ReliaQuest Bowl

Last updated
ReliaQuest Bowl
Tampa Bay Bowl.jpg
Stadium Raymond James Stadium
Location Tampa, Florida
Previous stadiums Tampa Stadium (1986–1998)
Operated1986–present
Conference tie-ins Big Ten, SEC
Payout US$6.4 million (2019 season) [1]
Sponsors
Outback Steakhouse (1996–2022)
ReliaQuest (2022–present)
Former names
Hall of Fame Bowl (1986–1995)
Outback Bowl (1996–2022)
2022 season matchup
Mississippi State vs. Illinois
(Mississippi State 19–10)
2023 season matchup
LSU vs. Wisconsin (LSU 35–31)

The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Tampa, Florida. The event was known as the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to 2022. It was held at Tampa Stadium from 1986 until 1999, when it moved to then-new Raymond James Stadium. The bowl is played on New Year's Day and has often been the first game to kick off on a day that is traditionally filled with post-season college football.

Contents

History

Previous Tampa bowl game

The Cigar Bowl was played at old Phillips Field near downtown Tampa from 1947 to 1954. Because the Cigar Bowl featured teams from smaller colleges, however, the 1986 Hall of Fame Bowl was the first major college bowl game to be played in the area. [2]

Hall of Fame Bowl

Tampa Stadium, original home of the Hall of Fame / Outback Bowl Tampa Stadium1.jpg
Tampa Stadium, original home of the Hall of Fame / Outback Bowl

The Hall of Fame Classic was a mid-level bowl game played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama from 1977 to 1985. In the spring of 1986, the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame decided to discontinue their association with the bowl and realign with a new game to be played in Tampa Stadium which would inherit the Hall of Fame Bowl name. [3] Tampa's Hall of Fame Bowl did not initially have any conference tie-ins, so organizers often sought to arrange a match-up between a team from a southern school (usually the Southeastern Conference or Atlantic Coast Conference) and one from another region of the country to maximize both game attendance and potential visitors to the area. [2]

Outback Bowl

Raymond James Stadium, home of the bowl since the 1999 edition Raymond James Stadium02.JPG
Raymond James Stadium, home of the bowl since the 1999 edition

Tampa-based restaurant chain Outback Steakhouse became the game's title sponsor in April 1995, allowing the bowl to increase its payout to participants and sign agreements with the SEC and the Big Ten conferences, creating an annual cross-regional match-up that has continued ever since. [2] [4] In 1999, the bowl moved from Tampa Stadium to newly constructed Raymond James Stadium next door. [5]

ReliaQuest Bowl

Though it had signed a six-year extension in 2019, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse decided to discontinue its association with the game in March 2022 in a cost-cutting measure, ending the longest continuous title sponsorship in college bowl history and resulting in a temporary renaming of the game to Tampa Bay Bowl. [6] [7] In June 2022, Tampa-based cybersecurity company ReliaQuest was announced as the new title sponsor. [8]

The game

Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall during the 2015 edition Nick Marshall in 2015 Outback Bowl.jpg
Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall during the 2015 edition

The bowl is played on New Year's Day unless January 1 falls on a Sunday, in which case it is moved to the following Monday. It is usually the first game to start on a day which is traditionally full of college bowl games, and has kicked off as early as 11 a.m. ET. ESPN has had television rights to the game since 1993. Under an extension of those rights signed in 2010, ESPN broadcasts the game on either ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2, in conjunction with the Citrus Bowl and the New Year's Six bowl games. [9] Before 1993, the Hall of Fame Bowl aired on NBC.

Upon signing agreements with the SEC and Big Ten in 1995, the bowl had the third pick of teams from each conference after the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) teams were placed. Since 2014, both the SEC and Big Ten have worked with a group of several bowl games, including this one, to place their bowl-eligible teams after the College Football Playoff (CFP) and associated bowls have made their selections. [10] [11]

As of 2023, the bowl's payout was $6.4 million for each participating team. [12]

Game results

Rankings are based on the AP Poll prior to the game being played.

