Stadium Camping World Stadium Previous stadiums Florida Field (1973) Conference tie-ins Big Ten, SEC | Location Orlando, Florida Operated 1947–present | |
Previous locations Gainesville, Florida (1973) | ||
The Citrus Bowl, also known as the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl for sponsorship purposes, is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. It was previously known as the Tangerine Bowl (1947–1982), the Florida Citrus Bowl (1983–2002), and the Capital One Bowl (2003–2014). The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Russell Athletic Bowl and Florida Classic.
Contents
- History
- Racial integration
- Gainesville
- Mascot Challenge
- Game results
- Most appearances
- Broadcasting
- References
Since becoming one of the premier bowls, the Citrus Bowl is typically played at 1 p.m. EST on New Year's Day, immediately before the Rose Bowl, both of which have been televised on ESPN since 2011. When January 1 is a Sunday, the game has played on January 2 or December 31, to avoid conflicting with the National Football League schedule. In 2004, the Capital One Bowl bid to become the fifth BCS game, but was not chosen, primarily due to the stadium's aging condition. On July 26, 2007, the Orange County Commissioners voted 5–2 in favor of spending $1.1 billion to build a new arena for the Orlando Magic, a performing arts center, and to upgrade the Citrus Bowl.
Currently, the bowl has tie-ins with the SEC and the Big Ten, holding the first selection after the CFP selection process for both conferences. As of 2015 at $4.25 million per team, it has the largest payout of all the non-CFP bowls. In nearly every year since 1985, the game has featured both teams ranked in the Top 25. After the 2014 formation of the College Football Playoff, the Citrus Bowl has a chance to occasionally host an ACC team, replacing the Big Ten representative. This will happen the years in which the Orange Bowl is not a semi-final game and selects a Big Ten team to match against their ACC team.
Capital One ceased its sponsorship of the game following the 2014 game, and moved its sponsorship to the Orange Bowl. Buffalo Wild Wings was announced as the new title sponsor of the bowl game in 2014. Buffalo Wild Wings had previously been the title sponsor of what is now the Cactus Bowl.
History
The game, which began play in 1947, is one of the oldest of the non-CFP bowls, along with the Gator Bowl and Sun Bowl. The first game played before an estimated crowd of 9,000. By 1952, the game was dubbed the "Little Bowl with the Big Heart", because all the proceeds from the game went to charity. Before 1968 the game featured matchups between schools throughout the South, often featuring the Ohio Valley Conference champion or other small colleges (though a few major colleges did play in the bowl during this early era as well).
From 1964 through 1967, it was one of the four regional finals in the College Division (which became Division II (and III) in 1973), along with the Pecan, Grantland Rice, and Camellia bowls. The Boardwalk Bowl in Atlantic City took over as the Eastern regional in 1968 and the Tangerine Bowl became a major college bowl game; from 1968 through 1975 the bowl featured the Mid-American Conference champion against an opponent from the Southern Conference (through 1972), the SEC (1973–1974), or an at-large opponent (1975). As the major football conferences relaxed restrictions on post-season play in the mid-1970s, the game went to a matchup between two at-large teams from major conferences, with one school typically (but not always) from the South. From the 1987 season to 1991, it featured the ACC champion against an at-large opponent. Since the 1992 season, the game has featured one of the top teams from both the Big Ten and the SEC.
In 1986, it was one of the bowl games considered for the site of the "winner take all" national championship game between Penn State and Miami before the Fiesta Bowl was eventually chosen.
The 1990 season game featured National Championship implications. Georgia Tech won the Florida Citrus Bowl, finished 11–0–1, and were voted the 1990 UPI national champion.
