Since moving to Memphis in 1965, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl has brought community, culture and crazy sporting events to the city. Each football game represents decades of tradition behind the scenes. 

Founded in Philadelphia in 1959, the Liberty Bowl is the seventh oldest college bowl game. The history of the game is rich — some of the notable appearances at the Bowl game include four Heisman Trophy winners (Ernie Davis, Terry Baker, Doug Flutie and Bo Jackson) and standout coaches such as Paul Bryant, Lou Holtz, Tom Osborne, Steve Spurrier and Bill Snyder. The game itself always gains national recognition, and, according to Navy Sports, the 67th annual Liberty Bowl in 2026 drew more than  3.4 million television viewers.

“[The AutoZone Liberty Bowl] telecast is the highest rated TV event originating from Memphis,” Steve Ehrhart, executive director of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, said. “That’s a very critical point because we’re a much higher rated telecast than any Grizzlies game or any Tigers game, football or basketball.”

In January of 2026, at the 67th AutoZone Liberty Bowl, the Naval Academy defeated the University of Cincinnati 35–13 in front of a national audience. The matchup reflected the bowl’s long-standing conference agreements with the American Athletic Conference and the Big 12 Conference, which help determine team selection each year.

“We have year-round conference six-year contracts with three different conferences: the Southeastern Conference, the Big 12 Conference and the American Conference because we want to support the hometown University of Memphis,” Ehrhart said.

In 1993, the partnership between St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the AutoZone Liberty Bowl was announced. Danny Thomas, the founder of St. Jude, originally entered this partnership with the goal of increasing national coverage for the hospital. Thomas loved sports, and he recognized the opportunities to raise money through sporting events. In order to fundraise for St. Jude, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Festival Association hosts golf tournaments, lunches and other year-round events. 

“We give [St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital] an amazing platform and a way to get their message out to the public,” Ehrhart said. “We raise some money for them directly, but, as they say, the most important thing is [that] we give them that national exposure.”

Every year, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Festival Association hosts various events around Memphis. This includes the High School All-Star Game, the Pro Rodeo, the Beale Street Parade and more.

“The mission [of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Festival Association] is to showcase Memphis to the rest of the country …  and to have events for Memphians to participate in,” Ehrhart said. 

While Memphis is sometimes perceived as a dangerous, unvisitable place, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl has a positive reputation. The event has increased tourism and improved some people’s thoughts on the city.

“The city’s got a lot of challenges, but our Bowl game is one of the shining lights in the city,” Ehrhart said. “[It is] a successful opportunity to build a platform and recognition [for Memphis]. That’s something I think is important for us [and] the culture of our community.”

Ehrhart has served as the executive director of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl since 1994. One of Ehrhart’s favorite parts of his job is getting to see and interact with the football players while they are visiting for the Bowl game. When the players are staying in Memphis for a week, they get a chance to experience all of what the city has to offer — they might go to a Grizzlies basketball game, visit the local Dave & Busters or head to lunch with the AutoZone Liberty Bowl staff.

“[The Liberty Bowl] is an experience for the players to participate in and be in a different community.” Ehrhart said. “They enjoy the camaraderie with their fellow teammates and their families. [The AutoZone Liberty Bowl staff] certainly interacts with [the football players] throughout the year.”

Another event that the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Festival Association hosts is the High School All-Star Game. The game, hosted at Memphis University School, showcases talented high school football players from Memphis. The coverage and excitement surrounding the game also helps those athletes get recruited, which supports the next generation of college football players.

“I’m proud of the high school students in our high school all-star game that we [host],” Ehrhart said. “That’s in December, and the [athletes that participate] are [some of] the best players from every single high school. Helping them get scholarships to go on to college is an important part of what we do.”

While the specific teams playing in the 68th annual Bowl game will be unknown until December of 2026, fans and fellow Memphians know what to expect from the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Festival Association. Since the events the association has hosted in recent years have been so successful, they are not planning on making any extreme changes to their program.

“Those are successful events that we have every year, so I’m not sure there’s going to be a lot of new and different things this year,” Ehrhart said.