Operated 2011–present Stadium Cotton Bowl | Payout US$1.2 million | |
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Location Fair Park
Dallas, Texas Conference tie-ins Big Ten vs. Big 12 (2013)
Big Ten vs. C-USA (2014)
Pac 12 vs. C-USA (2015) Instances 2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl, 2012 TicketCity Bowl, 2011 TicketCity Bowl, 2016 Heart of Dallas Bowl, 2015 Heart of Dallas Bowl | ||
The Heart of Dallas Bowl (formerly the TicketCity Bowl) is an NCAA post-season college football bowl game. The inaugural game was played on New Year's Day (January 1), 2011, at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park in Dallas, Texas. This game physically replaced the Cotton Bowl Classic, which moved from its longtime eponymous home to AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington in 2010. The conferences are scheduled to receive a $1.2 million payout for the teams' participation.
Contents
- Highlights army football vs north texas in the zaxby s heart of dallas bowl 12 27 16
- History
- Stadium
- Tie ins
- Game records
- Broadcasting
- References
The bowl's full name is the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl. Zaxby's took over as title sponsor after PlainsCapital Bank withdrew after the 2013 season event; Zaxby's became the primary sponsor in time for the 2014–15 season.
Highlights army football vs north texas in the zaxby s heart of dallas bowl 12 27 16
History
The game was tentatively called the Dallas Football Classic until TicketCity, an online reseller of sports and entertainment tickets, agreed to be the title game's first title sponsor.
The Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten Conference faced the Texas Tech Red Raiders of the Big 12 Conference in the inaugural game.
Stadium
The Cotton Bowl stadium opened in 1932. Originally known as the Fair Park Bowl, it is located in Fair Park, site of the State Fair of Texas. Due to the immense crowds that SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s, the stadium became known as "The House That Doak Built." The Cotton Bowl Classic called the stadium home from the bowl's inception in 1937 until the 2009 game, after which it moved to what is now AT&T Stadium. The stadium also served as the original home of Dallas' first, ill-fated National Football League franchise in 1952. Later, and far more successfully, the NFL's Dallas Cowboys called the Cotton Bowl home for 11 years, from the team's formation in 1960 until 1971, when the Cowboys moved to Texas Stadium. The American Football League's Dallas Texans likewise began play at the Cotton Bowl in 1960, but were unable to compete successfully financially with Cowboys and after only three money-losing seasons moved to Kansas City, where they became quite successful on and off the field as the Kansas City Chiefs.
Tie-ins
The Heart of Dallas Bowl has tie-ins with the Big Ten Conference, the Big 12 Conference, and Conference USA (C-USA).
For the first four playings, the Big Ten was contracted to send a team each season, with alternating appearances from the Big 12 (even seasons) and C-USA (odd seasons). For the 2013 season, the Big Ten did not have enough bowl eligible teams, so the selection committee chose an at-large team, UNLV from the Mountain West Conference, to take their place.
For the next six playings, C-USA is contracted to send a team each season, with alternating appearances from the Big Ten (even seasons) and Big 12 (odd seasons). For the 2015 season, the Big 12 did not have enough bowl eligible teams, so the selection committee selected the Washington Huskies from the Pac-12 Conference to take their place. For the 2016 season, the Big Ten sent four teams to CFP bowls, so the selection committee chose an at-large team, independent Army, to take their place.
After having been played on January 1 or January 2 for its first four editions, the game moved to a late December date beginning with the 2014 season.
Bold conference denotes winner of games played.
Game records
Note: Only the most recent year shown.
Broadcasting
ESPNU had coverage of the first four games. Since December 2014, the game has aired on ESPN. On radio RedVoice LLC carries the game nationwide along Premiere Radio Networks stations under the name "The Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl Radio Network". KLIF (AM) serves as the flagship station for the Heart of Dallas Bowl.