Outback Bowl


The Outback Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event was originally called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1994 until being renamed in 1995 for its new title sponsor, Outback Steakhouse. It is organized by the Tampa Bay Bowl Association under Jim McVay, who has been the president and CEO since 1988.

History

Cigar Bowl

The Outback Bowl was not Tampa's first bowl game; the Cigar Bowl was played at old Phillips Field near downtown from 1947 to 1954. However, the earlier event matched small college teams, so the Outback / Hall of Fame Bowl is the first major bowl game to be played in the area.

Hall of Fame Bowl

The Hall of Fame Classic was held at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, from 1977 to 1985. In the spring of 1986, the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame decided to discontinue their association with the bowl and realign with a new bowl game to be played in Tampa Stadium which would inherit the Hall of Fame Bowl name. Initially, the Hall of Fame Bowl did not have agreements with any conferences, so it usually matched a school from either the Southeastern Conference or the Atlantic Coast Conference against a team from another region of the country.

Outback Bowl

became the game's title sponsor in 1995. At the same time, the newly renamed Outback Bowl signed agreements with the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten Conference, creating an annual inter-sectional matchup that has continued ever since.
In 1999, the Outback Bowl moved from Tampa Stadium into Raymond James Stadium, which had recently been built adjacent to the old stadium.

The game

The Outback Bowl is played on New Year's Day unless January 1 falls on a Sunday, in which case it is moved to the following Monday. It is usually the first game to start on a day which is traditionally full of college bowl games, and has kicked off as early as 11AM. ESPN has had television rights to the game since 1993. Under an extension of those rights signed in 2010, ESPN broadcasts the game on either ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2, in conjunction with the Citrus Bowl and the New Year's Six bowl games. Before 1993, the Hall of Fame Bowl aired on NBC.
Upon signing agreements with the SEC and Big Ten in 1995, the Outback Bowl had the third pick of teams from each conference after the Bowl Championship Series teams were placed. Since 2014, both the SEC and Big Ten have worked with a group of several bowl games, including the Outback Bowl, to place their bowl-eligible teams after the College Football Playoff and associated bowls have made their selections.
As of 2017, the Outback Bowl payout was $3.5 million for each team.

Game results

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

MVPs

The bowl has named an MVP since inception; in the inaugural game, there were co-MVPs.
DateMVPTeamPosition
December 23, 1986James JacksonGeorgiaQB
December 23, 1986Garry MossGeorgiaCB
January 2, 1988Jamie MorrisMichiganTB
January 2, 1989Robert DrummondSyracuseRB
January 1, 1990Reggie SlackAuburnQB
January 1, 1991DeChane CameronClemsonQB
January 1, 1992Marvin GravesSyracuseQB
January 1, 1993Heath ShulerTennesseeQB
January 1, 1994Tyrone WheatleyMichiganRB
January 2, 1995Terrell FletcherWisconsinRB
January 1, 1996Bobby EngramPenn StateWR
January 1, 1997Dwayne RuddAlabamaLB
January 1, 1998Mike BoboGeorgiaQB
January 1, 1999Courtney BrownPenn StateDE
January 1, 2000Drew BreesPurdueQB
January 1, 2001Ryan BrewerSouth CarolinaRB
January 1, 2002Phil PettySouth CarolinaQB
January 1, 2003Chris PerryMichiganTB

DateMVPTeamPosition
January 1, 2004Fred RussellIowaRB
January 1, 2005David PollackGeorgiaDE
January 2, 2006Dallas BakerFloridaWR
January 1, 2007Tony HuntPenn StateRB
January 1, 2008Erik AingeTennesseeQB
January 1, 2009Shonn GreeneIowaRB
January 1, 2010Darvin AdamsAuburnWR
January 1, 2011Ahmad BlackFloridaS
January 2, 2012Brandon BoykinGeorgiaCB
January 1, 2013Ace SandersSouth CarolinaWR/PR
January 1, 2014Jeremy HillLSURB
January 1, 2015Melvin GordonWisconsinRB
January 1, 2016Jalen HurdTennesseeRB
January 2, 2017Chauncey GardnerFloridaDB
January 1, 2018Jake BentleySouth CarolinaQB
January 1, 2019Nick EasleyIowaWR
January 1, 2020Tyler JohnsonMinnesotaWR

Most appearances

Updated through the January 2020 edition.
;Teams with multiple appearances
;Teams with a single appearance
Won: Clemson, Michigan State, Minnesota
Lost: Duke, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi State, NC State, Purdue

Appearances by conference

Updated through the January 2020 edition.
Source:

Media coverage

The inaugural edition of the bowl was carried by Mizlou in December 1986, with NBC carrying the next five editions. Since 1993, the game has been carried by ESPN or ESPN2, except for three broadcasts on ABC.