It was named in honor of Grantland Rice, an early 20th century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose, and was originally played in his hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

For the smaller colleges and universities, as for the major programs, the national champion was determined by polls conducted by the leading news wire services.

The bowl was created in August 1964, when the NCAA awarded the Mideast Region championship game to Murfreesboro, though the Grantland Rice name did not become official until two months later.

The intent for the Mideast game was to match the two best non-major teams from a region of nine states: Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

Bowl organizers decided to keep the Grantland Rice name, even though the game's new home city and state had no connection to the late sportswriter.

Starting in 1976, the NCAA gave up on neutral sites for the Division II semifinals, but the games retained their bowl designations even though they were now played on the home field of one of the participating teams.