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Sugar Bowl
Allstate Sugar Bowl
File:Sugar Bowl logo.svg
Allstate Sugar Bowl logo
Stadium Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Location New Orleans, Louisiana
Previous stadiums Tulane Stadium (1934-1974)
Georgia Dome (2006)[1]
Previous locations Atlanta, Georgia (2006)[1]
Operated January 1, 1935 - Present
Conference tie-ins SEC (1935-present)
Payout US$17,000,000 (As of 2006)
Sponsors
USF&G Financial Services (1987-1995)
Nokia (1995-2006)
Allstate Insurance (2007-present)
2012 matchup
Michigan vs. Virginia Tech (Michigan 23–20)
2013 matchup
Florida vs. Louisville (January 2, 2013 (Louisville 33-23))

The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009. The Sugar Bowl, along with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl, are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl.[2] The Sugar Bowl is also a member of the Bowl Championship Series. Presently, its official title is the Allstate Sugar Bowl after its current sponsor.

The Sugar Bowl has had a longstanding--albeit not exclusive--relationship with the Southeastern Conference. From 1950—1995, only once did the Sugar Bowl not feature an SEC team. That relationship has been altered over the past twenty years due to conference realignments and the emergence of a series of coalitions and alliances intending to produce an undisputed national champion in college football, but the ties between the Sugar Bowl and the SEC have persisted and have recently been strengthened. Starting in January 2015, the Sugar Bowl game will feature the SEC and Big 12 conference champions (unless they are involved in the national championship game),[3] an arrangement nearly identical with the relationship between the Rose Bowl and the champions of the Big Ten and Pac-12.

As a member of the Bowl Championship Series, the Sugar Bowl hosted the BCS National Championship Game twice (2000 and 2004). However, since the 2006 season, the BCS National Championship Game has been a stand-alone event, following one week after the New Year's Day bowl games. This means that, under the current BCS format, no traditional bowl game hosts the BCS National Championship Game, but that game is played at the venue of one of those traditional major bowls, rotating amongst the four sites, including the Superdome.

The payout for the 2006 game was $14–17 million per participating team. According to Sports Illustrated, the 2007 salary for Sugar Bowl CEO Paul Hoolahan was $607,500.[4]

File:Tulane Stadium Sugar Bowl This Week in New Orleans Dec 4 1948.jpg

Sugar Bowl in Tulane Stadium in the 1940s

History[]

In 1890, Pasadena, California held its first Tournament of Roses Parade to showcase the city's mild weather compared to the harsh winters in northern cities. As one of the organizers said: "In New York, people are buried in snow. Here, our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let's hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise." In 1902, the annual festival was enhanced by adding a football game.[5]

File:Sugar Bowl Game 2004 from Flickr 29799042.jpg

2004 Sugar Bowl, Louisiana State University vs. Oklahoma; January 4, 2004

In 1926, leaders in Miami, Florida decided to do the same with a "Fiesta of the American Tropics" that was centered around a New Year's Day football game. Although a second "Fiesta" was never held, Miami leaders later revived the idea with the "Palm Festival" (with the slogan "Have a Green Christmas in Miami"). The football game and associated festivities of the Palm Festival were soon named the "Orange Bowl."[6]

In New Orleans, Louisiana, the idea of a New Year's Day football game was first presented in 1927 by Colonel James M. Thomson, publisher of the New Orleans Item, and Sports Editor Fred Digby. Every year thereafter, Digby repeated called for action, and even came up with the name "Sugar Bowl" for his proposed football game.[7]

By 1935, enough support had been garnered for the first Sugar Bowl. The game was played in Tulane Stadium, which had been built in 1926 on Tulane University's campus (before 1871, Tulane's campus was Paul Foucher's Plantation, where Foucher's father-in-law, Etienne de Bore, had first granulated sugar from cane syrup). Warren V. Miller, the first president of the New Orleans Mid-Winter Sports Association, guided the Sugar Bowl through its difficult formative years of 1934 and 1935.

