Harman Patil (Editor)

Peach Bowl

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Location
  
Atlanta, Georgia

Previous conference tie-ins
  
SEC, ACC

Operated
  
1968–present

Stadium
  
Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Peach Bowl httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenthumb3

Previous stadiums
  
Georgia Dome (1993–2016) Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium (1971–1992) Grant Field (1968–1970)

Conference tie-ins
  
At-large/Group of Five (2014–present)

Payout
  
US$3,967,500 (ACC) (As of 2011) US$2,932,500 (SEC) (As of 2011)

Latest champion
  
Alabama Crimson Tide football

Instances
  
2016 Peach Bowl, 2015 Peach Bowl, 2014 Peach Bowl, 2011 Chick‑fil‑A Bowl, 2007 Chick‑fil‑A Bowl

2016 17 peach bowl 4 washington vs 1 alabama hd


The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. It has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A since 1997, and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially referred to as simply the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Contents

The first three Peach Bowls were played at Grant Field on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta. Between 1971 and 1992, Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium hosted the game. Between 1993 and 2016, the Georgia Dome has played host. The bowl will then be moved to Mercedes-Benz Stadium after that facility opens, scheduled for mid-2017. Since the 2014 season, the Peach Bowl has featured College Football Playoff matchups, with the 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025 games hosting a national semifinal.

cfp semifinal peach bowl alabama crimson tide vs washington huskies in 30 minutes 12 31 16


History

Seven of the first ten meetings (all but the 1968, 1971, and 1974 games) pitted an Atlantic Coast Conference team against an at-large opponent. From 1993 until 2013, the game matched a Southeastern Conference team against one from the ACC. In 2005, the bowl hosted its first-ever matchup of top 10 ranked teams.

The game was originally created as a fund-raiser by the Lions Clubs of Georgia in 1968, but after years of lackluster attendance and revenue, the game was taken over by the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.

Chick-fil-A, a fast food restaurant chain based in nearby College Park, has sponsored the game since 1997. From 2006 until 2013, Chick-fil-A's contract gave it full naming rights and the game was referred to as the Chick-fil-A Bowl as a result. The traditional "Peach Bowl" name was reinstated following the announcement that the bowl would be one of the six College Football Playoff bowls.

The funds from the deal were used to increase payouts for the participating teams. In response, from 2006 to 2014 the ACC gave the committee the first pick of its teams after the BCS—usually the loser of the ACC Championship Game or one of the division runners-up. Also from 2006, the bowl got the fifth overall selection from the SEC (including the BCS). However, the BCS took two SEC schools in every season for the last nine years of its run, leaving the Chick-Fil-A with the sixth pick from the conference—usually one of the division runners-up.

As of 2013, the bowl was sold out for 17 straight years, the second-longest streak behind only the Rose Bowl Game. In 2007, the Chick-fil-A Bowl became the best-attended non-BCS bowl for the previous decade.

The 2007 game was played on December 31, 2007 featuring the second Peach Bowl matchup between #15 Clemson and #21 Auburn. It was the first time the Peach Bowl had ended regulation play with a tie, and with the rules in play since the early 1990s, required an overtime, which Auburn won, 23–20. With a 5.09 share (4.92 million households), the 2007 game was the highest-rated ESPN-broadcast bowl game of the 2007-2008 season as well as the highest rated in the game's history. The rating was also higher than two New Year's Day bowls, the Cotton and the Gator. In October 2009, the bowl extended the Atlantic Coast Conference contract through 2013. According to Sports Illustrated, although the bowl generated $12.3 million in profit in 2007, only $5.9 million of that was paid out to the participating schools. On December 31, 2012 the bowl set new records for viewership. The New Year's Eve telecast – a 25-24 Clemson victory over LSU – averaged 8,557,000 viewers (a 5.6 household coverage rating), making it ESPN's most-viewed non-BCS bowl ever.

Statistics

  • Ninth-oldest bowl game in college football history.
  • A then-Georgia Dome attendance record of 75,406 set in 2006 (Georgia vs. Virginia Tech).
  • 17 straight sellouts (from 1998 through 2013).
  • Highest-attended non-BCS bowl game.
  • More than $125 million in cumulative payout (through the 2013 season).
  • Conference records

    Records are based on a team's conference at the time of the game (e.g. South Carolina is 0–1 as an SEC member and 0–1 as an ACC member).

    References

    Peach Bowl Wikipedia