The 1997 season game, which featured nearby Florida beating Penn State, holds the game's attendance record at 72,940. During the 1990s, the second-place finisher in the SEC (but not necessarily the loser of the SEC Championship Game) typically went to this bowl. Florida coach Steve Spurrier, speaking to the fact Tennessee occupied that spot three of four years as Florida finished first, famously quipped "You can't spell 'Citrus' without U-T!" In 1997, the Volunteers played for the last Bowl Alliance national championship in the Orange Bowl, and the Gators went to the Citrus Bowl, where it defeated Penn State 21–6. Florida defeated Tennessee 33–20 in the regular season, but were knocked out of the SEC East title race by losing to LSU and Georgia.
The 2016 season game was played on December 31, the first time in 30 years that the game was not played on January 1st or 2nd.
Racial integration
The undefeated 1955 Hillsdale College football team refused an invitation to the game when bowl officials insisted that Hillsdale's four African-American players would not be allowed to play in the game.
The University at Buffalo's first bowl bid was to the Tangerine Bowl in 1958. The Tangerine Bowl Commission hoped that the Orlando High School Athletic Association (OHSAA), which operated the stadium, would waive its rule that prohibited integrated sporting events. When it refused, the team unanimously voted to skip the bowl because its two black players (halfback Willie Evans and end Mike Wilson) would not have been allowed on the field. Buffalo would not be bowl-eligible for another 50 years. During the 2008 season, when the Bulls were on the verge of bowl eligibility, the 1958 team was profiled on ESPN's Outside the Lines. The 2008 team went on to win the Mid-American Conference title, and played in the International Bowl.
By 1966, the OHSAA's rule had been changed, and Morgan State of Baltimore, under head coach Earl Banks, became the first historically black college to play in (and win) the Tangerine Bowl.
Gainesville
In early 1973, construction improvements were planned for the then 17,000-seat Tangerine Bowl stadium to expand to over 51,000 seats. In early summer 1973, however, construction was stalled due to legal concerns, and the improvements were delayed. Late in the 1973 season, Tangerine Bowl President Will Gieger and other officials planned to invite the Miami Redskins and the East Carolina Pirates to Orlando for the game. On November 19, 1973, East Carolina withdrew its interests, and the bowl was left with one at-large bid. In an unexpected and unprecedented move, game officials decided to invite the Florida Gators, and move the game to Florida Field in Gainesville, the Gators' home stadium. The larger stadium would be needed to accommodate the large crowd expected. The move required special permission from the NCAA, and special accommodations were made. Both teams would be headquartered in Orlando for the week, and spend most of their time there, including practices, and would be bused up to Gainesville.
The participants were greeted with an unexpected event, a near-record low temperature of 25 degrees Fahrenheit (-4 degrees Celsius). Despite the home-field advantage, in the game nicknamed the "Transplant Bowl", Miami (OH), who found the cold much more to its liking, defeated the Gators 16–7. One of the players on the victorious Redskins squad was future Gators coach Ron Zook.
The one-time moving of the game, and the fears of a permanent relocation, rejuvenated the stalled stadium renovations in Orlando. The game returned to Orlando for 1974, and within a couple of years, the expansion project was complete.
Mascot Challenge
The "Capital One Mascot Challenge" (formerly known as the "Capital One National Mascot of the Year") was a contest where fans voted for their favorite college mascot. The contest began in 2002 with the winner being named during the halftime; the winning school was awarded $20,000 towards their mascot program. With the ending of Capital One's sponsorship of the Citrus Bowl, the challenge was moved in 2014 to the Orange Bowl with Capital One's sponsorship of that game.
Game results
Italics denote a tie game.
Most appearances
Only teams with at least three appearances are listed.
Broadcasting
ABC televised the game from 1987 to 2010, with NBC airing it in 1984–85 and the syndicated Mizlou Television Network doing so prior to 1984. In March 2010, ESPN announced extensions to their television contracts with the Capital One Bowl and the Outback Bowl, along with a new contract with the Gator Bowl. The contract for the now Citrus Bowl is through 2018. Under these new agreements, ESPN will broadcast all three games on either ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2.
Radio broadcast rights for the game are currently held by ESPN Radio. Sports USA Radio held the rights from 2003–2010.