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
Location Jacksonville, Florida
Previous Stadiums Gator Bowl Stadium (1946-1993)
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (1994)
Alltel Stadium (1995-2006)
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$2,500,000 (2006)
Sponsors
Konica Minolta
Former names
Toyota Gator Bowl, Outback Gator Bowl, Mazda Gator Bowl
2008 Matchup
Texas Tech vs. Virginia (TTU 31, UVa 28)
2009 Matchup
Big East/Notre Dame or Big 12
vs. ACC #3 (January 1)

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

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 event struggled in the early years, drawing only 7,362 to the 1946 match when Wake Forest defeated South Carolina, 26-14. It was not until the 1949 match-up of 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. The Gator Bowl Association is the entity behind the game.

Contents

[edit] Venues

The 1946 and 1947 games were played in Fairfield Stadium, which had a seating capacity of 7,600. The future postseason college football classic was so successful, the stadium was expanded in 1948 to 16,000 seats and renamed the Gator Bowl. The Gator Bowl Stadium hosted the game until 1993, when the stadium was almost completely demolished for the construction of a new Stadium on the same site. The 1994 game was played in Gainesville, Florida during construction; the 1996 game (moved to January 1 that season) and subsequent games have been held at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. At that 1994 game, the Tennessee Volunteers beat Virginia Tech, getting Tennessee's first win in Gainesville since 1971, but would not actually beat the Florida Gators there until 2001.

[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.

[edit] Television 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. Then TBS bought the rights to the game in the early '90s and was the home of the game until it moved to January 1st and NBC.

[edit] Hotel Roosevelt fire

The Gator Bowl is one of Jacksonville's annual sports highlights. However, the event was once at the root of 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). There were 22 hotel guests who lost their lives.

[edit] The Woody Hayes incident in 1978

It was in the 1978 game between Ohio State and Clemson where Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes lost his temper after a late game interception by Charlie Bauman. The play would seal the Tigers' 17-15 win over the Buckeyes, and Hayes clotheslined Bauman on the sideline in front of a national television audience. Hayes was dismissed the next day by Ohio State's Board of Trustees.

[edit] Title sponsors

Former logo of the Toyota Gator Bowl
Former logo of the Toyota Gator Bowl

From 1996-2006, the title sponsor was Toyota, and the bowl's official name was the Toyota Gator Bowl. There was no title sponsor for the 2007 game. Mazda has also previously been a sponsor. Outback Steakhouse sponsored this bowl before becoming the sponsor of the Outback Bowl held in Tampa, Florida.

[edit] Previous results

Italics denotes a tie game.