Much controversy preceded the 1956 Sugar Bowl, when Bobby Grier's Pitt Panthers met the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. There had been controversy over whether Grier should be allowed to play, and whether Georgia Tech should even play at all due to Georgia governor Marvin Griffin's opposition to integration.[8][9][10]

In November 1967, Army's success on the field made them a strong candidate to be selected for the 1968 Sugar Bowl. However, Pentagon officials, in the midst of the Vietnam War, refused to allow the team to play what would have been the academy's first bowl game ever—citing the "heavy demands on the players' time" as well as an emphasis on football "not consistent with the academy's basic mission: to produce career Army officers."[11]

Superdome Sunset

Superdome for the 2005 Sugar Bowl

Tulane Stadium hosted the game from 1935 through 1974. It has been played in the Louisiana Superdome since 1975. The Sugar Bowl's corporate title sponsor was USF&G Financial Services from 1987 to 1995 and Nokia cellular telephones of Finland from 1995 to 2006. In March 2006 Allstate Insurance was announced as the new title sponsor. ABC Sports televised the game from 1969 through 2006. Fox Sports televised the game from 2007 to 2009 as part of its contract with the BCS. ESPN will start airing the game with the 2010–11 season, after outbidding Fox for the broadcasting rights.[12]

The 2006 Sugar Bowl game was played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia because of the extensive damage the Superdome suffered as a result of Hurricane Katrina. The Sugar Bowl has since returned to the refurbished Superdome.

Prior to the BCS, the game traditionally hosted the Southeastern Conference (SEC) champion against a top-tier at-large opponent. This was formalized in 1975, when the SEC champion was granted an automatic bid to the Sugar Bowl starting with the end of the 1976 season. This continued throughout the time of the Bowl Coalition, a precursor to the BCS. However, the Sugar Bowl agreed to release the SEC champion if necessary to force a national championship game. When the Bowl Coalition became the Bowl Alliance after the 1995 season, the link with the SEC was briefly broken, as was the case with all conference tie-ins with bowl games (except the Rose Bowl).

Under the current BCS format, the Sugar Bowl continues to host the SEC champion against a top-tier at-large opponent, unless the SEC champion goes to the BCS National Championship Game.[13] When this happens, the Sugar Bowl usually selects the highest-ranked SEC team still available in the BCS pool. The SEC champion has been to the BCS title game since the end of the 2006 season.

The Sugar Bowl maintains an archive of past programs, images, newsreels, and other materials. The archive, originally housed in the Superdome, survived Hurricane Katrina, but a more secure home was needed. During the summer of 2007, the Sugar Bowl donated its materials to The Historic New Orleans Collection, designating it the permanent home of its archive.

2011 Sugar Bowl winner Ohio State vacated its Sugar Bowl victory over Arkansas in response to National Collegiate Athletic Association allegations over a memorabilia-for-cash scandal.[14]

The 2012 game, pitting the Michigan Wolverines against the Virginia Tech Hokies, was the first Sugar Bowl since 2000—and only the sixth since World War II—without an SEC team. Both of the SEC's BCS participants, Alabama and LSU, played in the National Championship Game, and under current BCS rules only two teams per conference are eligible for BCS bowls.

In May 2012, the Big 12 and SEC announced plans to create a new bowl game, the Champions Bowl, that would play host to the champions of those two conferences.[15] But by November 2012, it was decided instead that the Sugar Bowl will play host to the champions of the Big 12 and SEC, beginning in January 2015.[3] If one of those teams takes part in the national semifinal, a team from the same conference will take their place. Also, it will become one of the bowls that will rotate as a spot for a national semifinal game.

Game results[]

Italics denote a tie game.
+ - Denotes Bowl Coalition Championship game
^ - Denotes Bowl Alliance Championship game
* - Denotes BCS National Championship Game
† - Played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia
‡ - Ohio State had defeated Arkansas, 31-26, but the game was vacated due to NCAA infractions committed.

