INDIANAPOLIS – The Upper Iowa Peacocks and Hillsdale Chargers have been selected to participate in the sixth annual, and newly branded Albanese Candy Bowl (ACB), previously America’s Crossroads Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 6, in Hobart, Indiana, representing the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), respectively.
Upper Iowa (8-3, 6-2 GLVC) and Hillsdale (6-5, 5-4 G-MAC) will play at Hobart High School's Brickyard Stadium at 1 PM CT local time.
The Peacocks will be making their first appearance in the bowl game after finishing third in GLVC play in 2025. Truman was the GLVC representative for four of the five iterations of the Crossroads Bowl, winning on all four occasions. McKendree University was the league representative in 2023. In their last five games, Upper Iowa has held their opponents to an average of 11 points, whilst scoring an average of 38.6.
The Chargers finished fifth in the Great Midwest standings, ending the season winning their last four games. Hilldale’s four conference losses came at the hands of Findlay, Ashland, Northwood, and Tiffin. The first three all having qualified for the NCAA Championship Tournament, while Tiffin was the G-MAC representative last year.
The Albanese Candy Bowl is one of two NCAA Division II bowl games sponsored nationally in 2025 and is conducted in partnership with the South Shore Convention & Visitors Authority and the City of Hobart. After playing at Hobart for the first three years, the game in 2023 was played at Hammond Central High School. Since 2024, the game has been played at Hobart High School.
Tickets for the game are available for $12 for adults and $7 for kids and senior citizens; FREE for Pop Warner players in uniform; and children 4 and under are free. Students with school ID get in free with paying adult admission ticket. Tickets will also be sold at the gate. Tickets for the banquet on Friday night, Dec. 5 at Hobart High School (2211 East 10th Street, Hobart, Ind.) from 6-8 PM can also be purchased for $40, while several apparel items are also on sale. Both tickets and apparel can be purchased online by visiting the link above.
Broadcast coverage of the Albanese Candy Bowl will be streamed on Heartland Sports Network (formerly JEDtv), with more information coming soon.