Gator Bowl

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For the stadium, see Gator Bowl Stadium.
Gator Bowl
Konica Minolta Gator Bowl

Konica Minolta Gator Bowl logo
Stadium Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (known as Alltel Stadium 1997-2006)
Location Jacksonville, Florida
Previous Stadiums Gator Bowl Stadium (1946-1993)
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (1994)
Previous Locations Gainesville, Florida (1994)
Operated 1946-present
Conference Tie-ins ACC, Big East/Big 12/Notre Dame
Previous Conference Tie-ins Southern (1946-1952)
SEC (1953-1975, 1992-94)
Payout US$2.5 million (As of 2006)
Sponsors
Konica Minolta
Former names
Toyota Gator Bowl, Outback Gator Bowl, Mazda Gator Bowl
2009 Matchup
Nebraska vs. Clemson (Neb 26-21)
2010 Matchup
ACC vs. Big East, Notre Dame or Big 12 (January 1)

The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. It is the sixth oldest college bowl, held continuously since 1946.[1] Its current full name is the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl after its present sponsor, Konica Minolta.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

According to The Big Bowl Football Guide by Anthony C. DiMarco (G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1974, 1976, ISBN 399-11800-4), Charles Hilty, Sr. is given credit for conceiving the idea for the event. He, Ray McCarthy, Maurice Cherry and W.C. Ivey put up $10,000 to underwrite the first game. The first two years of the event did not sell out the small capacity stadium, drawing only 7,362 to the 1946 match when Wake Forest defeated South Carolina, 26–14. It was not until the 1949 match-up between the Clemson Tigers and the Missouri Tigers that the future of the Gator Bowl was assured. The 1948 attendance of 16,666 for a 20–20 tie between Maryland and Georgia, was nearly doubled with 32,939 watching Clemson squeak by Missouri, 24–23, on a late field goal by Jack Miller. By the 1970s, the attendance regularly reached 60,000–70,000.

[edit] Hotel Roosevelt fire

The Gator Bowl is one of Jacksonville's annual sports highlights. However, the event was once associated with a tragedy. In 1963, the Hotel Roosevelt in downtown caught fire after a post-Gator Bowl party in the ballroom. It was later determined that the party was not the cause of the fire, and was a mere tragic coincidence. The fire resulted in 22 deaths.

[edit] The Woody Hayes incident in 1978

In the 1978 game between Ohio State and Clemson, Ohio State coach Woody Hayes lost his temper after a late game interception by nose guard Charlie Bauman, who stepped in front of the receiver on a screen pass from quarterback Art Schlichter. Bauman ran the ball out of bounds on the Ohio State sideline where Hayes struck Bauman with his right forearm. The play sealed the Tigers' 17–15 win over the Buckeyes and Hayes was fired the next day before leaving Jacksonville.[3]

[edit] Venues

The 1946 and 1947 games were played in Fairfield Stadium, which had a seating capacity of 7,600. The stadium was expanded to 16,000 seats in 1948, and the structure was renamed the Gator Bowl. Prior to the 1949 game, the seating capacity was expanded to 36,058, at which it remained until 1957.[4] That stadium hosted the game through 1993, when it was almost completely demolished for the construction of Jacksonville Municipal Stadium on the same site. During the construction, the 1994 Gator Bowl was played instead at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida; the game following the 1995 season and all subsequent games were moved to January 1 and have been played at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.

[edit] Organization

Gator Bowl Association logo

The Gator Bowl Association (GBA) is a not-for-profit, 501(c)3 organization, founded in 1945, whose stated mission is to:

"provide Northeast Florida with the very best in college athletics and related activities in order to maximize positive impact on the area’s economy, national image and community pride."

The association is composed of 225 Gator Bowl Committee members, 84 Chairman’s Club members & sponsors, more than 700 volunteers, plus over a dozen paid staff members. In addition to planning and executing all the activities of Gator Bowl week, GBA coordinates another college football game, the River City Showdown, which features a Florida State Seminoles game.[5] The GBA also hosted the ACC Championship Game from 2005 to 2007.

[edit] Teams typically featured

In the early years of the bowl, from 1946–1952, it featured a team from the Southern Conference against an at-large opponent. Beginning with the 1953 game, it switched to generally featuring a Southeastern Conference (SEC) team against an at-large opponent. From 1953 to the 1975 game, at least one SEC team appeared in 20 out of the 24 games, and in 3 of those games, both teams were from the SEC. The games from 1976 to 1995 usually, but not always, involved a team from south-east part of the country against a team from another part of the country. Teams from the ACC played in 10 of these 20 games.

