The Cotton Bowl Classic is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium in Dallas before moving to Cowboys Stadium in nearby Arlington in 2010. Since 2014, the game has been sponsored by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and officially known as the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic; it was previously sponsored by Mobil (1989–1995) and Southwestern Bell Corporation/SBC Communications/AT&T (1997–2014).
Zachary Michael Thomas is an American former professional football player who was a middle linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for Texas Tech University, and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. He was drafted in the fifth round, 22nd pick, in the 1996 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins, and played for the Dolphins in his first 12 seasons in the NFL, before playing his 13th and final season with the Dallas Cowboys.
Kliff Timothy Kingsbury is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is currently an assistant coach at USC. He previously served as the head coach of Texas Tech (2013-2018) and the Arizona Cardinals (2019-2022). Kingsbury is known for developing quarterback prospects including Case Keenum, Johnny Manziel, Baker Mayfield, Patrick Mahomes, and Kyler Murray.
The 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 28, 2004 and ended on December 4, 2004. The postseason concluded on January 4, 2005 with the Orange Bowl, which served as the season's BCS National Championship Game.
Brian Jeffrey Symons is a former American football quarterback. Symons played professionally for the Houston Texans and the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), the Frankfurt Galaxy and Berlin Thunder in NFL Europe, and the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League (AFL). He was originally drafted by the Texans in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football for Texas Tech where he was a record setting passer. Symons never played in a regular season NFL game.
Paul Clayton Johnson is a retired American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Georgia Southern University from 1997 to 2001, the United States Naval Academy from 2002 to 2007, and Georgia Tech, from 2008 to 2018, compiling a career college football coaching record of 189–100. Johnson's Georgia Southern Eagles won consecutive NCAA Division I-AA Football Championships in 1999 and 2000. He is noted for his use of the flexbone spread option offense.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders football program is a college football team that represents Texas Tech University. The team competes as a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The program began in 1925 and has an overall winning record, including a total of 11 conference titles and one division title. On November 8, 2021, Joey McGuire was hired as the team's 17th head football coach, replacing Matt Wells, who was fired in the middle of the 2021 season. Home games are played at Cody Campbell Field at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.
The 2007–08 NCAA football bowl games concluded the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS regular season in college football.
The 2003 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University as a member of the Big 12 Conference during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth season under head coach Mike Leach, the Red Raiders compiled an 8–5 record, finished in fourth place in Southern Division of the Big 12, defeated Navy in the 2003 Houston Bowl, and outscored opponents by a combined total of 552 to 442. The team played its home games at Jones SBC Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.
The 2009 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 64th year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by second year head football coach, Kevin Sumlin. The team played its home games at Robertson Stadium, a 32,000-seat stadium on campus in Houston. The Cougars finished the season 10–4, 6–3 in CUSA play, were co–champions of the west division and lost to East Carolina 38–32 in the CUSA Championship Game. They were invited to the Armed Forces Bowl where they lost to Air Force 47–20. It was the second consecutive year that they had played Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl.
The Memphis Tigers football team represents the University of Memphis in college football in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The Tigers play in the American Athletic Conference as an all-sports member. They play home games at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. The team's head coach is Ryan Silverfield.
The 2010 Baylor Bears football team represented Baylor University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Art Briles and played their home games at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas. They are members of the Big 12 Conference in the South Division. They finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in Big 12 play and were invited to the Texas Bowl, their first bowl appearance since 1994, where they were defeated by Illinois 14–38. This season featured BU's first win over the University of Texas since 1997, and the first in Austin since 1991.
The 2010 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mustangs, led by third-year head coach June Jones, were members of Conference USA in the West Division and played their home games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
The 2011 Houston Cougars football team represented the University of Houston in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 66th year of season play for Houston. The program was a member of Conference USA in its West Division.
The 2014 Texas Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 29, 2014, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season. The ninth edition of the Texas Bowl, it featured the Arkansas Razorbacks of the Southeastern Conference and the Texas Longhorns of the Big 12 Conference. The game began at 8:00 p.m. CST (UTC−06:00) and aired on ESPN. Sponsored by dietary supplement company AdvoCare, it was officially known as the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl. Arkansas defeated Texas, 31–7.
The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 26, 2016 and ended on December 10, 2016. The postseason concluded on January 9, 2017 with the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship, where the Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide to claim their second national title in school history. The championship game was a rematch of the 2016 edition won by Alabama.
The 2016 Heart of Dallas Bowl was a postseason American college football bowl game played on December 27, 2016, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The seventh edition of the Heart of Dallas Bowl, the game featured the Army Black Knights, an independent, and the North Texas Mean Green of Conference USA. It was one of the 2016–17 bowl games that concluded the 2016 FBS football season. Sponsored by fast food restaurant Zaxby's, the game was officially known as the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl. Broadcast on ESPN, Army defeated North Texas by a score of 38–31.
The 2018 Army Black Knights football team represented the United States Military Academy as an independent in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Black Knights were led by fifth-year head coach Jeff Monken and played their home games at Michie Stadium. Following their 28–14 victory over Colgate in Week 12, Army entered the AP Poll at No. 23 and the Coaches' Poll at No. 24, the first time Army had entered the national rankings since finishing the 1996 season at No. 25 in the AP and No. 24 in the Coaches'. On December 2, Army accepted an invite to participate in the Armed Forces Bowl against the Houston Cougars of the American Athletic Conference. On December 8, Army defeated its archrival Navy by a score of 17–10, increasing their Army-Navy Game win streak to three in a row and winning the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy for the second straight year. With the win the Black Knights also secured their second straight 10-win season, the first time that had been accomplished in the Academy's long and storied history. In the Armed Forces Bowl, they defeated Houston by a score of 70–14 to tie NCAA bowl game records for points scored and margin of victory. Their 11 wins are the most in one season in program history. As a result of his team's 2018 accomplishments, Coach Monken was awarded the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award by the Maxwell Football Club, the Vince Lombardi College Football Coach of the Year Award by the Lombardi Foundation, and the President's Award by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. Army finished the season with a ranking of No. 19 in the AP Poll and No. 20 in the Coaches' Poll, their highest finish in both polls since Pete Dawkins's Heisman Trophy-winning season in 1958 where the Cadets finished No. 3 in both polls. Following the completion of the season, the Black Knights were awarded the 2018 Lambert Trophy by the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and Metropolitan New York Football Writers, signifying them as the best team in the East in Division I FBS. This was the eighth overall time the Lambert Trophy had been awarded to Army, and the first since 1958.
The 2019 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented Kansas State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas, and competed in the Big 12 Conference. They were led by first-year head coach Chris Klieman, who accepted the role after the retirement of long-time head coach Bill Snyder.
The 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 152nd season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The regular season began on August 28, 2021, and ended on December 11, 2021. The postseason began on December 17, with the main games ending on January 10, 2022, with the College Football Playoff National Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and the all-star portion of the post-season concluding with the inaugural HBCU Legacy Bowl on February 19, 2022. It was the eighth season of the College Football Playoff (CFP) system. It was the first time since 2016 that no major team finished the season undefeated as the Cincinnati Bearcats, the season's last undefeated team, were defeated in the 2021 Cotton Bowl Classic.
