APRIL 2026
UPCOMING EVENTS
COME JOIN US IN KICKING OFF OUR 50TH
Indy Bowl Overtime: 50th Anniversary Kickoff Party
Be part of history as we launch the 50th anniversary of the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl on Thursday, May 7 at Community Bank of Louisiana on the corner of Fairfield Ave and E Kings Hwy.
The evening begins at 4:30 PM with a special 50th Anniversary Press Conference where we’ll reveal the full lineup of community events and initiatives planned throughout the year, leading up to our milestone game.
Then stay for our 2nd Annual Indy Bowl Overtime from 5:00–7:00 PM, which is a business afterhours celebration with fans, partners, and other community members. We will have live music by The Lovers, a Shreveportbased Indie-Americana pop duo featuring Cole Vosbury and Amanda June.
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION!
YOUTH CLINIC HITS THE FIELD ON JUNE 6!
The 15th annual Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Youth Football Clinic will hit the field on Saturday, June 6 at Independence Stadium! The annual clinic is FREE for boys and girls aged 5-13 (incoming 8th graders).
Campers get to learn from regional college football coaches, and all participants receive free lunch and a t-shirt after the clinic!
HERE TO REGISTER!
UPCOMING EVENTS
TYRANN MATHIEU ANNOUNCED AS KICKOFF DINNER SPEAKER!
The Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl routinely features some of collegiate sports’ greatest figures at the annual Kickoff Dinner to help kick off the college football season, and 2026’s version of the event will welcome LSU legend and former Saint, Tyrann Mathieu, as the featured speaker!
The 2026 Kickoff Dinner featuring Tyrann Mathieu is set for Monday, August 17 at the Shreveport Convention Center. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. for a cocktail hour, and dinner buffets are available starting at 6:15 p.m. The program begins at 7 p.m. and concludes with a Q&A session.
Individual tickets to the event are on sale for $75 apiece, and a table of eight is $600. Fans can purchase tickets by clicking the button below.
Mathieu rose to prominence as a member of the LSU Tigers in 2010 and 2011, as he was college football’s premier game-changer, causing turnovers on defense and scoring electric touchdowns on special teams. He enhanced his game-breaking reputation in the National Football League (NFL) during his 12-year career, being named First-Team All-Pro three times and Second-Team All-Pro once. He was also a key member of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV-winning defense.
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INDY BOWL ALUMNI
FERNANDO MENDOZA HEADLINES 2026 NFL DRAFT CLASS AS #1 PICK
The Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl saw just its third former player selected with the first overall selection in the NFL Draft, as Fernando Mendoza was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders with the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Mendoza joins two of the all-time great Independence Bowl alumni to be drafted number one in the NFL and becomes the first in over 20 years. He joins College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith, who was drafted first overall in 1985, and Eli Manning, who went first in the 2004 NFL Draft.
Mendoza enjoyed a historic season in 2025, leading the Indiana Hoosiers to an undefeated 16-0 record and their first National Championship in program history. Along the way, Mendoza completed 72 percent of his passes for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He also added 276 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
Those numbers earned Mendoza a laundry list of awards and accolades during awards season. He became the first former Independence Bowl player to win the Heisman Trophy. He also won the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, Davey O’Brien Award, Associated Press Player of the Year and was named the CFP National Championship Most Valuable Player.
Mendoza, who has been the surefire first-overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft since the season ended, started at quarterback as a redshirt freshman for California in the 2023 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl. He passed for 261 yards and one touchdown against Texas Tech in that game, but the turnover bug bit him, as he threw three interceptions and lost one fumble.
OTHER SELECTIONS IN THE 2026 NFL DRAFT
Jacob Rodriguez
LB, Texas Tech (2023)
Round 2 (#43) | Miami Dolphins
Jack Endries
TE, California (2023)
Round 7 (#221) | Cincinnati Bengals
Behren Morton
QB, Texas Tech (2023)
Round 7 (#234) | New England Patriots
IN THE COMMUNTY
GIVE FOR GOOD ONLINE GIVING IS OPEN NOW!
Give for Good Day is Tuesday, May 5, but early giving is under way! Donate to the Independence Bowl Foundation and our 1st & Give community initiatives!
This year's Give for Good focus is our Extra Yard for Teachers initiative, which benefits local educators and classrooms.
Each year, the Independence Bowl Foundation partners with the College Football Playoff Foundation and their Extra Yard for Teachers initiative, which provides funding to local educators for their specific projects submitted on DonorsChoose.org. The College Football Playoff Foundation matches donations funded by the Independence Bowl, enhancing the bowl's impact on local teachers.
Anyone who would like to support the Independence Bowl Foundation and our impact on local teachers can donate by clicking the button below: CLICK HERE TO DONATE
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK IS MAY 4-8!
