Outback Bowl

The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to 2022. It is organized by the Tampa Bay Bowl Association under Jim McVay, who has been the president and CEO since 1988.

History

The game was not Tampa's first bowl game; the Cigar Bowl was played at old Phillips Field near downtown from 1947 to 1954. The Cigar Bowl matched small college teams, making the first edition of the Hall of Fame Bowl, played in December 1986, 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 (SEC) or the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) against a team from another region of the country.

Outback Bowl

Outback Steakhouse became the game's title sponsor in April 1995. At the same time, the bowl signed agreements with the SEC and the Big Ten, creating an annual inter-conference matchup that has continued since. In 1999, the bowl moved from Tampa Stadium (then known as Houlihan's Stadium) into the newly constructed Raymond James Stadium, which had been constructed nearby.

ReliaQuest Bowl

Following the end of sponsorship by Outback Steakhouse, the name Tampa Bay Bowl was used on an interim basis until ReliaQuest, a cybersecurity company based in Tampa, was announced as the new title sponsor on June 9, 2022, making the game's new name the ReliaQuest Bowl.

The game

The 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 bowl had the third pick of teams from each conference after the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) teams were placed. Since 2014, both the SEC and Big Ten have worked with a group of several bowl games, including this one, to place their bowl-eligible teams after the College Football Playoff (CFP) and associated bowls have made their selections.

As of 2017, the bowl's 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.

Most appearances

Updated through the January 2023 edition (37 games, 74 total appearances).

;Teams with multiple appearances

January 2023 participant

;Teams with a single appearance
Won (5): Arkansas, Clemson, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ole Miss


Lost (5): Duke, Indiana, Kentucky, NC State, Purdue

Appearances by conference

Updated through the January 2023 edition (37 games, 74 total appearances).

January 2023 participant

* Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the following calendar year.
* Results reflect conference affiliations at the time each game was played.
* Big East appearances: Syracuse (1992) and Boston College (1993); the American Athletic Conference (The American) has retained the charter of the original Big East, following its 2013 realignment.
* Independent appearances: Boston College (1986) and Syracuse (1988).

Game records

Source:

Media coverage

The inaugural edition of the bowl was carried by Mizlou in December 1986, with NBC carrying the next five editions (1988–1992). Since 1993, the game has been carried by ESPN or ESPN2, except for four broadcasts on ABC (2011, 2012, 2017, and 2021).

References

External links

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{{HCFPEI

College football bowls
Sports competitions in Tampa, Florida
1986 establishments in Florida
New Year's Day