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Background
In 1983 the ECAC introduced two bowl games to give Division 3 football programs in the east a chance for post-season competition beyond the eight-team NCAA tournament. It proved successful and by 2002 had expanded to six games, with two more possible if there were enough qualifying teams.
Changing the format in 2015 so all the teams played at a single site over three days, instead of campus sites on Saturday afternoon, proved to be unpopular. The games returned to campus sites in 2018, but with only four played, at this point many conferences had decided to sponsor bowls outside the ECAC structure (New England Bowl Series, New York Bowl and the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series).
Timeline
| SEASONS | BOWLS |
|---|---|
| 1983 | First games played, one game in each the north and south regions at campus sites.
|
| 1984-1990 | Games renamed.
|
| 1991-2001 | Expanded to two games per region.
|
| 2002-2014 | Expanded to three games per region, with an additional game per region if deemed warranted.
|
| 2015-2016 | Format and names changed. Six games are played over three days at a neutral site.
|
| 2017 | Reduction to four games at a neutral site.
|
| Since 2018 | Return to campus sites for games.
|
| 2020 | Bowls canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| 2022 | Clayton Chapman Bowl (Westminster at Brockport) canceled due to inclement weather. |