Gator Bowl



The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. It is the sixth oldest college bowl, held continuously since 1946. Since 1996, it has been one of the bowl games that are regularly played on January 1 (New Year's Day); when New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is then played on the following Monday. Since the 2011 playing, Progressive Corporation has been the sponsor of the game, taking over from Konica Minolta.

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.

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 Jacksonville 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 that the timing was a tragic coincidence. The fire resulted in 22 deaths.

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 Clemson 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.

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. 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.

Organization
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. The GBA also hosted the ACC Championship Game from 2005 to 2007.

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, the ACC runner-up became contractually tied to play in the Chick-fil-A Bowl and the Gator Bowl began hosting the third-place ACC team versus a team from either the Big East (still the conference's #2 team unless they qualified for the BCS), Big 12, or Notre Dame, who would take the Big East's spot in this game. The contract, which ran for four years, is held in conjunction with the Sun Bowl with the Gator Bowl receiving first choice of teams and required both bowls to take Big East teams twice and Big 12 teams twice. Since the last two Gator Bowls featured Texas Tech and Nebraska, both Big 12 teams, a Big East team or Notre Dame would play in the 2010 Gator Bowl per the terms of the contract (West Virginia lost to Florida State in this game). The conference alignment changed again in 2010, as the Big East and Notre Dame are moving their hybrid arrangement to the Champs Sports Bowl for 2010, while the Gator Bowl declined to renew their contract with the Big 12. The Gator Bowl will feature the SEC and the Big Ten starting with the 2010 season, joining the Capital One Bowl and the Outback Bowl as the third Big Ten-SEC bowl matchup on New Years' Day.. The latest Gator Bowl matchup occurred Jan. 1, 2011 and featured the University of Michigan and Mississippi State University.

Media coverage
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. CBS Sports took over the television contract in 2007 and held the rights for four years. ESPN purchased the rights to the game following its 2010 playing and the 2011 Gator Bowl aired on ESPN2; with the acquisition of the Gator Bowl the ESPN family of networks became the home of every New Year's Day bowl game (the network already had the rights to the Outback, Capital One, and Rose bowls and acquired the rights to the TicketCity Bowl and the remainder of the BCS games).

Title sponsors
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. Konica Minolta then became the sponsor from 2007 to 2010. On December 14, 2010, the Gator Bowl Association announced that Progressive Insurance would become the title sponsor for the 2011 Gator Bowl.

