First Responder Bowl

Last updated
First Responder Bowl
Servpro First Responder Bowl
Servpro First Responder Bowl logo.svg
Stadium Gerald J. Ford Stadium
Location University Park, Texas
Previous stadiums Cotton Bowl (2011–2018)
Previous locations Fair Park, Dallas, Texas (2011–2018)
Operated2011–present
Conference tie-ins AAC, ACC, Big 12, C-USA
Previous conference tie-ins Big Ten
Payout US$824,545 (2019) [1]
Sponsors
TicketCity (2011–2012)
PlainsCapital Bank (2013)
Zaxby's (2014–2017)
Servpro (2018–present)
Former names
Dallas Football Classic (2011, working title)
TicketCity Bowl (2011–2012)
Heart of Dallas Bowl presented by PlainsCapital Bank (2013–Jan 2014)
Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dec 2014–2017)
2022 matchup
Memphis vs. Utah State (Memphis 38–10)
2023 matchup
Texas State vs. Rice (Texas State 45–21)

The First Responder Bowl is an NCAA post-season college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas, Texas, area. The bowl was first held on January 1, 2011, and since 2014 has been contested in late December. The bowl was held at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park in Dallas through the 2018 game. Since the Cotton Bowl was being used for the 2020 NHL Winter Classic and was not available, the 2019 edition of the bowl was played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in nearby University Park, Texas. The stadium has since become the permanent home of the game.

Contents

Originally commissioned as the Dallas Football Classic, it has undergone name changes due to changes in sponsorship. From 2011 to 2012, it was named the TicketCity Bowl after sponsor TicketCity. It was then known as the Heart of Dallas Bowl when PlainsCapital Bank (2013) and Zaxby's (2014–2017) were its sponsors. Since 2018, the game has been sponsored by Servpro and officially known as the Servpro First Responder Bowl. [2] [3]

History

The game was tentatively called the Dallas Football Classic until TicketCity, an online reseller of sports and entertainment tickets, became the first title sponsor, [4] renaming the game as the TicketCity Bowl. This game physically replaced the Cotton Bowl Classic, which moved from its longtime eponymous home to AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington in 2010. [5] In the 2011 edition, the inaugural playing of the bowl, Texas Tech of the Big 12 Conference defeated Northwestern of the Big Ten Conference.

After its first two playings, the bowl was renamed as the Heart of Dallas Bowl. The 2013 edition, the first to be so named, saw Oklahoma State of the Big 12 defeat Purdue of the Big Ten. PlainsCapital Bank was the title sponsor in 2013, followed by Zaxby's as the title sponsor from 2014 to 2017. [6]

The 2018 edition was the first to be named the First Responder Bowl, with Servpro as the title sponsor. That game was cancelled due to severe weather with 5:08 remaining in the first quarter, and is considered a no-contest for the teams involved; Boise State of the Mountain West Conference and Boston College of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). [7]

After having been played on January 1 or January 2 for its first four editions, the game moved to a late December date beginning with the 2014 season.

Stadium

2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl banner over the Cotton Bowl entrance 2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl entrance banner.jpg
2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl banner over the Cotton Bowl entrance
Gerald J. Ford Stadium in 2011 Gerald J Ford Stadium.jpg
Gerald J. Ford Stadium in 2011

The bowl was held at Cotton Bowl stadium from 2011 through 2018. Originally known as the Fair Park Bowl, the stadium is located in Fair Park, Dallas, site of the State Fair of Texas. The Cotton Bowl Classic called the stadium home from that bowl's inception in 1937 until 2009, after which it moved to what is now AT&T Stadium. Other tenants included, at various times, SMU Mustangs football, the Dallas Texans and Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and the Dallas Texans of the American Football League.

The bowl's 2019 edition was held at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas, to accommodate the 2020 NHL Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl. [8] The stadium has been the home field of the SMU Mustangs since 2000, and hosted the Armed Forces Bowl in 2010 and 2011. The First Responder Bowl has remained at Gerald J. Ford Stadium since 2019.

Tie-ins

For the bowl's first four editions, the Big Ten Conference was contracted to send a team each season, with alternating appearances from the Big 12 Conference in even-numbered seasons and Conference USA (C-USA) in odd-numbered seasons. For the bowl's next six editions, C-USA was contracted to provide a team, which would face either a Big Ten or Big 12 team in an alternating manner.