Date Played Winning Team Losing Team notes
January 1, 1946 Wake Forest 26 South Carolina 14
January 1, 1947 Oklahoma 34 North Carolina State 13
January 1, 1948 [2] Georgia 20 Maryland 20
January 1, 1949 Clemson 24 Missouri 23
January 2, 1950 Maryland 20 Missouri 7
January 1, 1951 Wyoming 20 Washington & Lee 7
January 1, 1952 Miami (Florida) 14 Clemson 0
January 1, 1953 Florida 14 Tulsa 13
January 1, 1954 Texas Tech 35 Auburn 13
December 31, 1954 Auburn 33 Baylor 13
December 31, 1955 Vanderbilt 25 Auburn 13
December 29, 1956 Georgia Tech 21 Pittsburgh 14
December 28, 1957 Tennessee 3 Texas A&M 0
December 27, 1958 Mississippi 7 Florida 3
January 2, 1960 Arkansas 14 Georgia Tech 7
December 31, 1960 Florida 13 Baylor 12
December 30, 1961 Penn State 30 Georgia Tech 15
December 29, 1962 Florida 17 Penn State 7
December 28, 1963 North Carolina 35 Air Force 0
January 2, 1965 Florida State 36 Oklahoma 19
December 31, 1965 Georgia Tech 31 Texas Tech 21
December 31, 1966 Tennessee 18 Syracuse 12
December 30, 1967 Florida State 17 Penn State 17
December 28, 1968 Missouri 35 Alabama 10
December 27, 1969 Florida 14 Tennessee 13
January 2, 1971 Auburn 35 Mississippi 28
December 31, 1971 Georgia 7 North Carolina 3
December 30, 1972 Auburn 24 Colorado 3
December 29, 1973 Texas Tech 28 Tennessee 19
December 30, 1974 Auburn 27 Texas 3
December 29, 1975 Maryland 13 Florida 0
December 27, 1976 Notre Dame 20 Penn State 9
December 30, 1977 Pittsburgh 34 Clemson 3
December 29, 1978 Clemson 17 Ohio State 15
December 28, 1979 North Carolina 17 Michigan 15
December 29, 1980 Pittsburgh 37 South Carolina 9
December 28, 1981 North Carolina 31 Arkansas 27
December 30, 1982 Florida State 31 West Virginia 12
December 30, 1983 Florida 14 Iowa 6
December 28, 1984 Oklahoma State 21 South Carolina 14
December 30, 1985 Florida State 34 Oklahoma State 23
December 27, 1986 Clemson 27 Stanford 21
December 31, 1987 LSU 30 South Carolina 13
January 1, 1989 Georgia 34 Michigan State 27
December 30, 1989 Clemson 27 West Virginia 7
January 1, 1991 Michigan 35 Mississippi 3
December 29, 1991 Oklahoma 48 Virginia 14
December 31, 1992 Florida 27 North Carolina State 10
December 31, 1993 Alabama 24 North Carolina 10
December 30, 1994 [3] Tennessee 45 Virginia Tech 23 notes
January 1, 1996 Syracuse 41 Clemson 0
January 1, 1997 North Carolina 20 West Virginia 13
January 1, 1998 North Carolina 42 Virginia Tech 3 notes
January 1, 1999 Georgia Tech 35 Notre Dame 28
January 1, 2000 Miami (Florida) 28 Georgia Tech 13
January 1, 2001 Virginia Tech 41 Clemson 20 notes
January 1, 2002 Florida State 30 Virginia Tech 17 notes
January 1, 2003 North Carolina State 28 Notre Dame 6
January 1, 2004 Maryland 41 West Virginia 7
January 1, 2005 Florida State 30 West Virginia 18 notes
January 2, 2006 Virginia Tech 35 Louisville 24 notes
January 1, 2007 West Virginia 38 Georgia Tech 35 notes
January 1, 2008 Texas Tech 31 Virginia 28 notes
  1. ^ Gator Bowl lands new deal for title sponsor
  2. ^ Venue renamed Gator Bowl
  3. ^ Game held at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida due to renovation.

