College football returned to the Region for the America’s Crossroads Bowl on Friday, December 1. The South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority (SSCVA) partnered with the City of Hammond, Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) to make the event possible. At least a thousand flocked to see the action at Hammond Central Stadium.
“We're super excited to have two Midwest teams coming to literally the crossroads of Northwest Indiana to compete in this bowl game,” said Megan Goodan, Chief Sports and Leisure Officer at SSCVA. “It is one of three Division II bowl games nationally to be played in the nation.”
The game featured two of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Division II teams. This year's game saw the McKendree University Bearcats from GLVC face off against the Ashland University Eagles from G-MAC. The event started in 2019 when Rick Flutka was in Goodan’s position at the SSCVA. With his help the first bowl game took place at Hobart’s Brickyard. This year partnering with the City of Hammond, SSCVA got to spotlight Hammond Central and its new facility.
"Graciously this year the City of Hammond and their brand new facility partnered with us,” said Goodan. “We really wanted to highlight the new facility's brand new turf football field.”
The bowl game also featured a tailgate prior to the game at Byline Brewery. The families of the players also got to admire Hammond Central’s campus.
“We got to look around Chicago yesterday,” said Brenda Agnew, who came from Austin, Texas to watch her son play for McKendree. “Today we went to the casino, we went to a tailgate party at the Byline Brewery. We really enjoyed it. The people are so nice and it's a beautiful place.”
While most like Agnew were in the area for the game, visiting the area has already spurred conversations about coming back.
“We want to probably come to another bowl game but we'll come visit this area,” said Agnew. "We discussed driving around today. There's a lot of things such as the lake and the boats. We'd like to come back and visit sometime.”
As part of the time in the Region, the student-athletes from both schools got to visit the local elementary schools as well. The trip was a great experience for all involved.
“He really enjoyed it,” said Eric Fraeyman, whose future brother-in-law is a kicker for Ashland. “He's made a lot of good friends and really had a great time.”
The game itself was very thrilling with both teams matching each score for score in the first half. Ashland’s redshirt sophomore Tyler Davis received the game-tying 39 yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Trevor Bycznski. A point after touchdown conversion made it a 21-20 Ashland lead with just about two minutes remaining. Ashland would then force a safety to win the Crossroads Bowl. The bowl trophy was a giant leg lamp.
All of the hard work put into the event by the teams, conference staff, and all of the local staff made for a great Friday night of college football.
“We really have to thank the City of Hammond, the School City of Hammond, Mayor Thomas McDermott, Jr, and all the SSCVA staff,” said Goodan. “This would not be possible without all those people, especially Chris Moore, the athletic director here at Hammond Central.”
For more information about SSCVA visit southshorecva.com
