Myrtle Beach Bowl Tickets: Pick Your Brooks Seat

By the Reserved Seat editorial teamUpdated October 1, 2026How we research

Upcoming Myrtle Beach Bowl dates

Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.

The Myrtle Beach Bowl seat call, up front

For the Myrtle Beach Bowl, buy a west sideline seat between the 30-yard lines, ideally in the upper level if you like to see plays develop. That side of Brooks Stadium is the big one, with the second deck and the suites, and it gives the most complete look at the field. The game itself is set for Monday, December 21, 2026, at 11 a.m. Eastern on ESPN, on Coastal Carolina University's campus in Conway, South Carolina, a short drive inland from the beach.

The reason seat choice matters more than access here is simple arithmetic. Brooks Stadium holds about 20,000, and no Myrtle Beach Bowl crowd has passed about 12,000. You are almost never fighting for a ticket; you are choosing which part of a partly filled stadium you want to watch from.

Brooks Stadium, side by side

Brooks Stadium opened in 2003 and is known for its teal artificial turf, which the school calls the Surf Turf. It was built up in stages: a 2017 phase brought it to 15,000 seats, and before the 2019 season Coastal Carolina added a second level and premium suites on the west side, lifting capacity to about 20,000. Wikipedia lists 21,000, and the record crowd, 22,217, came in September 2025, so treat any single number as approximate.

West sideline

This is the stadium's main grandstand. Lower rows put you near the action; the upper level trades closeness for height, which is the better trade if you want to read formations. Seats between the 30-yard lines are the ones to target.

East sideline

A single, lower side facing the suites. Midfield seats here still show the whole field from a sideline angle, and they are often the easier pick when the west side's center sections are taken. Check the bowl's seating map for which east sections are on sale.

Corners and end zones

The 2017 work added corner seating at the field house end. You sit closer to the turf, but the far end of the field flattens out from that angle, so these suit fans who care more about being near the team than following every snap.

Seats for families, alumni and neutral fans

Traveling alumni: sit near your team's bench side and band once the bowl posts its seating assignments. The school allotments set where each fan base clusters.
Families with kids: the upper west rows near midfield keep you out of the busiest aisles and give children a clear view over standing fans.
Neutral fans and locals: the east sideline between the 30s is a sensible value pick, with a full view and usually less competition for the best rows.
Fans who want noise: during the regular season the Coastal student section, the Chantourage, fills the area in front of the field house. For the bowl, the seating chart is the bowl's, not the school's, so confirm who sits there.

Morning sun, cool air and seats to pass on

An 11 a.m. kickoff in the last days of December means a low winter sun for the entire game. Neither sideline escapes glare completely, so bring sunglasses and a cap, and pack a layer: a coastal morning in late December can feel colder than the forecast high suggests.

Skip the lowest corner rows if you want to follow the game; the angle to the opposite end zone is poor.
Skip the far ends of either sideline (outside the 20s) unless the price gap is large. In a stadium this size, a few sections toward midfield cost you little extra and improve the view a lot.
Do not overpay for front rows. Rows a little higher see over the team area and the sideline crews.

When tickets open and what moves demand

The bowl says public sales for the 2026 game open in December, once the teams are selected, which leaves roughly two weeks between the announcement and kickoff. The matchup draws from Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the Sun Belt, with two of those three leagues represented in 2026. Tie-ins (the agreements that assign conferences to a bowl) are reset from cycle to cycle, so confirm them when the pairing is named.

Demand follows the schools. A team within driving range of the Grand Strand, or one on a rare bowl trip, brings a bigger crowd; Coastal Carolina itself played here in December 2024, when 8,164 attended. The Monday date the week of Christmas suits fans already on holiday travel. Expect the midfield west sections to go first and the corners to stay available longest. Each Reserved Seat order comes with free shipping.

Parking, tailgating and bags in Conway

The stadium sits at 540 University Blvd. on the Coastal Carolina campus. U.S. Routes 501, 701 and 378 all run through Conway, and driving is the realistic way in from oceanfront hotels. Myrtle Beach International Airport, about 3 miles southwest of downtown Myrtle Beach, is served by Southwest, Delta, American and other airlines.

Tailgating is allowed on campus, according to the bowl; use its parking map to find lots.
Bags: per the bowl's 2026 information, you may carry a clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bag no larger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches, a clear one-gallon freezer bag, or a clutch up to 4.5 by 6.5 inches. Backpacks, fanny packs and camera bags are turned away.
Leave at home: umbrellas, strollers, coolers, noisemakers and outside food or drink.

Policies are reviewed each year; read the bowl's stadium policies page before game day.

Six Myrtle Beach Bowls and how the game began

South Carolina could not host NCAA championship events, bowls included, until July 2015, when the Confederate flag was removed from the State House grounds. A 2016 bowl plan stalled during an NCAA pause on new bowls; the NCAA cleared the Grand Strand in June 2018, and ESPN Events, which now runs 17 bowls, announced this game on November 13, 2018. Part of the pitch: three bowl-eligible MAC and Conference USA teams had gone without a bowl in 2017–18.

2020: Appalachian State beat North Texas 56–28 before 5,000 fans.
2021: Tulsa topped Old Dominion 30–17; 6,557 attended.
2022: Marshall over UConn, 28–14, with a record bowl crowd of 12,023.
2023: Ohio defeated Georgia Southern 41–21; 8,059 attended.
2024: UTSA beat host Coastal Carolina 44–15; 8,164 attended.
2025: Western Michigan routed Kennesaw State 41–6 before 9,139.

The 2025 game matched the MAC and C-USA champions. Western Michigan's Jalen Buckley broke a 65-yard touchdown run on the opening snap, gained 174 yards and took MVP honors as the Broncos built a 27–0 first-quarter lead. The bowl had no title sponsor for five seasons, then ran as the Myrtle Beach Bowl presented by Engine, a business travel company, for 2025 only. It has never published team payouts.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best side of Brooks Stadium for the bowl?

The west sideline. It has the upper level and suites, and seats between the 30-yard lines there give the fullest view of the field.

What time does the 2026 Myrtle Beach Bowl kick off?

It is scheduled for 11 a.m. Eastern on Monday, December 21, 2026, with the broadcast on ESPN.

Will the Myrtle Beach Bowl sell out?

It has not come close so far. Crowds have ranged from 5,000 to 12,023 in a stadium of about 20,000, so the bigger question is which section you want.

Is the Myrtle Beach Bowl actually played in Myrtle Beach?

It is played in Conway, part of the Myrtle Beach metro area, at Coastal Carolina University's Brooks Stadium, about a short drive inland from the oceanfront.

Can I bring a backpack to the Myrtle Beach Bowl?

No. As of the 2026 bowl policies, only clear bags up to 12 by 6 by 12 inches, a gallon freezer bag or a small clutch are allowed.

Which leagues send teams to this bowl?

Conference USA, the MAC and the Sun Belt hold the tie-ins, and two of the three are represented in the 2026 game.

Myrtle Beach Bowl Tickets