SeasonContracted tie-insActual participants
2010*Big TenBig 12Big TenBig 12
2011*C-USABig TenC-USA
2012*Big 12Big TenBig 12
2013*C-USAMountain WestC-USA
2014 C-USABig TenC-USABig Ten
2015 Big 12C-USAPac-12
2016 Big TenC-USAIndependent
2017 Big 12Pac-12Big 12
2018 Big TenMountain WestACC
2019 Big 12C-USAMAC
2020 ACC, Big 12, C-USA; AAC (alt.)C-USASun Belt
Bold font denotes winners; * denotes a game played in January

For the 2013 season, the Big Ten did not have enough bowl-eligible teams, so the selection committee chose an at-large team, UNLV from the Mountain West Conference, to take their place. For the 2015 season, the Big 12 did not have enough bowl-eligible teams, so the selection committee selected the Washington Huskies from the Pac-12 Conference to take its place. [9] For the 2016 season, the Big Ten sent four teams to CFP bowls, so the selection committee chose an at-large team, independent Army, to take its place. [10] In 2017 and 2018, Conference USA was unable to send teams due to not enough members of their conference having bowl eligibility. In 2017, the Pac-12 sent Utah to face West Virginia from the Big 12. In 2018, the Big Ten did not have any remaining bowl eligible teams to send; the matchup, which was not played to completion, pitted Boise State of the Mountain West versus Boston College of the ACC. In 2019, Western Michigan became the first Mid-American Conference (MAC) team invited to the bowl.

In June 2019, the Big 12 renewed its rotating appearance schedule with the First Responder Bowl through the 2025 postseason. [11] In December 2019, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) announced a partial tie-in with the bowl beginning in the 2020 football season; the conference will send a team to one of three bowls (First Responder Bowl, Gasparilla Bowl, or Birmingham Bowl) annually. [12] In May 2020, C-USA reached an agreement whereby it could send one or more teams to a pool of games, including the First Responder Bowl, which are operated by ESPN Events. [13] As of the 2020 football season, the First Responder Bowl has the noted tie-ins with the ACC, Big 12, and C-USA; it also has the American Athletic Conference (AAC or "The American") as an alternate. [14]

Game results

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

Date playedBowl nameWinning teamLosing teamAttendance
January 1, 2011 TicketCity Bowl Texas Tech 45 Northwestern 3840,121
January 2, 2012 TicketCity Bowl 20 Houston 3024 Penn State 1446,817
January 1, 2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl Oklahoma State 58 Purdue 1448,313
January 1, 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl North Texas 36 UNLV 1438,380
December 26, 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Louisiana Tech 35 Illinois 1831,297
December 26, 2015 Heart of Dallas Bowl Washington 44 Southern Miss 3120,229
December 27, 2016 Heart of Dallas Bowl Army 38 North Texas 31 (OT)39,117
December 26, 2017 Heart of Dallas Bowl Utah 30 West Virginia 1420,507
December 26, 2018 First Responder Bowl 23 Boise State N/C Boston College
December 30, 2019 First Responder Bowl Western Kentucky 23 Western Michigan 2013,164
December 26, 2020 First Responder Bowl 16 Louisiana 31 UTSA 24  3,512
December 28, 2021 First Responder Bowl Air Force 31 Louisville 2815,251
December 27, 2022 First Responder Bowl Memphis 38 Utah State 1010,343
December 26, 2023 First Responder Bowl Texas State 45 Rice 2126,542

The 2018 game was a no-contest; game canceled due to weather.
The 2020 contest had an unusually low attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

First nine editions (2011–2018) played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas
Subsequent games (2019–present) played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas

Source: [15]

MVPs

YearPlayerTeamPositionRef.
2011 Taylor Potts Texas TechQB [16]
2012 Case Keenum HoustonQB [17]
2013Clint ChelfOklahoma StateQB [18]
2014 (Jan.)Derek ThompsonNorth TexasQB [19]
2014 (Dec.) Houston Bates Louisiana TechLB [20]
2015 Myles Gaskin WashingtonRB [21]
2016 Ahmad Bradshaw ArmyQB [22]
2017 Julian Blackmon UtahCB [23]
2018none selected
2019Lucky JacksonWestern KentuckyWR [24]
2020 Elijah Mitchell LouisianaRB [25]
2021Haaziq DanielsAir ForceQB [26]
2022 Seth Henigan MemphisQB [27]
2023Brian HollowayTexas StateLB [28]

Source: [29] :58

Most appearances

Updated through the December 2023 edition (14 games, 28 total appearances).