[edit] MVPs

Date Played MVP(s) Team Position
January 1, 1946 Nick Sacrinty Wake Forest QB
January 1, 1947 Joe Golding Oklahoma HB
January 1, 1948 Lu Gambino Maryland HB
January 1, 1949 Bobby Gage Clemson HB
January 2, 1950 Bob Ward Maryland G
January 1, 1951 Eddie Talboom Wyoming HB
January 1, 1952 Jim Dooley Miami (Fla.) HB
January 1, 1953 John Hall Florida RB
Marv Matuszak Tulsa T
January 1, 1954 Bobby Cavazos Texas Tech RB
Vince Dooley Auburn QB
December 31, 1954 Joe Childress Auburn FB
Billy Hooper Baylor QB
December 31, 1955 Don Orr Vanderbilt QB
Joe Childress Auburn FB
December 29, 1956 Wade Mitchell Georgia Tech QB
Corny Salvaterra Pittsburgh QB
December 28, 1957 Bobby Gordon Tenneessee TB
John David Crow Texas A&M HB
December 27, 1958 Bobby Franklin Mississippi QB
Dave Hudson Florida E
January 2, 1960 Jim Mooty Arkansas HB
Maxie Baughan Georgia Tech LB
December 31, 1960 Larry Libertore Florida QB
Bobby Ply Baylor QB
December 30, 1961 Galen Hall Penn State QB
Joe Auer Georgia Tech HB
December 29, 1962 Tom Shannon Florida QB
Dave Robinson Penn State E
December 28, 1963 Ken Willard North Carolina RB
David Sicks Air Force C
January 2, 1965 Fred Biletnikoff Florida State SE
Steve Tensi Florida State QB
Carl McAdams Oklahoma LB
December 31, 1965 Lenny Snow Georgia Tech TB
Donny Anderson Texas Tech RB
December 31, 1966 Dewey Warren Tenneessee QB
Floyd Little Syracuse HB
December 30, 1967 Kim Hammond Florida State QB
Tom Sherman Penn State QB
December 28, 1968 Terry McMillan Missouri QB
Mike Hall Alabama LB
December 27, 1969 Mike Kelley Florida TB
Curt Watson Tennessee FB
January 2, 1971 Pat Sullivan Auburn QB
Archie Manning Ole' Miss QB
December 31, 1971 Jimmy Poulos Georgia TB
James Webster North Carolina LB
December 30, 1972 Wade Whatley Auburn QB
Mark Cooney Colorado LB
December 29, 1973 Joe Barnes Texas Tech QB
Haskel Stanback Tennessee TB
December 30, 1974 Phil Gargis Auburn QB
Earl Campbell Texas RB
December 29, 1975 Steve Atkins Maryland TB
Sammy Green Florida LB
December 27, 1976 Al Hunter Notre Dame HB
Jimmy Cefalo Penn State WR
December 30, 1977 Matt Cavanaugh Pittsburgh QB
Jerry Butler Clemson SE
December 29, 1978 Steve Fuller Clemson QB
Art Schlichter Ohio State QB
December 28, 1979 Matt Kupec North Carolina QB
Amos Lawrence North Carolina RB
John Wangler Michigan QB
Anthony Carter Michigan WR
December 29, 1980 Rick Trocano Pittsburgh QB
George Rogers South Carolina RB
December 28, 1981 Kelvin Bryant North Carolina TB
Ethan Horton North Carolina TB
Gary Anderson Arkansas RB
December 30, 1982 Greg Allen Florida State TB
Paul Woodside West Virginia K
December 30, 1983 Tony Lilly Florida S
Owen Gill Iowa FB
December 28, 1984 Thurman Thomas Oklahoma State RB
Mike Hold South Carolina QB
December 30, 1985 Chip Ferguson Florida State QB
Thurman Thomas Oklahoma State RB
December 27, 1986 Rodney Williams Clemson QB
Brad Muster Stanford RB
December 31, 1987 Wendell Davis LSU SE
Harold Green South Carolina RB
January 1, 1989 Wayne Johnson Georgia QB
Andre Rison Michigan State WR
December 30, 1989 Levon Kirkland Clemson LB
Mike Fox West Virginia DT
January 1, 1991 Offensive Line Michigan N/A
Tyrone Ashley Mississippi DB
December 29, 1991 Cale Gundy Oklahoma QB
Tyrone Davis Virginia DB
December 31, 1992 Errict Rhett Florida RB
Reggie Lawrence North Carolina WR
December 31, 1993 Brian Burgdorf Alabama QB
Corey Holliday North Carolina WR
December 30, 1994 James Stewart Tennessee TB
Maurice DeShazo Virginia Tech QB
January 1, 1996 Donovan McNabb Syracuse QB
Peter Ford Clemson CB
January 1, 1997 Oscar Davenport North Carolina QB
David Saunders West Virginia WR
January 1, 1998 Chris Keldorf North Carolina QB
Nick Sorensen Virginia Tech QB
January 1, 1999 Dez White Georgia Tech WR
Joe Hamilton Georgia Tech QB
Autry Denson Notre Dame RB
January 1, 2000 Nate Webster Miami (Fla.) LB
Joe Hamilton Georgia Tech QB
January 1, 2001 Michael Vick Virginia Tech QB
Rod Gardner Clemson WR
January 1, 2002 Javon Walker Florida State WR
Andre Davis Virginia Tech WR
January 1, 2003 Philip Rivers North Carolina State QB
Cedric Hillard Notre Dame NG
January 1, 2004 Scott McBrien Maryland QB
Brian King West Virginia DB
January 1, 2005 Leon Washington Florida State RB
Kay-Jay Harris West Virginia RB
January 2, 2006 Cedric Humes Virginia Tech RB
Hunter Cantwell Louisville QB
January 1, 2007 Calvin Johnson Georgia Tech WR
Pat White West Virginia QB
January 1, 2008 [1] Graham Harrell Texas Tech QB
Mikell Simpson Virginia RB

[edit] Broadcasters

Date Network Play-by-play Color Commentator(s) Sideline Reporter(s)
January 1, 2007 CBS Verne Lundquist Gary Danielson Tracy Wolfson
January 2, 2006 NBC Tom Hammond Pat Haden Lewis Johnson
January 1, 2005 NBC Tom Hammond Pat Haden Lewis Johnson
January 1, 2004 NBC Tom Hammond Pat Haden Lewis Johnson

[edit] Most Appearances

Rank Team Appearances Record
T1 Florida 8 6-2
T1 Clemson 8 4-4
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] See also

List of college bowl games

[edit] References

  1. ^ Texas Tech Red Raiders, NCAA Football, Virginia Cavaliers - CBSSports.com

[edit] External links

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