College Football Bowl Participation Streaks

Seventy FBS schools participated in 35 bowl games at the end of the 2011 season.
Western Kentucky (7-5) did not get a bowl bid.
Instead, UCLA (6-7) received special permission to participate in a bowl even though not eligible.
Following is a list of schools with the number of consecutive bowl game appearances in parentheses:

Florida State (30)
Florida (21)
Virginia Tech (19)
Georgia, Georgia Tech (15)
Oklahoma (13)
LSU, Ohio State (12)
Boise State, Southern Mississippi, West Virginia, Wisconsin (10)
Utah (9)
Alabama (8)
Brigham Young, Clemson, Missouri, Nevada, Oregon, Penn State, Texas Christian (7)
Oklahoma State (6)
Air Force, Michigan State (5)

The following schools have been to bowls in four consecutive years:
Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Pittsburgh, South Carolina

The following schools have been to bowls in three consecutive years:
Arkansas, Auburn, Ohio, SMU, Stanford, Texas A&M

The following schools went to bowls after the 2010 and 2011 seasons, but not 2009:
Baylor, Florida International, Illinois, Kansas State, Louisville, Michigan, Mississippi State,
N.C. State, Notre Dame, San Diego State, Toledo, Tulsa, Washington

That takes care of the 50 schools who sent teams to bowl games in both 2010 and 2011.
The following ten schools went bowling in 2009 and 2011, but not 2010 (missed one year):
California, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, Marshall, Rutgers, Temple, Texas, UCLA, Wyoming

Listed below are the other ten schools who were in a 2011 bowl, but who did not go bowling the year before,
with the number of years missing a bowl appearance in parentheses. (Note: If a school's last bowl appearance
was N years ago, then that school has played N–1 seasons without a bowl appearance.)

Louisiana Tech, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Western Michigan (2)
Arizona State, Purdue, Virginia (3)
Arkansas State (5)
Utah State (13 years, 1997 Humanitarian Bowl)
Louisiana (40 years, 1970 Grantland Rice Bowl)

Those are the 70 schools participating in 2011 bowls, leaving 50 schools who did not.
The following 20 schools went to a bowl at the end of the 2010 season, but not 2011:
Boston College (ended 12-year streak), Texas Tech (ended 11-year streak),
Navy (ended 8-year streak), South Florida (six years), East Carolina, Kentucky (five years),
Connecticut, Fresno State (four years), Arizona, Miami-Florida, Troy (three years),
Central Florida, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee (two years),
Army, Hawai'i, Maryland, Miami-Ohio, Syracuse, UTEP

The following schools went to a bowl at the end of the 2009 season, but not since then:
Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Idaho, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oregon State, Southern Cal
The following schools went to a bowl at the end of the 2008 season, but not since then:
Ball State, Buffalo, Colorado State, Florida Atlantic, Kansas, Memphis, Rice
The following schools went to a bowl at the end of the 2007 season, but not since then:
Colorado, Indiana, New Mexico
The following schools went bowling sometime during 2001-2006, but not since then:
San Jose State (2006), Akron (2005), North Texas, UAB (2004), Washington State (2003), Tulane (2002)

That leaves 7 FBS schools who have yet to go bowling in the 21st century.
It has ten years or more since the following teams have been to a bowl:
UNLV (2000), Duke (1995), Eastern Michigan (1987)
The following teams haven't been to a bowl in over 25 years:
Kent State, New Mexico State, Western Kentucky
The following school, currently playing at the FBS level, has never been to a bowl:
Louisiana-Monroe (formerly Northeastern Lousiana State)

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