From 1996–2006, the Gator Bowl traditionally hosted the second-place ACC against the second-place Big East team. With the 2007 game, it began hosting the third-place ACC team versus a team from either the Big East, Big 12 or Notre Dame to take the Big East's spot in this game. The contract, which runs for four years, requires the Gator Bowl committee to take a Big East team/Notre Dame twice and a Big 12 team twice, with the other team earning a bid to the Sun Bowl. Both bowls must take two Big 12 and two Big East teams during this span, meaning that a Big East team will play in the 2010 Gator Bowl.

[edit] Events

Activity Sponsor When
Golf tournaments Gator Bowl Ass'n September/December
Red Wagon Parade Gator Bowl Ass'n September
Little Gator Bowl Pop Warner Championships Gator Bowl Ass'n November
Players Welcome at Dave and Busters CSX Transportation Gator Bowl week Day 1
Adventure Landing Player's Outing Gator Bowl Ass'n Gator Bowl week Day 2/3
Fellowship of Christian Athletes Breakfast First Baptist Church Gator Bowl week Day 4
Day at the Jacksonville Zoo Outback Steakhouse Gator Bowl week Day 5
Coaches Luncheon/Hall of Fame Induction Gate Petroleum Gator Bowl week Day 6
5K Run VyStar Credit Union Gator Bowl week day 6
Gator Bowl Parade Winn Dixie Gator Bowl week day 6
Pep Rally Jacksonville Landing Gator Bowl week day 6
St. Johns River Midnight Fireworks City of Jacksonville Gator Bowl week day 6
Touchdown party at Fairgrounds Florida Times-Union Gator Bowl week day 7
Stadium Tailgate party Budweiser Gator Bowl week day 7
Gator Bowl Football Game Konica Minolta Gator Bowl week day 7

[edit] Media coverage

The payout for each team increased to $2.5 million for the 2007 game with a new TV contract with CBS Sports to televise the game. The longtime broadcaster of the game was ABC, who would always show the game in prime time. Turner Sports bought the rights to the game after the 1991 matchup and TBS became the home of the Gator Bowl for the next four years, moving back to a late December date. The game returned to New Year's Day after NBC bought the rights to the Gator Bowl in 1996.

Main article: Gator Bowl broadcasters

[edit] Title sponsors

logo of the Toyota Gator Bowl, 1996-2006

Mazda was the first title sponsor, beginning in 1986 and lasting for five years. Outback Steakhouse sponsored the Gator Bowl for three years beginning in 1992, prior to obtaining their own Outback Bowl held in Tampa, Florida. From 1996–2006, the title sponsor was Toyota, and the bowl's official name was the Toyota Gator Bowl. Konica Minolta became the title sponsor prior to the 2007 game.

[edit] Previous results

Italics denotes a tie game.

[edit] MVPs

[edit] Most appearances

Rank Team Appearances Record
1 Clemson 9 4-5
2 Florida 8 6-2
T3 North Carolina 7 5-2
T3 Georgia Tech 7 3-4
T5 Florida State 6 5-0-1
T5 Auburn 6 4-2
T5 West Virginia 6 1-5
T8 Tennessee 5 3-2
T8 Virginia Tech 5 2-3
T10 Maryland 4 3-0-1
T10 Texas Tech 4 3-1
T10 Penn State 4 1-2-1
T10 South Carolina 4 0-4
T14 Georgia 3 2-0-1
T14 Oklahoma 3 2-1
T14 Pittsburgh 3 2-1
T14 Mississippi 3 1-2
T14 Missouri 3 1-2
T14 North Carolina State 3 1-2
T14 Notre Dame 3 1-2

[edit] Gator Bowl Hall of Fame

Inductees (by year):

[edit] See also

List of college bowl games

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gator Bowl website: About us-Tradition
  2. ^ Florida Times-Union: September 30, 2007-Gator Bowl lands new deal for title sponsor
  3. ^ Florida Times-Union: December 29, 2008-Gator Bowl: 30th anniversary punch by Don Coble
  4. ^ The Jacksonville Story by Carolina Rawls; Jacksonville's Fifty Years of Progress Association-1950
  5. ^ Jacksonville Transportation Authority: River City Showdown Stadium Shuttle
  6. ^ Venue renamed Gator Bowl
  7. ^ Game held at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida due to renovation.
  8. ^ Texas Tech Red Raiders, NCAA Football, Virginia Cavaliers - CBSSports.com

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Gator Bowl
v • d • e
Division I FBS college football bowl games
Other games
All-Star Games: East-West Shrine Game • Hula Bowl • Senior Bowl • Texas vs. The Nation Game
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