The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first televised nationally. The game was originally played at Gator Bowl Stadium through the December 1993 game. The December 1994 game was played at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville after the namesake stadium was demolished to make way for a replacement venue, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. That venue, now known as EverBank Stadium, has been home to the Gator Bowl since the January 1996 game.
Danny Lee Ford is a former American football player and coach. He played college football at the University of Alabama from 1967 to 1969. He served as the head football coach at Clemson University from 1978 to 1989 and at the University of Arkansas from 1993 to 1997, compiling a career record of 122–59–5. During his 12 seasons as head coach of the Clemson Tigers, he captured five ACC titles and won six bowl games. Ford's 1981 Clemson team completed a 12–0 season with a win in the Orange Bowl and was named the consensus national champion.
Charles Byron Pell was an American college football player and coach. Pell was an Alabama native and an alumnus of the University of Alabama, where he played college football. He is most notably remembered as the head coach of the Clemson University and the University of Florida football teams. Pell was credited with laying the foundation for the later success of both programs, but his coaching career was tainted by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules violations.
The 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Oklahoma Sooners beating the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles to claim the Sooners' seventh national championship and their thirty-seventh conference championship, the first of each since the 1988 departure of head coach Barry Switzer.
The 1997 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team, coached by Terry Bowden, finished with a 10–3 record and won the school's first SEC West Division championship, but lost by a point to Tennessee in the 1997 SEC Championship Game. The Tigers ended the season with a #11 ranking in the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll after winning the Peach Bowl against Clemson on January 2.
The Virginia Tech Hokies football team represents Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the sport of American football. The Hokies compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They previously competed in the Big East. Their home games are played at Lane Stadium, located in Blacksburg, Virginia, with a seating capacity of over 65,000 fans. Lane Stadium is considered to be one of the loudest stadiums in the country, being voted number two in ESPN's 2007 "Top 20 Scariest Places to Play". It was also recognized in 2005 by Rivals.com as having the best home-field advantage in the country.
The 2001 Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Clemson Tigers and the Virginia Tech Hokies at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on January 1, 2001. The game was the final contest of the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams, and ended in a 41–20 victory for Virginia Tech.
William Christopher "Dabo" Swinney is an American college football coach, currently serving as the head football coach at Clemson University. Swinney took over as head coach of the Clemson Tigers seven games into the 2008 season, following the resignation of Tommy Bowden. Swinney's team won national championships in 2016 and 2018. His 2018 Clemson Tigers have often been considered one of the greatest college football teams of all time. He is the winningest head coach in Clemson football history and ACC football history.
The 2009 Gator Bowl was played on January 1, 2009, as part of the 2008 College Football season. It featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who finished tied for first in the Big 12 Conference's North Division with Missouri, and the Clemson Tigers, who finished fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference's Atlantic Division. Nebraska scored 16 unanswered points to beat Clemson after being down 21–10 in the third quarter. This game was the first meeting between the Clemson Tigers and the Nebraska Cornhuskers since the 1982 Orange Bowl where Clemson defeated Nebraska for their first national title. This was the second game between both schools with Nebraska evening up the record.
The 1989 Clemson Tigers football team represented Clemson University in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Tigers were led by head coach Danny Ford, who was serving his final season as head coach at Clemson. The Tigers played their home games in Memorial Stadium. The Tigers finished the 1989 season with a 10–2 record and defeated West Virginia 27–7 in the 1989 Gator Bowl.
The 1948 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson College in the Southern Conference during the 1948 college football season. In its ninth season under head coach Frank Howard, the team compiled an 11–0 record, won the Southern Conference championship, was ranked No. 11 in the final AP Poll, defeated Missouri in the 1949 Gator Bowl, and outscored all opponents by a total of 274 to 76. This team was the only unbeaten and untied team in the 1948 NCAA season who also participated in post-season play in a bowl game versus Missouri. The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina. Memorial Stadium hosted its first night game in the opener against Presbyterian College.
The 1977 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson University in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. In its first season under head coach Charley Pell, the team compiled an 8–3–1 record, finished second in the ACC, lost to Pittsburgh in the 1977 Gator Bowl, was ranked No. 19 in the final AP Poll, and outscored opponents by a total of 228 to 163. The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.
The 1978 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson University in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its second season under head coach Charley Pell, the team compiled an 11–1 record, won the ACC championship, defeated Ohio State in the 1978 Gator Bowl, was ranked No. 6 in the final AP and Coaches Polls, and outscored opponents by a total of 368 to 131. The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.
The 1986 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson University in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its ninth season under head coach Danny Ford, the team compiled an 8–2–2 record, won the ACC championship, defeated Stanford in the 1986 Gator Bowl, and outscored opponents by a total of 296 to 187. The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.
The 1995 Clemson Tigers football team represented Clemson University as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by second-year head coach Tommy West, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing third in the ACC. Clemson was invited to the Gator Bowl, where the Tigers lost to Syracuse. The team played home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.
The 1996 Gator Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the Syracuse Orangemen and the Clemson Tigers.
The history of Clemson Tigers football began in 1896, when Clemson University first fielded a football team. Since 1896, the program has an all-time record of 790–466–44, with a bowl record of 28–22. The program has achieved 3 claimed national titles in 1981, 2016, and 2018.
The 1965 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 1965 NCAA University Division football season. The Yellow Jackets were led by 21st-year head coach Bobby Dodd, and played their home games at Grant Field in Atlanta. They competed as independents, finishing the regular season with a record of 6–3–1. They were invited to the 1965 Gator Bowl, where they defeated Texas Tech, 31–21.
William Hall Napier is an American football coach currently serving as head coach at the University of Florida. From 2017 until 2021, he was head coach at the University of Louisiana, amassing a 40–12 record in four seasons with three consecutive 10+ win seasons and two seasons finishing in the AP Poll, both firsts in the program's history. Prior to Louisiana, he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arizona State University in 2017.