Teams with multiple appearances
RankTeamAppearancesRecord
1 North Texas 21–1
Teams with a single appearance

Won (12): Air Force, Army, Houston, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Memphis, Oklahoma State, Texas State, Texas Tech, Utah, Washington, Western Kentucky
Lost (12): Illinois, Louisville, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Rice, Southern Miss, UNLV, Utah State, UTSA, West Virginia, Western Michigan
No contest (2): Boise State, Boston College

Appearances by conference

Updated through the December 2023 edition (14 games, 28 total appearances).

ConferenceRecordAppearances by season
GamesWLWin pct.WonLostNo contest
C-USA 743.5712011*, 2013*, 2014, 20192015, 2016, 2020 
Mountain West 412.33320212013*, 20222018
Big Ten 404.000 2010*, 2011*, 2012*, 2014 
Big 12 321.6672010*, 2012*2017 
Pac-12 2201.0002015, 2017  
Sun Belt 2201.0002020, 2023  
The American 211.50020222023 
ACC 201.000 20212018
Independent 1101.0002016  
MAC 101.000 2019 

Game records

TeamPerformance vs. OpponentYear
Most points scored (one team)58, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue2013
Most points scored (losing team)38, Northwestern vs. Texas Tech2011
Most points scored (both teams)83, Texas Tech vs. Northwestern2011
Fewest Points Allowed10, Memphis vs. Utah State2022
Largest margin of victory44, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue2013
Total yards600, Houston vs. Penn State (532 pass, 68 rush)2012
Rushing yards480, Army vs. North Texas2016
Passing yards532, Houston vs. Penn State2012
First downs34, Texas Tech vs. Northwestern2011
Fewest yards allowed153, Utah vs. West Virginia2017
Fewest rushing yards allowed22, Washington vs. Southern Miss2015
Fewest passing yards allowed53, North Texas vs. Army2016
IndividualPerformance, TeamYear
Total offense542, Case Keenum (Houston) (532 pass, 10 rush)2012
All-purpose yards234, Patrick Edwards (Houston)2012
Touchdowns (all-purpose)4, Myles Gaskin (Washington)2015
Rushing yards181, Myles Gaskin (Washington)2015
Rushing touchdowns4, Myles Gaskin (Washington)2015
Passing yards532, Case Keenum (Houston)2012
Passing touchdowns4, Taylor Potts (Texas Tech)2011
Receiving yards228, Patrick Edwards (Houston)2012
Receiving touchdowns2, most recent:
Eddie Lewis (Memphis)

2022
Tackles15, shared by:
Quentin Davie (Northwestern)
Jeremy Timpf (Army)

2011
2016
Sacks4.5, Houston Bates (Louisiana Tech)Dec. 2014
Interceptions2, most recent:
Brian Holloway (Texas State)

2023
Long PlaysPerformance, TeamYear
Touchdown run86 yds., shared by:
Eric Stephens (Texas Tech)
Myles Gaskin (Washington)

2011
2015
Touchdown pass80 yds., Cody Sokol to Kenneth Dixon (Louisiana Tech)Dec. 2014
Kickoff return100 yds., Jawhar Jordan (Louisville)2021
Punt return64 yds., Josh Stewart (Oklahoma State)2013
Interception return88 yds., Kareem Ali (Western Michigan)2019
Fumble return37 yds., Daytawion Lowe (Oklahoma State)2013
Punt65 yds., Quinn Sharp (Oklahoma State)2013
Field goal53 yds., Connor Coles (Utah State)2022

Source: [29] :59–60

Media coverage

ESPNU televised the first four games. Since December 2014, the game has aired on ESPN, with the exception in 2020 when the game was aired on ABC.

Notes

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