DateBowl nameWinning teamLosing teamAttendance
December 23, 1986 Hall of Fame Bowl Boston College 27 Georgia 2441,000
January 2, 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl Michigan 28 Alabama 2461,075
January 2, 1989 Hall of Fame Bowl #17 Syracuse 23#16 LSU 1051,112
January 1, 1990 Hall of Fame Bowl #9 Auburn 31#21 Ohio State 1468,085
January 1, 1991 Hall of Fame Bowl #14 Clemson 30#16 Illinois 063,154
January 1, 1992 Hall of Fame Bowl #16 Syracuse 24#25 Ohio State 1757,789
January 1, 1993 Hall of Fame Bowl #17 Tennessee 38#16 Boston College 2352,056
January 1, 1994 Hall of Fame Bowl #23 Michigan 42 NC State 752,649
January 2, 1995 Hall of Fame Bowl Wisconsin 34#25 Duke 2061,384
January 1, 1996 Outback Bowl #15 Penn State 43#16 Auburn 1465,313
January 1, 1997 Outback Bowl #16 Alabama 17#15 Michigan 1453,161
January 1, 1998 Outback Bowl #12 Georgia 33 Wisconsin 656,186
January 1, 1999 Outback Bowl #22 Penn State 26 Kentucky 1466,005
January 1, 2000 Outback Bowl #21 Georgia 28#19 Purdue 25 (OT)54,059
January 1, 2001 Outback Bowl South Carolina 24#19 Ohio State 765,229
January 1, 2002 Outback Bowl #14 South Carolina 31#22 Ohio State 2866,249
January 1, 2003 Outback Bowl #12 Michigan 38#22 Florida 3065,101
January 1, 2004 Outback Bowl #13 Iowa 37#17 Florida 1765,657
January 1, 2005 Outback Bowl #8 Georgia 24#16 Wisconsin 2162,414
January 2, 2006 Outback Bowl #16 Florida 31#25 Iowa 2465,881
January 1, 2007 Outback Bowl Penn State 20#17 Tennessee 1065,601
January 1, 2008 Outback Bowl #16 Tennessee 21#18 Wisconsin 1760,121
January 1, 2009 Outback Bowl Iowa 31 South Carolina 1055,117
January 1, 2010 Outback Bowl Auburn 38 Northwestern 35 (OT)49,383
January 1, 2011 Outback Bowl Florida 37 Penn State 2460,574
January 2, 2012 Outback Bowl #12 Michigan State 33#18 Georgia 30 (3OT)49,429
January 1, 2013 Outback Bowl #11 South Carolina 33#19 Michigan 2854,527
January 1, 2014 Outback Bowl #14 LSU 21 Iowa 1451,296
January 1, 2015 Outback Bowl #17 Wisconsin 34#19 Auburn 31 (OT)44,023
January 1, 2016 Outback Bowl Tennessee 45#12 Northwestern 653,202
January 2, 2017 Outback Bowl #20 Florida 30#21 Iowa 351,119
January 1, 2018 Outback Bowl South Carolina 26 Michigan 1945,687
January 1, 2019 Outback Bowl Iowa 27#18 Mississippi State 2240,518
January 1, 2020 Outback Bowl #16 Minnesota 31#9 Auburn 2445,652
January 2, 2021 Outback Bowl Ole Miss 26#7 Indiana 2011,025
January 1, 2022 Outback Bowl #22 Arkansas 24 Penn State 1046,577
January 2, 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl #24 Mississippi State 19 Illinois 1035,797
January 1, 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl #13 LSU 35 Wisconsin 3131,424

Source: [13]
LSU's win in the 2014 edition was vacated in 2023 by the NCAA for a booster-related violation. [14]

MVPs

The bowl has named an MVP since inception; in the inaugural game, there were co-MVPs. [15]

Source: [13] [16]

Most appearances

Updated through the January 2024 edition (38 games, 76 total appearances).

Teams with multiple appearances
RankTeamAppearancesRecord
1 Iowa 63–3
Michigan 63–3
Wisconsin 62–4
4 South Carolina 54–1
Penn State 53–2
Florida 53–2
Georgia 53–2
Auburn 52–3
9 Tennessee 43–1
Ohio State 40–4
11 LSU 31–1
12 Syracuse 22–0
Alabama 21–1
Boston College 21–1
Mississippi State 21–1
Illinois 20–2
Northwestern 20–2

LSU's win in the 2014 edition was vacated by the NCAA in 2023.

Teams with a single appearance

Won (5): Arkansas, Clemson, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ole Miss
Lost (5): Duke, Indiana, Kentucky, NC State, Purdue

Appearances by conference

Updated through the January 2024 edition (38 games, 76 total appearances).

