bowl games on record. At the other extreme, Tulsa beat Bowling Green 63 to 7 in the January 2008 game. In the most recent edition, on December 17, 2025, Delaware beat Louisiana 20 to 13.
Travel tips for out-of-town fans
- Stay downtown for bowl week, west Mobile for convenience. Downtown puts you near the bowl-week parade and pep rally. Hotels in west Mobile are a shorter drive to the stadium on game day.
- Arrive early if you are parking. The pregame street party and the free lots fill well before kickoff, and the campus roads funnel into a few entrances.
- Build in a day for the bay. Popular stops include the USS Alabama battleship memorial, the Mobile Carnival Museum and the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf.
- Buy with confidence. Every GoodSeats order is backed by a 100% guarantee, so a resale seat for a December bowl is covered if something goes wrong with the order.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 68 Ventures Bowl the same game as the LendingTree Bowl and the GoDaddy Bowl?
Yes. It is one bowl that has changed title sponsors several times: the GMAC Bowl from 2000 to 2010, the GoDaddy Bowl from 2011 to 2015, the Dollar General Bowl from 2016 to 2018, the LendingTree Bowl from 2019 to 2022 and the 68 Ventures Bowl since 2023.
When is the 2026 68 Ventures Bowl?
The 28th edition is scheduled for Saturday, December 26, 2026, with a 4:30 p.m. Central kickoff on ESPN at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile.
How big is Hancock Whitney Stadium?
It seats 25,450. Because it is compact, even the upper sideline rows feel close to the field, and they are often the best value.
Which conferences play in the 68 Ventures Bowl?
The game draws from Group of Five conferences. Wikipedia lists the Sun Belt and the MAC as tie-ins, and the bowl named the Sun Belt, Conference USA and the MAC as the pool for 2026. Tie-ins change, so check the matchup once teams are announced in early December.
Can I bring a bag into the 68 Ventures Bowl?
As of the 2025 game, only clear bags up to 12 by 6 by 12 inches, one-gallon clear zip-top bags, small clutches and medical or diaper bags were allowed. The stadium is also cashless. Check the bowl's game day page for the current rules.
Where should I park for the 68 Ventures Bowl?
Parking is on the University of South Alabama campus. In 2025 some lots required advance purchase, some were sold on game day and a group of lots off USA South Drive was free without a shuttle. Buy parking early if you want a lot close to the stadium.