Game results
Italics denotes a tie game. {| class="wikitable collapsible" width=400px !colspan=7 align=center bgcolor=""| Game Scores ! Date Played !! colspan="2"| Winning Team !! colspan="2" | Losing Team !! Notes
 * January 1, 1946 || Wake Forest || 26 || || 14 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1947 || Oklahoma || 34 || || 13 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1948 || Georgia || 20 || Maryland || 20 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1949 ||  || 24 || || 23 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 2, 1950 || Maryland || 20 || || 7 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1951 ||  || 20 || || 7 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1952 ||  || 14 || || 0 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1953 || Florida || 14 || || 13 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1954 || Texas Tech || 35 || || 13 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 31, 1954 ||  || 33 || || 13 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 31, 1955 ||  || 25 || || 13 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 29, 1956 ||  || 21 || || 14 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 28, 1957 ||  || 3 || Texas A&M || 0 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 27, 1958 ||  || 7 || Florida || 3 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 2, 1960 || Arkansas || 14 || || 7 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 31, 1960 || Florida || 13 || || 12 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1961 || Penn State || 30 || || 15 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 29, 1962 || Florida || 17 || Penn State || 7 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 28, 1963 ||  || 35 || || 0 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 2, 1965 ||  || 36 || || 19 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 31, 1965 ||  || 31 || Texas Tech || 21 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 31, 1966 ||  || 18 || || 12 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1967 ||  || 17 || Penn State || 17 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 28, 1968 ||  || 35 || Alabama || 10 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 27, 1969 || Florida || 14 || Tennessee || 13 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 2, 1971 ||  || 35 || Mississippi || 28 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 31, 1971 || Georgia || 7 || || 3 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1972 ||  || 24 || || 3 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 29, 1973 || Texas Tech || 28 || || 19 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1974 ||  || 27 || || 3 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 29, 1975 || Maryland || 13 || Florida || 0 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 27, 1976 ||  || 20 || Penn State || 9 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1977 ||  || 34 || || 3 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 29, 1978 ||  || 17 || Ohio State || 15 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 28, 1979 || North Carolina || 17 || Michigan || 15 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 29, 1980 || Pittsburgh || 37 || South Carolina || 9 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 28, 1981 ||  || 31 || Arkansas || 27 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1982 ||  || 31 || West Virginia || 12 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1983 || Florida || 14 || Iowa || 6 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 28, 1984 ||  || 21 || || 14 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1985 || Florida State || 34 || || 23 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 27, 1986 ||  || 27 || || 21 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 31, 1987 ||  || 30 || || 13 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1989 || Georgia || 34 || || 27 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1989 || Clemson || 27 || || 7 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1991 || Michigan || 35 || Mississippi || 3 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 29, 1991 ||  || 48 || || 14 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 31, 1992 || Florida || 27 || || 10 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 31, 1993 || Alabama || 24 || || 10 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1994 || Tennessee || 45 || || 23 || align=center| q.v.
 * January 1, 1996 ||  || 41 || || 0 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1997 || North Carolina || 20 || || 13 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1998 || North Carolina || 42 || || 3 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1999 ||  || 35 || Notre Dame || 28 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2000 ||  || 28 || || 13 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2001 || Virginia Tech || 41 || || 20 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2002 || Florida State || 30 || || 17 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2003 ||  || 28 || Notre Dame || 6 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2004 || Maryland || 41 || West Virginia || 7 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2005 || Florida State ||30 || West Virginia || 18 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 2, 2006 || Virginia Tech || 35 || Louisville || 24 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2007 || West Virginia || 38 || Georgia Tech || 35 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2008 || Texas Tech || 31 || Virginia || 28 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2009 || Nebraska || 26 || Clemson || 21 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2010 ||  Florida State || 33 || West Virginia || 21 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2011 || Mississippi State  || 52 || Michigan || 14 || align=center|q.v.
 * - }
 * December 29, 1978 ||  || 17 || Ohio State || 15 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 28, 1979 || North Carolina || 17 || Michigan || 15 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 29, 1980 || Pittsburgh || 37 || South Carolina || 9 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 28, 1981 ||  || 31 || Arkansas || 27 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1982 ||  || 31 || West Virginia || 12 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1983 || Florida || 14 || Iowa || 6 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 28, 1984 ||  || 21 || || 14 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1985 || Florida State || 34 || || 23 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 27, 1986 ||  || 27 || || 21 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 31, 1987 ||  || 30 || || 13 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1989 || Georgia || 34 || || 27 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1989 || Clemson || 27 || || 7 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1991 || Michigan || 35 || Mississippi || 3 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 29, 1991 ||  || 48 || || 14 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 31, 1992 || Florida || 27 || || 10 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 31, 1993 || Alabama || 24 || || 10 || align=center|q.v.
 * December 30, 1994 || Tennessee || 45 || || 23 || align=center| q.v.
 * January 1, 1996 ||  || 41 || || 0 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1997 || North Carolina || 20 || || 13 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1998 || North Carolina || 42 || || 3 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1999 ||  || 35 || Notre Dame || 28 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2000 ||  || 28 || || 13 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2001 || Virginia Tech || 41 || || 20 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2002 || Florida State || 30 || || 17 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2003 ||  || 28 || Notre Dame || 6 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2004 || Maryland || 41 || West Virginia || 7 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2005 || Florida State ||30 || West Virginia || 18 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 2, 2006 || Virginia Tech || 35 || Louisville || 24 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2007 || West Virginia || 38 || Georgia Tech || 35 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2008 || Texas Tech || 31 || Virginia || 28 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2009 || Nebraska || 26 || Clemson || 21 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2010 ||  Florida State || 33 || West Virginia || 21 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2011 || Mississippi State  || 52 || Michigan || 14 || align=center|q.v.
 * - }
 * January 1, 1996 ||  || 41 || || 0 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1997 || North Carolina || 20 || || 13 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1998 || North Carolina || 42 || || 3 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 1999 ||  || 35 || Notre Dame || 28 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2000 ||  || 28 || || 13 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2001 || Virginia Tech || 41 || || 20 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2002 || Florida State || 30 || || 17 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2003 ||  || 28 || Notre Dame || 6 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2004 || Maryland || 41 || West Virginia || 7 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2005 || Florida State ||30 || West Virginia || 18 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 2, 2006 || Virginia Tech || 35 || Louisville || 24 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2007 || West Virginia || 38 || Georgia Tech || 35 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2008 || Texas Tech || 31 || Virginia || 28 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2009 || Nebraska || 26 || Clemson || 21 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2010 ||  Florida State || 33 || West Virginia || 21 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2011 || Mississippi State  || 52 || Michigan || 14 || align=center|q.v.
 * - }
 * January 1, 2005 || Florida State ||30 || West Virginia || 18 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 2, 2006 || Virginia Tech || 35 || Louisville || 24 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2007 || West Virginia || 38 || Georgia Tech || 35 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2008 || Texas Tech || 31 || Virginia || 28 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2009 || Nebraska || 26 || Clemson || 21 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2010 ||  Florida State || 33 || West Virginia || 21 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2011 || Mississippi State  || 52 || Michigan || 14 || align=center|q.v.
 * - }
 * January 1, 2009 || Nebraska || 26 || Clemson || 21 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2010 ||  Florida State || 33 || West Virginia || 21 || align=center|q.v.
 * January 1, 2011 || Mississippi State  || 52 || Michigan || 14 || align=center|q.v.
 * - }
 * January 1, 2011 || Mississippi State  || 52 || Michigan || 14 || align=center|q.v.
 * - }
 * - }