Annual Date Played Winning Team Losing Team
1st January 1, 1935 Tulane 20 Temple 14
2nd January 1, 1936 TCU 3 LSU 2
3rd January 1, 1937 Santa Clara 21 LSU 14
4th January 1, 1938 Santa Clara 6 LSU 0
5th January 2, 1939 TCU 15 Carnegie Tech 7
6th January 1, 1940 Texas A&M 14 Tulane 13
7th January 1, 1941 Boston College 19 Tennessee 13
8th January 1, 1942 Fordham 2 Missouri 0
9th January 1, 1943 Tennessee 14 Tulsa 7
10th January 1, 1944 Georgia Tech 20 Tulsa 18
11th January 1, 1945 Duke 29 Alabama 26
12th January 1, 1946 Oklahoma State 33 Saint Mary's (CA) 13
13th January 1, 1947 Georgia 20 North Carolina 10
14th January 1, 1948 Texas 27 Alabama 7
15th January 1, 1949 Oklahoma 14 North Carolina 6
16th January 2, 1950 Oklahoma 35 LSU 0
17th January 1, 1951 Kentucky 13 Oklahoma 7
18th January 1, 1952 Maryland 28 Tennessee 13
19th January 1, 1953 Georgia Tech 24 Mississippi 7
20th January 1, 1954 Georgia Tech 42 West Virginia 19
21st January 1, 1955 Navy 21 Mississippi 0
22nd January 2, 1956 Georgia Tech 7 Pittsburgh 0
23rd January 1, 1957 Baylor 13 Tennessee 7
24th January 1, 1958 Mississippi 39 Texas 7
25th January 1, 1959 LSU 7 Clemson 0
26th January 1, 1960 Mississippi 21 LSU 0
27th January 2, 1961 Mississippi 14 Rice 6
28th January 1, 1962 Alabama 10 Arkansas 3
29th January 1, 1963 Mississippi 17 Arkansas 13
30th January 1, 1964 Alabama 12 Mississippi 7
31st January 1, 1965 LSU 13 Syracuse 10
32nd January 1, 1966 Missouri 20 Florida 18
33rd January 2, 1967 Alabama 34 Nebraska 7
34th January 1, 1968 LSU 20 Wyoming 13
35th January 1, 1969 Arkansas 16 Georgia 2
36th January 1, 1970 Mississippi 27 Arkansas 22
37th January 1, 1971 Tennessee 34 Air Force 13
38th January 1, 1972 Oklahoma 40 Auburn 22
39th December 31, 1972 Oklahoma 14 Penn State 0
40th December 31, 1973 Notre Dame 24 Alabama 23
41st December 31, 1974 Nebraska 13 Florida 10
42nd December 31, 1975 Alabama 13 Penn State 6
43rd January 1, 1977 Pittsburgh 27 Georgia 3
44th January 2, 1978 Alabama 35 Ohio State 6
45th January 1, 1979 Alabama 14 Penn State 7
46th January 1, 1980 Alabama 24 Arkansas 9
47th January 1, 1981 Georgia 17 Notre Dame 10
48th January 1, 1982 Pittsburgh 24 Georgia 20
49th January 1, 1983 Penn State 27 Georgia 23
50th January 2, 1984 Auburn 9 Michigan 7
51st January 1, 1985 Nebraska 28 LSU 10
52nd January 1, 1986 Tennessee 35 Miami 7
53rd January 1, 1987 Nebraska 30 LSU 15
54th January 1, 1988 Syracuse 16 Auburn 16
55th January 2, 1989 Florida State 13 Auburn 7
56th January 1, 1990 Miami 33 Alabama 25
57th January 1, 1991 Tennessee 23 Virginia 22
58th January 1, 1992 Notre Dame 39 Florida 28
59th+ January 1, 1993 Alabama 34 Miami 13
60th January 1, 1994 Florida 41 West Virginia 7
61st January 2, 1995 Florida State 23 Florida 17
62nd December 31, 1995 Virginia Tech 28 Texas 10
63rd^ January 2, 1997 Florida 52 Florida State 20
64th January 1, 1998 Florida State 31 Ohio State 14
65th January 1, 1999 Ohio State 24 Texas A&M 14
66th* January 4, 2000 Florida State 46 Virginia Tech 29
67th January 2, 2001 Miami 37 Florida 20
68th January 1, 2002 LSU 47 Illinois 34
69th January 1, 2003 Georgia 26 Florida State 13
70th* January 4, 2004 LSU 21 Oklahoma 14
71st January 3, 2005 Auburn 16 Virginia Tech 13
72nd January 2, 2006 West Virginia 38 Georgia 35
73rd January 3, 2007 LSU 41 Notre Dame 14
74th January 1, 2008 Georgia 41 Hawaiʻi 10
75th January 2, 2009 Utah 31 Alabama 17
76th January 1, 2010 Florida 51 Cincinnati 24
77th January 4, 2011 Ohio State 31 Arkansas 26
78th January 3, 2012 Michigan 23 Virginia Tech 20
79th January 2, 2013 Louisville 33 Florida 23

Most Valuable Players (Miller-Digby Award)[]

