History Citrus Bowl

1 history

1.1 conference tie-ins
1.2 racial integration
1.3 gainesville
1.4 mascot challenge

history

the game, began play in 1947, 1 of oldest of non-cfp bowls, along gator bowl , sun bowl. 1952, game dubbed little bowl big heart , because proceeds game went charity.

before 1968, game featured matchups between schools throughout south, featuring ohio valley conference champion or other small colleges, although few major colleges did play in bowl during era well.

from 1964 through 1967, 1 of 4 regional finals in college division (which became division ii , division iii in 1973), along pecan, grantland rice, , camellia bowls.

in 1968, boardwalk bowl in atlantic city took on regional final, , tangerine bowl became major college bowl game, featuring teams university division (which became division in 1973).

in 1986, 1 of bowl games considered site of winner take national championship game between penn state , miami, before fiesta bowl chosen.

the 1990 season game had national championship implications; georgia tech won florida citrus bowl, finished 11–0–1, , voted 1990 upi national champion.

the 1997 season game, featured nearby florida beating penn state, holds game s attendance record @ 72,940.

in 2004, bowl bid become fifth bcs game, not chosen, due stadium s aging condition. in july 2007, orange county commissioners voted in favor of spending $1.1 billion build amway center orlando magic, dr. phillips center performing arts, , upgrade citrus bowl stadium.

following 2014 game, capital 1 ceased sponsorship of bowl, , moved sponsorship orange bowl. buffalo wild wings announced new title sponsor of bowl game in 2014. buffalo wild wings had been title sponsor of cactus bowl. in offseason of 2017, buffalo wild wings ceased sponsoring bowl search new sponsor ongoing.

the 2016 season game played on december 31, first time in 30 years game not played on january 1st or 2nd.

conference tie-ins

from 1968 through 1975, bowl featured mid-american conference (mac) champion against opponent southern conference (1968–1971), southeastern conference (sec) (1973–1974), or at-large opponent (1972, 1975). mac teams 6–2 during games.

as major football conferences relaxed restrictions on post-season play in mid-1970s, bowl went matchup between 2 at-large teams major conferences, 1 school typically (but not always) south.

from 1987 season through 1991 season, bowl featured atlantic coast conference (acc) champion against at-large opponent. acc teams 3–2 during games.

from 1992 season through 2015 season, bowl featured sec vs. big ten matchup – sec won 14 of games, while big ten won 10.

during 1990s, second-place finisher in sec typically went bowl. florida coach steve spurrier, speaking fact tennessee occupied spot 3 of 4 years florida finished first, famously quipped can t spell citrus without u-t!

currently, bowl has tie-ins sec , big ten, holding first selection after cfp selection process both conferences. since formation of cfp, citrus bowl has chance host acc team, replacing big ten representative. happen years in orange bowl not cfp semi-final game , selects big ten team match against acc team. happened 2016, orange bowl not cfp semi-final , invited michigan of big ten face florida state of acc; citrus bowl invited louisville of acc face lsu of sec.

racial integration

the undefeated 1955 hillsdale college football team refused invitation game when bowl officials insisted hillsdale s 4 african-american players not allowed play in game.

the university @ buffalo s first bowl bid tangerine bowl in 1958. tangerine bowl commission hoped orlando high school athletic association (ohsaa), operated stadium, waive rule prohibited integrated sporting events. when refused, team unanimously voted skip bowl because 2 black players (halfback willie evans , end mike wilson) not have been allowed on field. buffalo not bowl-eligible 50 years. during 2008 season, when bulls on verge of bowl eligibility, 1958 team profiled on espn s outside lines. 2008 team went on win mid-american conference title, , played in international bowl.

by 1966, ohsaa s rule had been changed, , morgan state of baltimore, under head coach earl banks, became first historically black college play in (and win) tangerine bowl.

gainesville

in 1973, construction improvements planned 17,000-seat tangerine bowl stadium expand on 51,000 seats. in summer 1973, however, construction stalled due legal concerns, , improvements delayed. late in 1973 season, tangerine bowl president gieger , other officials planned invite miami redskins , east carolina pirates orlando game. on november 19, 1973, east carolina withdrew interests, , bowl left 1 at-large bid. in unexpected , unprecedented move, game officials decided invite florida gators, , move game florida field in gainesville, gators home stadium. larger stadium needed accommodate large crowd expected. move required special permission ncaa, , special accommodations made. both teams headquartered in orlando week, , spend of time there, including practices, , bused gainesville.

the participants greeted unexpected event, near-record low temperature of 25 degrees fahrenheit (-4 degrees celsius). despite home-field advantage, in game nicknamed transplant bowl , miami (oh), found cold more liking, defeated gators 16–7. 1 of players on victorious redskins squad future gators coach ron zook.

the one-time moving of game, , fears of permanent relocation, rejuvenated stalled stadium renovations in orlando. game returned orlando 1974, , within couple of years, expansion project complete.

mascot challenge

the capital 1 mascot challenge (formerly known capital 1 national mascot of year ) contest fans voted favorite college mascot. contest began in 2002 winner being named during halftime; winning school awarded $20,000 towards mascot program. ending of capital 1 s sponsorship of citrus bowl, challenge moved in 2014 orange bowl capital 1 s sponsorship of game.