Teacher Appreciation Week is right around the corner, May 4-8! Make sure to thank and celebrate your favorite teachers in our local community for their hard work and the impact they have on the youth of Northwest Louisiana!
Through our partnership with Extra Yards for Teachers, the Independence Bowl Foundation has donated $142,000 to local educators and education projects since 2021, impacting 164 local educators and approximately 25,000 students
With your help, we hope to have the greatest possible impact on local teachers and students in 2026 that we can! Donate through Give for Good by clicking the button above and help further the bowl's impact on local education!
IN THE COMMUNITY
A LOOK BACK AT OUR 2ND ANNUAL RACKETS ON THE ROCKS!
Tennis, margaritas, prizes… and a great cause.
Rackets on the Rocks brought a great crowd out to Pierremont Oaks Tennis Club, and the energy did not disappoint. From social hour to the “Hit for Prizes” competition, it was a night full of fun while supporting the bowl's 1st & Give Extra Yard for Teachers initiative.
Thank you to all of the sponsors who provided prizes!
Beauxjax Crafthouse
Bistro to Go
Chasing Aces
Cinemark
Cuban Liquor & Wine Co.
Dillas Primo Quesadillas
Eagle Distributing
El Chico
Fleming Subway
Flying Heart Brewing & Pub
Frank's Neapolitan Pizza
Honeybaked Ham Co.
John Pickens
Johnny's Catfish & Seafood
Lee Michael's Fine Jewelry
Live! Casino & Hotel
Louisiana Downs
Lululemon
Pizza Hut
Porter's Dry Cleaners
Raising Cane's
Rhino Coffee
Shaver's Catering
Shreveport Convention Center/ Municipal Auditorium
Sonic SportsWorld
Texas Roadhouse
The Pearl
Thrifty Liquor
Torchy's Tacos
Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux
Wilhite Electric
JUNIOR TENNIS CLASSIC FEATURED AROUND 150 YOUTH TENNIS PLAYERS FROM ACROSS NORTH AMERICA
For the third straight year, the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl welcomed youth tennis players from across North America to Shreveport-Bossier City for the annual Independence Bowl Junior Tennis Classic.
Nearly 150 players from 11 different states, as well as one player from Calgary, Alberta, made the trip to the 318 for the USTA National Level 5 tournament. The states players and their families traveled from include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
The Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Junior Tennis Classic was presented by Graf Orthodontics and made possible by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission, Carter Credit Union, Dogwood Farm & Ranch and Steve Craig.
IN THE COMMUNITY
A LOOK BACK AT THE ANNUAL MEMBER CRAWFISH BOIL!
Sunshine, good people, and plenty of crawfish! Doesn’t get much better than that! The Independence Bowl Foundation had a great day at the annual Member Crawfish Boil.
Thank you to Shaver's Catering and Hurricane Alley for helping make this year’s event the best one yet!
RADIANCE TECHNOLOGIES ANNOUNCES WINNER OF 2025-26 INNOVATION BOWL
The 2025-26 Radiance Technologies Innovation Bowl concluded with presentations from three university teams showcasing their innovative solutions at the company’s Huntsville headquarters on March 31, 2026.
This year's competition challenged participants to develop techniques, procedures, and processes to validate the output of Generative AI models in conducting scientific and technical analysis.
Purdue University’s "Team TruSeLLM" claimed the $25,000 grand prize with their project, "AutoVerifier: An Agentic Automated Verification Framework Using Large Language Models." The winning team, comprising of students Kaiyuan Zhang, Yuntao Du, Minh Dinh, and faculty advisor Dr. Ninghui Li, impressed judges with their systems ability to extract claims, systematically assess providence, and identify related collaborative validation or refutation to model results.
Two teams shared runner-up honors: Georgia State University’s "Team Panther Nexus,” represented by Yaswanth Pothuru, Velankani Joise Divya Gorla Christuraj, and faculty advisor Dr. Mark A. Chen, showcased their project, “Uncertainty-Aware LLM-Based Inference Using Contextual Knowledge Hypergraphs." The University of Southern Mississippi’s "Team USM," featuring Kiran Silwal, Rupak Raut, Hammad Ahmed, Chetanchal Saud, and faculty advisor Dr. Bikramjit Banerjee, presented their report, “Neuro-Symbolic Validation of LLM Output via Multi-Agent Planning.”
GET INVOLVED!
Our bowl spans over six decades, and the Independence Bowl Foundation is the main catalyst for our success! The Independence Bowl Foundation is an organization consisting of numerous volunteer committees, which carry out all of its functions, drawing upon its more than 300 members.
Memberships are open for anyone who would like to become a part of the 11th most-historic bowl game in college football and start as low as $200.
Welcome to our new Independence Bowl Foundation members!
George Bakowski
Jeff Harrington
Steven White
Jackson Kuhr
Jacob Mainiero
Josh Huckaby
Tim Purvis
Josh Purvis
