1982 Liberty Bowl
The 1982 Liberty Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game held on December 29, 1982, in Memphis, Tennessee, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The 24th edition of the Liberty Bowl featured the Illinois Fighting Illini of the Big Ten Conference and the Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Alabama won the game, 21–15.
| 1982 Liberty Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 24th Liberty Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 29, 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Memphis, Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Alabama DB Jeremiah Castille | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Raymond Bower (CIFOA) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 54,123 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | MetroSports | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Harry Kalas, Joe Kapp and Johnny Holliday | ||||||||||||||||||
Alabama entered the game with a 7–4 record, having lost their final three regular season games. The team was led by coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who was coaching his final game after twenty-five years with the program, announcing he would retire and hand over control of the team to Ray Perkins following the game. Bryant's retirement made the Liberty Bowl one of the most covered games of the season as many news stations and newspapers sent reporters to cover the game.
Illinois was led by head coach Mike White and quarterback Tony Eason. The team was making their first bowl appearance since 1964, having won each of their previous bowls.