Citrus Bowl

Citrus Bowl
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl
Stadium	Camping World Stadium
Location	Orlando, Florida
Previous stadiums	Florida Field (1973)
Previous locations	Gainesville, Florida (1973)
Operated	1947–present
Conference tie-ins	Big Ten, SEC
Previous conference tie-ins	OVC (1947–1967) MAC (1968–1975) SoCon (1968–1972) SEC (1972–1973) ACC (1987–1991)
Payout	US$4,250,000 (As of 2015)
Sponsors
Florida Citrus Growers Association (1983–2002) CompUSA (1994–1999) Ourhouse.com (2000) Capital One (2001–2014) Buffalo Wild Wings (2015–2017)
Former names
Tangerine Bowl (1947–1982) Florida Citrus Bowl (1983–1993) CompUSA Florida Citrus Bowl (1994–1999) Ourhouse.com Florida Citrus Bowl (2000) Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (2001–2002) Capital One Bowl (2003–2014)
2016 season matchup
LSU vs. Louisville (LSU 29–9)
2017 season matchup
TBD (January 1, 2018)[1]

The Citrus Bowl, is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.^[2] It was previously known as the Tangerine Bowl (1947–1982), the Florida Citrus Bowl (1983–2002), the Capital One Bowl (2003–2014) and the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl (2015-2017). The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Russell Athletic Bowl and Florida Classic.

Since becoming one of the premier bowls, the Citrus Bowl is typically played at 1 p.m. EST on New Year's Day, immediately before the Rose Bowl, both of which have been televised on ESPN since 2011. When January 1 is a Sunday, the game has been played on January 2 or December 31, to avoid conflicting with the National Football League schedule. As of 2015, at $4.25 million per team,^[3] it has the largest payout of all the non-College Football Playoff (CFP) bowls. In nearly every year since 1985, the game has featured two teams ranked in the Top 25.

History

The game, which began play in 1947, is one of the oldest of the non-CFP bowls, along with the Gator Bowl and Sun Bowl. By 1952, the game was dubbed the "Little Bowl with the Big Heart", because all the proceeds from the game went to charity.

Before 1968, the game featured matchups between schools throughout the South, often featuring the Ohio Valley Conference champion or other small colleges, although a few major colleges did play in the bowl during this early era as well.

From 1964 through 1967, it was one of the four regional finals in the College Division (which became Division II and Division III in 1973), along with the Pecan, Grantland Rice, and Camellia bowls.

In 1968, the Boardwalk Bowl in Atlantic City took over as a regional final, and the Tangerine Bowl became a major college bowl game, featuring teams from the University Division (which became Division I in 1973).

In 1986, it was one of the bowl games considered for the site of the "winner take all" national championship game between Penn State and Miami, before the Fiesta Bowl was eventually chosen.

The 1990 season game had national championship implications; Georgia Tech won the Florida Citrus Bowl, finished 11–0–1, and were voted the 1990 UPI national champion.

The 1997 season game, which featured nearby Florida beating Penn State, holds the game's attendance record at 72,940.

In 2004, the bowl bid to become the fifth BCS game, but was not chosen, primarily due to the stadium's aging condition. In July 2007, the Orange County Commissioners voted in favor of spending $1.1 billion to build the Amway Center for the Orlando Magic, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, and to upgrade the Citrus Bowl stadium.

Following the 2014 game, Capital One ceased its sponsorship of the bowl, and moved its sponsorship to the Orange Bowl.^[4] Buffalo Wild Wings was announced as the new title sponsor of the bowl game in 2014. Buffalo Wild Wings had previously been the title sponsor of what is now the Cactus Bowl.^[5] In the offseason of 2017, Buffalo Wild Wings ceased sponsoring the bowl as the search for a new sponsor is ongoing.

The 2016 season game was played on December 31, the first time in 30 years that the game was not played on January 1st or 2nd.

Conference tie-ins

From 1968 through 1975, the bowl featured the Mid-American Conference (MAC) champion against an opponent from the Southern Conference (1968–1971), the Southeastern Conference (SEC) (1973–1974), or an at-large opponent (1972, 1975). MAC teams were 6–2 during those games.

As the major football conferences relaxed restrictions on post-season play in the mid-1970s, the bowl went to a matchup between two at-large teams from major conferences, with one school typically (but not always) from the South.

From the 1987 season through the 1991 season, the bowl featured the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) champion against an at-large opponent. ACC teams were 3–2 during those games.

From the 1992 season through the 2015 season, the bowl featured an SEC vs. Big Ten matchup – the SEC won 14 of those games, while the Big Ten won 10.

