79th Annual Shrine Bowl
* A Carolinas’ tradition of overflowing generosity and unequaled athletic excellence, the annual Shrine Bowl game is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious high school football all-star game in America. The Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas is played to benefit the Greenville (SC) Unit Shriners Hospital for Children and 21 other Shriners Hospitals across the nation.
* The game culminates the fund-raising efforts of the Shriners six Shrine Centers in North and South Carolina. In the game’s first year (1937), $2,500 was donated to the hospital. That figure has grown to more than $1.3 million annually with a total of over $75 million raised during the past 76 years.
* Players, selected by the Shrine Bowl coaches, are announced in October. Each team has 44 players. Shriners are not involved in player selection.
* Besides the healing, lifesaving benefits the game gives the tiny patients at the Shriners hospitals, the game touches the lives of the participating coaches and players. Each year the teams travel to the Greenville, SC Shriners Hospital, where the athletes and coaches give presents and play with the children, some of whom have no arms or legs. Many athletes have broken down in tears, touched by the courage, determination and discipline of these hurting, loving children.
* The Shrine Bowl is an act of love given by the Shriners of the Carolinas to the children at the hospital. The Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, is the umbrella agency under which the game operates. More than 100 volunteers devote many hours annually in staging the game and it’s related fund-raising events.
Game Day Activities:
9:00 AM - Shrine Bowl Parade from downtown Spartanburg to the stadium.
9:00 AM - Gates open at stadium.
10:00 AM - Junior Shrine Bowl Game - 6th grade players from North and South Carolina.
12:00 PM - Pre-game activities begin including player and coach introductions.
1:00 PM - Kick-Off of 79th Annual Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas
