Gridiron Classic

The Gridiron Classic, also known as the Rotary Gridiron classic and later the Villages Gridiron Classic, was the name of an annual post-season college football game played from 1999 through 2009. From 1999 to 2005 it was an all-star game featuring a team representing Florida versus a team from the rest of the United States. It was generally held in mid-January at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, but for 2004 and 2005 it was played at The Villages Polo Stadium in The Villages, Florida. During the two years at the Villages, the game changed to a North vs. South format. From 2006 to 2009 it featured teams from the Pioneer Football League (PFL) and Northeast Conference (NEC). These conferences had not previously received bids to the Division I FCS football playoffs (formerly the Division I-AA) tournament.

On August 19, 2005, Florida Citrus Sports canceled The Villages Gridiron Classic for the year 2006. The organization failed to find a sponsor, after The Villages, a retirement community 60 miles north of Orlando, decided not to renew the annual game at their facility.

The game on December 6, 2008 was televised on the YES Network from University Field in Albany, New York.

Game results

All-star edition

Date Winning Team Losing Team Location
January 16, 1999 Team Florida 17 Team USA 9 Orlando, Florida
January 15, 2000 Team USA 21 Team Florida 14 Orlando, Florida
January 13, 2001 Team Florida 10 Team USA 0 Orlando, Florida
January 26, 2002 Team Florida 42 Team USA 13 Orlando, Florida
January 25, 2003 Team USA 20 Team Florida 17 Orlando, Florida
January 31, 2004 North All-Stars 35 South All-Stars 31 The Villages, Florida
January 15, 2005 South All-Stars 24 North All-Stars 21 The Villages, Florida

Pioneer-NEC edition

Date Winning Team Losing Team Location
December 2, 2006 San Diego 27 Monmouth 7 West Long Branch, New Jersey
December 1, 2007 Dayton 42 Albany 21 Dayton, Ohio
December 6, 2008 Albany 28 Jacksonville 0 Albany, New York
December 5, 2009 Butler 28 Central Connecticut State 23 Indianapolis, Indiana

See also

External links

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