Music City Bowl
The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998. Since 2020, it has been sponsored by TransPerfect and is officially known as the TransPerfect Music City Bowl. Previous title sponsors include Franklin American Mortgage Company American General Life & Accident, HomePoint.com, Gaylord Entertainment, and both Gaylord Entertainment and Bridgestone. From 2014 through 2019, the bowl had tie-ins with the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten Conference, and Southeastern Conference ; for 2020 through 2025, the bowl has tie-ins with the Big Ten and SEC.
History
The first Music City Bowl was played at Vanderbilt Stadium in 1998. Beginning in 1999, the game was moved to the just completed home stadium of the Tennessee Titans, now known as Nissan Stadium. American General Life & Accident sponsored the inaugural 1998 game, and the now-defunct "homepoint.com" sponsored the 1999 game. There was no sponsor in 2000 or 2001. In 2002, with title sponsorship from Nashville-based Gaylord Hotels, the game became known as the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl. In 2003, Bridgestone became the presenting sponsor of the game, and its full title became the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl presented by Bridgestone. Bridgestone dropped its presenting sponsorship following the 2007 game. Beginning with the 2010 game, Franklin American Mortgage served as title sponsor, with Gaylord continuing as a major sponsor of the event. In December 2019, it was announced that TransPerfect, a New York City-based translation services company, would take over title sponsorship of the bowl for the 2020 through 2025 playings.Conference tie-ins
The game initially featured a matchup between representatives of the Southeastern Conference and the Big East Conference. The Big East was replaced by the Big Ten Conference in 2002. Beginning with the 2006 game, the Big Ten was replaced by the Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC also took part in the 2005 game, when Virginia appeared because the SEC did not have enough bowl-eligible teams. For six seasons begging in 2014, the Music City Bowl shared its tie in with the Gator Bowl, to match an SEC team with either an ACC or Big Ten team. In June 2019, the Music City Bowl announced an extension to their agreement with the SEC, and an agreement for the Big Ten to provide teams for the 2020 through 2025 seasons.Game results
The Music City Bowl has a history of upsets. The biggest underdog win was when Kentucky defeated Clemson 28–20 in 2006. Other big upsets include Minnesota defeating Arkansas 29–14 in 2002, and Virginia defeating Minnesota 34–31 in 2005. Boston College was a four-point underdog when they defeated Georgia 20–16 in 2001, West Virginia was a three-point underdog when they beat Ole Miss in 2000, Syracuse was a three-point underdog when they defeated Kentucky in 1999, and Minnesota was a one-point underdog when they beat Alabama in 2004. In 2008, four-point underdog Vanderbilt, making their first bowl appearance since 1982, upset Boston College, 24th in the BCS rankings, 16–14.All rankings are taken from the AP Poll prior to the game being played.
Note that the 1998 game was played at Vanderbilt Stadium, while Nissan Stadium was under construction.
Most Valuable Players
Most appearances
Updated through the December 2019 edition.;Teams with multiple appearances
;Teams with a single appearance
Won: North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
Lost: Arkansas, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, LSU, NC State, Nebraska, Purdue, Texas A&M, Wake Forest, Wisconsin
Appearances by conference
Updated through the December 2019 edition.- Independent appearances: Notre Dame
- The American Athletic Conference retains the conference charter of the Big East following the 2013 split of the original Big East along football lines.
Game records
| Team | Record, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Most points scored | 63, Auburn vs. Purdue | 2018 |
| Most points scored | 38, Ole Miss vs. West Virginia | 2000 |
| Most points scored | 87, West Virginia vs. Ole Miss | 2000 |
| Fewest points allowed | 7, Virginia Tech vs. Alabama | 1998 |
| Largest margin of victory | 49, Auburn vs. Purdue | 2018 |
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| Individual | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
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| Miscellaneous | Record, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Bowl Attendance | 69,143, North Carolina vs. Tennessee | 2010 |