Year played MVP Team Position
1948 Bobby Layne Texas QB
1949 Jack Mitchell Oklahoma QB
1950 Leon Heath Oklahoma FB
1951 Walt Yowarsky Kentucky T
1952 Ed Modzelewski Maryland FB
1953 Leon Hardemann Georgia Tech HB
1954 Pepper Rodgers Georgia Tech QB
1955 Joe Gattuso Navy FB
1956 Franklin Brooks Georgia Tech G
1957 Del Shofner Baylor HB
1958 Raymond Brown Mississippi QB
1959 Billy Cannon LSU HB
1960 Bobby Franklin Mississippi QB
1961 Jake Gibbs Mississippi QB
1962 Mike Fracchia Alabama FB
1963 Glynn Griffin Mississippi QB
1964 Tim Davis Alabama K
1965 Doug Moreau LSU FL
1966 Steve Spurrier Florida QB
1967 Ken Stabler Alabama QB
1968 Glenn Smith LSU HB
1969 Chuck Dicus Arkansas FL
1970 Archie Manning Mississippi QB
1971 Bobby Scott Tennessee QB
1972 Jack Mildren Oklahoma QB
1973 Tinker Owens Oklahoma FL
1974 Tom Clements Notre Dame QB
1975 Tony Davis Nebraska FB
1976 Richard Todd Alabama QB
1977 Matt Cavanaugh Pittsburgh QB
1978 Jeff Rutledge Alabama QB
1979 Barry Krauss Alabama LB
1980 Major Ogilvie Alabama RB
1981 Herschel Walker Georgia RB
1982 Dan Marino Pittsburgh QB
1983 Todd Blackledge Penn State QB
1984 Bo Jackson Auburn RB
1985 Craig Sundberg Nebraska QB
1986 Daryl Dickey Tennessee QB
1987 Steve Taylor Nebraska QB
1988 Don McPherson Syracuse QB
1989 Sammie Smith Florida State RB
1990 Craig Erickson Miami (Fla.) QB
1991 Andy Kelly Tennessee QB
1992 Jerome Bettis Notre Dame FB
1993 Derrick Lassic Alabama RB
1994 Errict Rhett Florida RB
1995 Warrick Dunn Florida State RB
1996 Bryan Still Virginia Tech WR
1997 Danny Wuerffel Florida QB
1998 E. G. Green Florida State WR
1999 David Boston Ohio State WR
2000 Peter Warrick Florida State WR
2001 Ken Dorsey Miami (Fla.) QB
2002 Rohan Davey LSU QB
2003 Musa Smith Georgia TB
2004 Justin Vincent LSU RB
2005 Jason Campbell Auburn QB
2006 Steve Slaton West Virginia RB
2007 JaMarcus Russell LSU QB
2008 Marcus Howard Georgia DE
2009 Brian Johnson Utah QB
2010 Tim Tebow Florida QB
2011 Terrelle Pryor Ohio State QB
2012 Junior Hemingway Michigan WR
2013 Teddy Bridgewater Louisville QB

NOTE: Terrelle Pryor (QB, Ohio State) was ruled ineligible afterwards and his entire record was vacated from the 2010 season.

Appearances by team[]

Rank Team Appearances Record
1 Alabama 13 8-5
1 LSU 13 6-7
3 Florida 9 3-6
4 Georgia 9 4-5
4 Ole Miss 8 5-3
6 Tennessee 7 4-3
7 Florida State 6 4-2
7 Oklahoma 6 4-2
7 Arkansas 6 2-4
10 Auburn 5 2-2-1
11 Georgia Tech 4 4-0
11 Nebraska 4 3-1
11 Miami 4 2-2
11 Notre Dame 4 2-2
11 Ohio State 4 2-2
11 Penn State 4 1-3
11 Virginia Tech 4 1-3
17 Pittsburgh 3 2-1
19 Texas 3 1-2
19 West Virginia 3 1-2
21 Santa Clara 2 2-0
21 TCU 2 2-0
21 Michigan 2 1-1
21 Missouri 2 1-1
21 Texas A&M 2 1-1
21 Tulane 2 1-1
21 Syracuse 2 0-1-1
21 North Carolina 2 0-2
21 Tulsa 2 0-2
30 Baylor 1 1-0
30 Boston College 1 1-0
30 Duke 1 1-0
30 Fordham 1 1-0
30 Kentucky 1 1-0
30 Louisville 1 1-0
30 Maryland 1 1-0
30 Navy 1 1-0
30 Oklahoma State 1 1-0
30 Utah 1 1-0
30 Air Force 1 0-1
30 Carnegie Tech 1 0-1
30 Cincinnati 1 0-1
30 Clemson 1 0-1
30 Hawai'i 1 0-1
30 Illinois 1 0-1
30 Rice 1 0-1
30 Saint Mary's (CA) 1 0-1
30 Temple 1 0-1
30 Virginia 1 0-1
30 Wyoming 1 0-1

