The game was first played as the Tangerine Bowl in 1947 before being renamed as the Florida Citrus Bowl in 1983. When Capital One was the game's title sponsor between 2001 and 2014, the game was referred to as the Capital One Bowl from 2003 to 2014. Other previous sponsors include CompUSA (1994–1999), Ourhouse.com (2000), Buffalo Wild Wings (2015–2017), Overton's (2018), and Vrbo (2019–2022). On November 15, 2022, Kellogg's (renamed Kellanova after the company spun off its North American cereal business in 2023 as WK Kellogg Co) signed on as title sponsor of the game, placing its Cheez-It brand of snack crackers in the title position. Accordingly, the game is officially named the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.[3]
Since the mid-1980s, the Citrus Bowl has drawn many high-ranked teams and is typically played at 1 p.m. EST on New Year's Day and broadcast nationally on ABC. 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 (NFL) schedule. As of 2019[update], it has the largest payout of all bowls other than those that are part of the College Football Playoff (CFP), at $8.55 million per team.[4] In nearly every year since 1985, the game has featured two teams ranked in the Top 25.
History
Tangerine Bowl (1947–1982)
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.[5]
In 1968, the Boardwalk Bowl in Atlantic City took over as the College Division Eastern regional final, and the Tangerine Bowl became a major college bowl game, featuring teams from the University Division (which became Division I in 1973).
The Tangerine Bowl name was used through the December 1982 game. The same name was re-used later, but for a bowl game with a different lineage.
In March 1983, the name of the game was changed from Tangerine Bowl to Florida Citrus Bowl, via a $1.25 million agreement with the Florida Citrus Commission; the bowl's organizing committee also changed its name from Tangerine Sports Association to Florida Citrus Sports Association.[6] A month earlier, organizers had rejected a proposal to rename the game to Grapefruit Bowl.[7]
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 January 1991 game had national championship implications for the 1990 season; Georgia Tech won the Florida Citrus Bowl, finished 11–0–1, and was voted the 1990 UPI national champion. That occurrence marks a rare example of a non-New Year's Six bowl game featuring a team later named national champion.
The January 1, 1998, game, which featured nearby Florida beating Penn State, holds the game's attendance record at 72,940.
Capital One Bowl (2003–2014)
Starting with the January 2003 edition, the bowl was renamed as the Capital One Bowl, with title sponsorship by Capital One.
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 January 2014 game, Capital One ceased its sponsorship of the bowl, and moved its sponsorship to the Orange Bowl.[8]
Citrus Bowl (2015–present)
Buffalo Wild Wings was announced as the new sponsor of the bowl game, which was renamed as Citrus Bowl, for the January 2015 edition. Buffalo Wild Wings had previously been the title sponsor of what had been the Insight Bowl.[9] In the offseason of 2017, Buffalo Wild Wings ceased sponsoring the bowl. Following sponsorship by Overton's (2018) and Vrbo (2019–2022), Kellogg's became the title sponsor in November 2022, via its Cheez-It brand.[10]
The 2016 season game was played on December 31, the first time in 30 years that the game was not played on January 1 or 2.
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!"[11]
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 following the 2016 season, 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.[12] The next year, Wisconsin was invited to the Orange Bowl, so the SEC's LSU was pitted against Notre Dame, who received an invite in lieu of an ACC team.
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.[13][14]
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.[15] Buffalo did not become 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.[16][17] The 2008 team went on to win the Mid-American Conferencetitle, and played in the International Bowl.
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,[19] 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 was needed to accommodate the large crowd expected. The move required special permission from the NCAA, and special accommodations were made.[20] Both teams were headquartered in Orlando for the week, and spent most of their time there, including practices, and were bused up to Gainesville.
The participants were greeted with an unexpected event, a near-record low temperature of 25°F (−4°C). Despite the home-field advantage, in the game nicknamed the "Transplant Bowl",[21] Miami, 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. The 2014 season was also the last time that the contest was held.[22]
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
Note: this section reflects games played since 1968, when the bowl started hosting major college teams.
Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the following calendar year.
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.
Conferences that are defunct or not currently active in FBS are marked in italics.
Independent appearances: Boston College (1982), Florida State (1977, 1984), Notre Dame (2017*), Penn State (1987*), Pittsburgh (1978), South Carolina (1975), Southern Miss (1981), and Tampa (1972).
Game records
Team
Performance vs. Opponent
Year
Most points scored (one team)
63, LSU vs. Purdue
2023
Most points scored (both teams)
91, Richmond (49) vs. Ohio (42)
1968
Most points scored (losing team)
42, Ohio vs. Richmond
1968
Fewest points scored (winning team)
7, most recently: Omaha (7) vs. Eastern Kentucky (6)
The bowl has been broadcast by Mizlou (1976–1983), NBC (1984–1985), and ABC since then, with the exception of ESPN for the 2011 and 2012 editions.[28] Broadcast information for earlier editions of the bowl is lacking.
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