Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Canceled As New Bowl At Ford Field Will Take Its Spot

The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl "traditionally played the day after Christmas" at Ford Field "is no more," according to Bill Shea of CRAIN'S DETROIT BUSINESS. It started as the Motor City Bowl in '97 and aired live on ESPN, but has "been in doubt" since the Lions announced in '13 that they will "host a new bowl matching Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference teams at Ford Field in a six-year deal that begins this year." The official bowl lineup for '14-15 lists the "Lions-backed college game" as scheduled for 5:30 pm ET on Dec. 26, which "had been the Pizza Bowl’s spot in the bowl schedule in the past." Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Chair & Exec Dir Ken Hoffman last year said that he had "been in talks" with Little Caesars’ co-Founder and Tigers Owner Mike Ilitch to "possibly relocate the Pizza Bowl across the street to 45,000-seat Comerica Park." But that idea "has not gone anywhere" (CRAINSDETROIT.com, 8/19).