Broadcasting[]

In recent years, television broadcast rights to the Sugar Bowl have been part of the BCS contract. From 1999-2006, the game aired on ABC as part of its BCS package, where it had also been televised from 1969 through 1998. The Sugar Bowl was the only Bowl Alliance game to stick with ABC following the 1995, 1996 and 1997 seasons; the Fiesta and Orange Bowls were televised by CBS. Prior to that, NBC aired the game for several years. From 2006 to 2010, Fox broadcast the game, while ESPN picked up the Sugar Bowl after picking up the rest of the BCS beginning in the 2009-2010 season.[12] For 2013, ESPN Deportes introduced a Spanish language telecast of the game.[16]

In November 2012, ESPN announced that it had reached a deal to maintain broadcast rights to the Sugar Bowl through 2026. ESPN will pay $55 million yearly to broadcast the game beginning in the 2014-15 season under the new contract, which will take effect following the conclusion of ESPN's contract with, and subsequent discontinuation of the BCS. ESPN made a similar deal to maintain broadcast rights to the Orange Bowl following the discontinuation of the BCS as well.[17]

See also[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Temporarily relocated because of damage from Hurricane Katrina
  2. "Sugar Bowl". NokiaSugarBowl.com. http://watchnfl.us/2012/01/ncaa-hd-channel-allstate-sugar-bowl-2012-virginia-tech-hokies-vs-michigan-wolverines-online/. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "New Orleans to host Big 12-SEC game". ESPN. 2012-11-07. http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8601209/sugar-bowl-new-orleans-site-marquee-big-12-sec-game. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
  4. Murphy, Austin, and Dan Wetzel, "Does It Matter?", Sports Illustrated, 15 November 2010, p. 45.
  5. "Tournament of Roses History". Pasadena Tournament of Roses. http://www.tournamentofroses.com/history/index.asp. Retrieved 5 December 2006.
  6. "History of the Orange Bowl". FedEx Orange Bowl. Archived from the original on 3 November 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061103020056/http://www.orangebowl.org/OB.php?sec=history. Retrieved 5 December 2006.
  7. "Sugar Bowl History". Allstate Sugar Bowl. Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070223203509/http://66.175.13.176/football.php?content=history&section=football#. Retrieved 5 December 2006.
  8. Mulé, Marty - A Time For Change: Bobby Grier And The 1956 Sugar Bowl. Black Athlete Sports Network, December 28, 2005
  9. *Zeise, Paul - Bobby Grier broke bowl's color line. The Panthers' Bobby Grier was the first African-American to play in Sugar Bowl Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 07, 2005
  10. Thamel, Pete - Grier Integrated a Game and Earned the World's Respect. New York Times, Published: January 1, 2006.
  11. (http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aRUwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xjUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4279,1834709&dq=sugar-bowl+controversy&hl=en)
  12. 12.0 12.1 Fox pulls out of bidding for next round of BCS games
  13. = 27 November "Selection Procedures". BCS. http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/eligibility = 27 November. Retrieved 2006.
  14. = 8 July "Ohio State vacating Sugar Bowl win, other 2010 victories". WWL-TV. http://www.wwltv.com/sports/Ohio-State-vacating-Sugar-Bowl-win-other-2010-victories-125223954.html = 8 July. Retrieved 2011.
  15. "SEC, Big 12 use bowl game deal to get leverage in BCS playoff - Stewart Mandel - SI.com". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 2012-05-18. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/stewart_mandel/05/18/Big-12-SEC-bowl-game/index.html. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  16. "BCS National Championship and Bowl Games on ESPN Deportes". ESPN. http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2012/12/bcs-national-championship-and-bowl-games-on-espn-deportes/. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  17. "ESPN Reaches 12-Year College Football Agreement With Orange Bowl". Bloomberg Businessweek. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-11-15/espn-reaches-12-year-college-football-agreement-with-orange-bowl. Retrieved 16 November 2012.

External links[]

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