Gator Bowl Hall of Fame
Inductees (by year):
 * 1989 - Dan Devine, Ray Graves, Ralph "Shug" Jordan, Floyd Little, Archie Manning, Bobby Dodd
 * 1990 - Vince Dooley, Bobby Gage, Frank Howard, Pat Sullivan, Bob Woodruff, George R. Olsen
 * 1991 - Wally Butts, Bill Peterson, Ron Sellers, Ken Willard
 * 1992 - Maxie Baughan, Lu Gambino, Don Faurot, John Howard Vaught
 * 1993 - Dewitt Weaver, Tom Shannon, Joe Childress
 * 1994 - Doug Dickey, Charles A. (Rip) Engle, Larry Libertore Jr.,
 * 1995 – Fred Biletnikoff, Frank Boyles, Nicholas Sacrinty, Richard Stratton, Steve Tensi
 * 1996 – Dave Robinson, Wade Mitchell, Jim Dooley, Dick Crum
 * 1997 – Judge John "Papa" Hall, Gene Stallings, Kim Hammond, John F. Lanahan
 * 1998 - Ross Browner, James Stewart, Danny Ford
 * 1999 - Jack Bush, Walter C. Dunbar, Jay Solomon
 * 2000 - Joe Paterno, Terry McMillan, Bob Bradley
 * 2001 - John David Crow, Don Nehlen, Carlisle Jones
 * 2002 - W.W. "Bill" Gay, Jackie Sherrill, Hugh Green
 * 2003 - Donny Anderson, Rodney Hampton, Ash Verlander
 * 2004 - Chip Ferguson, Bill Nimnicht, Jr., Steve Spurrier, Greg Allen
 * 2005 - Desmond Howard, Peter Kirill Sr., Douglas "Peahead" Walker
 * 2006 - Dave Braine, Carl Cannon
 * 2007 - Don Davis, George Rogers, Paul "Bear" Bryant
 * 2008 - Errict Rhett, Wendell Davis
 * 2009 - Wilford C. Lyon, Jr, Gary Pajcic, Bob Golic