During the 1990s, the second-place finisher in the SEC typically went to this bowl. Florida coach Steve Spurrier, speaking to the fact that Tennessee occupied that spot three of four years as Florida finished first, famously quipped "You can't spell 'Citrus' without U-T!"^[6]

Currently, the bowl has tie-ins with the SEC and the Big Ten, holding the first selection after the CFP selection process for both conferences. Since the formation of the CFP, the Citrus Bowl has a chance to occasionally host an ACC team, replacing the Big Ten representative. This will happen the years in which the Orange Bowl is not a CFP semi-final game and selects a Big Ten team to match against their ACC team. This happened 2016, as the Orange Bowl was not a CFP semi-final and invited Michigan of the Big Ten to face Florida State of the ACC; the Citrus Bowl then invited Louisville of the ACC to face LSU of the SEC.^[7]

Racial integration

The undefeated 1955 Hillsdale College football team refused an invitation to the game when bowl officials insisted that Hillsdale's four African-American players would not be allowed to play in the game.^[8][9]

The University at Buffalo's first bowl bid was to the Tangerine Bowl in 1958. The Tangerine Bowl Commission hoped that the Orlando High School Athletic Association (OHSAA), which operated the stadium, would waive its rule that prohibited integrated sporting events. When it refused, the team unanimously voted to skip the bowl because its two black players (halfback Willie Evans and end Mike Wilson) would not have been allowed on the field.^[10] Buffalo would not be bowl-eligible for another 50 years. During the 2008 season, when the Bulls were on the verge of bowl eligibility, the 1958 team was profiled on ESPN's Outside the Lines.^[11][12] The 2008 team went on to win the Mid-American Conference title, and played in the International Bowl.

By 1966, the OHSAA's rule had been changed, and Morgan State of Baltimore, under head coach Earl Banks, became the first historically black college to play in (and win) the Tangerine Bowl.^[13]

Gainesville

In early 1973, construction improvements were planned for the then 17,000-seat Tangerine Bowl stadium to expand to over 51,000 seats. In early summer 1973, however, construction was stalled due to legal concerns, and the improvements were delayed. Late in the 1973 season, Tangerine Bowl President Will Gieger and other officials planned to invite the Miami Redskins and the East Carolina Pirates to Orlando for the game. On November 19, 1973, East Carolina withdrew its interests, and the bowl was left with one at-large bid. In an unexpected and unprecedented move, game officials decided to invite the Florida Gators, and move the game to Florida Field in Gainesville, the Gators' home stadium. The larger stadium would be needed to accommodate the large crowd expected. The move required special permission from the NCAA, and special accommodations were made. Both teams would be headquartered in Orlando for the week, and spend most of their time there, including practices, and would be bused up to Gainesville.

The participants were greeted with an unexpected event, a near-record low temperature of 25 degrees Fahrenheit (-4 degrees Celsius). Despite the home-field advantage, in the game nicknamed the "Transplant Bowl",^[14] Miami (OH), who found the cold much more to its liking, defeated the Gators 16–7. One of the players on the victorious Redskins squad was future Gators coach Ron Zook.

The one-time moving of the game, and the fears of a permanent relocation, rejuvenated the stalled stadium renovations in Orlando. The game returned to Orlando for 1974, and within a couple of years, the expansion project was complete.

Mascot Challenge

The "Capital One Mascot Challenge" (formerly known as the "Capital One National Mascot of the Year") was a contest where fans voted for their favorite college mascot. The contest began in 2002 with the winner being named during the halftime; the winning school was awarded $20,000 towards their mascot program. With the ending of Capital One's sponsorship of the Citrus Bowl, the challenge was moved in 2014 to the Orange Bowl with Capital One's sponsorship of that game.

Game results

Program cover for 1967 game

Italics denote a tie game.

Game records

Note: When there is a tie, the most recent one will be listed.

MVPs

Multiple players were recognized in some games – detail, where known, is denoted with B (outstanding back), L (outstanding lineman), O (outstanding offensive player), D (outstanding defensive player), or M (overall MVP) per contemporary newspaper reports.

Three players have been recognized in multiple games; Chuck Ealey of Toledo (1969, 1970, 1971), Brad Cousino of Miami (OH) (1973, 1974), and Anthony Thomas of Michigan (1999, 2001).

Most appearances

Only teams with at least three appearances are listed.

Rank	Team	Appearances	Record
T1	Georgia	6	4–1–1
T1	Florida	6	2–4
T3	Tennessee	5	4–1
T3	Michigan	5	4–1
T3	Auburn	5	3–2
T3	Penn State	5	2–3
T7	East Texas State	4	3–0–1
T7	Miami (OH)	4	3–1
T7	LSU	4	2–2
T7	Ohio State	4	1–3
T11	Toledo	3	3–0
T11	Clemson	3	2–1
T11	South Carolina	3	2–1
T11	Wisconsin	3	2–1
T11	Michigan State	3	1–2
T11	Nebraska	3	0–3
T11	Southern Miss	3	0–3

Includes two Southern Miss appearances under their former name, Mississippi Southern.

Wins by conference

Reflects games played since 1968, when the bowl started hosting major college teams.

Records are based on a team's conference affiliation at the time the game was played.
For example, Penn State has appeared both as a Big Ten team and as an Independent team.

Broadcasting

ABC televised the game from 1987 to 2010, with NBC airing it in 1984–85 and the syndicated Mizlou Television Network doing so prior to 1984. In March 2010, ESPN announced extensions to their television contracts with the Capital One Bowl and the Outback Bowl, along with a new contract with the Gator Bowl.^[15] The contract for the now Citrus Bowl is through 2018. Under these new agreements, ESPN will broadcast all three games on either ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2.

Radio broadcast rights for the game are currently held by ESPN Radio. Sports USA Radio held the rights from 2003–2010.

Television

Radio

See also

• List of college bowl games

References

Additional sources

• Orlando Sentinel-Star (November 20, 1973); Various articles- Accessed via microfilm 01-03-2007.

External links

• Official website
• Official website of the Capital One Bowl All American Halftime Show