ConferenceRecordAppearances by season
GamesWLWin pct.WonLostVacated
Big Ten 351322.3711987*, 1993*, 1994*, 1995*, 1998*, 2002*, 2003*, 2006*, 2008*, 2011*, 2014*, 2018*, 2019*1989*, 1990*, 1991*, 1996*, 1997*, 1999*, 2000*, 2001*, 2004*, 2005*, 2007*, 2009*, 2010*, 2012*, 2013*, 2015*, 2016*, 2017*, 2020*, 2021*, 2022*, 2023* 
SEC 342013.606 1989*, 1992*, 1996*, 1997*, 1999*, 2000*, 2001*, 2004*, 2005*, 2007*, 2009*, 2010*, 2012*, 2015*, 2016*, 2017*, 2020*, 2021*, 2022*, 2023*1986, 1987*, 1988*, 1995*, 1998*, 2002*, 2003*, 2006*, 2008*, 2011*, 2014*, 2018*, 2019*2013*
ACC 312.3331990*1993*, 1994* 
Independents 2201.0001986, 1988* 
Big East 211.5001991*1992* 

LSU's vacated win following the 2013 season (played in January 2014) is excluded from win–loss totals and winning percentage.

Game records

TeamPerformance vs. opponentYear
Most points scored (one team)45, Tennessee vs. Northwestern 2016
Most points scored (losing team)35, Northwestern vs. Auburn 2010
Most points scored (both teams)73, Auburn vs. Northwestern2010
Fewest points allowed0, Clemson vs. Illinois 1991
Largest margin of victory39, Tennessee vs. Northwestern2016
Total yards621, Northwestern vs. Auburn2010
Rushing yards400, Wisconsin vs. Auburn 2015
Passing yards532, Northwestern vs. Auburn2010
First downs34, Northwestern vs. Auburn2010
Fewest yards allowed199, Mississippi State vs. Iowa 2019
Fewest rushing yards allowed–15, Mississippi State vs. Iowa2019
Fewest passing yards allowed55, Florida vs. Iowa 2017
IndividualPerformance, Player, TeamYear
Total offense566, Mike Kafka Northwestern vs. Auburn (532 Pass, 34 Rush)2010
Touchdowns (all-purpose)4, Chris Perry (Michigan) 2003
Rushing yards251, Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin)2015
Rushing touchdowns4, Chris Perry (Michigan)2003
Passing yards532, Mike Kafka (Northwestern)2010
Passing touchdowns4, most recent:
Mike Kafka (Northwestern)

2010
Receiving yards205, Tavarres King (Georgia) 2012
Receiving touchdowns2, most recent:
Tyler Johnson (Minnesota)

2020
Tackles16, Traveon Henry (Northwestern)2016
Sacks3, most recent:
David Pollack (Georgia)
2005
Interceptions2, most recent:
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (Florida)
2017
Long PlaysPerformance, Team/Player vs. opponentYear
Touchdown run77 yds., Jamie Morris (Michigan) 1988
Touchdown pass85 yds., Austin Appleby to Mark Thompson (Florida)2017
Kickoff return96 yds., shared by:
Jordan Cotton (Iowa)
Noah Igbinoghene [17] (Auburn)

2014
2020
Punt return92 yds., Brandon Boykin (Georgia)2012
Interception return100 yds., shared by:
Walter McFadden (Auburn)
Evan Berry (Tennessee)

2010
2016
Fumble return88 yds.,Tony Davis (Penn State)2007
Punt70 yds., Tyeler Dean (South Carolina) 2002
Field goal53 yds., Charles Campbell (Indiana) 2021

Source: [18]

Media coverage

The inaugural edition of the bowl was carried by Mizlou in December 1986, with NBC carrying the next five editions (1988–1992). [19] Since 1993, the game has been carried by ESPN or ESPN2, except for four broadcasts on ABC (2011, 2012, 2017, and 2021). [19]

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References

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  9. "ESPN Signs Deal with Gator Bowl, Extends Agreements with Capital One Bowl and Outback Bowl; All Three Games to be Televised on New Year's Day". ESPN. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  10. "2016-17 SEC Bowl Schedule". secsports.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  11. "Big Ten Bowl Partners". bigten.org. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  12. "About the Bowl". www.reliaquestbowl.com. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Bowl Game Summary". reliaquestbowl.com. January 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  14. Mandel, Stewart. "Vacated LSU wins leave Les Miles out of CFB Hall of Fame consideration". The Athletic. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  15. "Quick Game Summary". outbackbowl.com. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  16. @glenwest21 (January 1, 2024). "Garrett Nussmeier is the ReliaQuest bowl MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved January 1, 2024 via Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. "No. 18 Minnesota tops No. 12 Auburn in Outback Bowl". reuters.com. Field Level Media. January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020. Noah Igbinoghene's 96-yard kickoff return in the first quarter, which tied an Outback Bowl record.
  18. "Outback Bowl Records". outbackbowl.com. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  19. 1 2 Kelly, Doug (ed.). "2019–20 Football Bowl Association Media Guide" (PDF). footballbowlassociation.com. p. 154. Retrieved January 4, 2020.