Gator Bowl

Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Jacksonville, Florida. It is one of the oldest college bowls, held continuously since 1946. Its current full name is the Toyota Gator Bowl.

Charles Hilty, Sr. is given credit for conceiving the idea for the event according to The Big Bowl Football Guide by Anthony C. DiMarco. He, Ray McCarthy, Maurice Cherry and W.C. Ivey put up $10,000 to underwrite the first game.

The event struggled in the early years, drawing only 7,362 to the 1946 match. It was not until the 1949 match-up of the Clemson Tigers and the Missouri Tigers that the future of the Gator Bowl was certain. The 1948 attendance of 16,666 for a 20-20 tie between Maryland and Georgia was nearly doubled with 32,939 watching Clemson squeak by Missouri. The attendance regularly reached 60,000-70,000 by the 1970s.

The game was played in Gator Bowl Stadium until 1993. The 1994 game was played in Gainesville, Florida during construction; the 1996 game and subsequent games have been held at ALLTEL Stadium. The game is currently sponsored by Toyota, hence its official title, albeit this is the final year of Toyota sponsorship. In the early years of the bowl it featured a team from the Southern Conference against an at-large opponent. Beginning with the 1953 game, it switched to generally featuring a Southeastern Conference (SEC) team against an at-large opponent. From 1953 to the 1975 game both teams were from the SEC. The games from 1976 to 1995 usually, but not always, involved a team from south-east part of the country against a team from another part of the country. Teams from the ACC played in 10 of these 20 games.

The Gator Bowl traditionally hosted the second-place ACC against the second-place Big East team from 1996-2006. But beginning with the 2007 game, it will host the third-place ACC team versus a team from either the Big East, Big 12 or Notre Dame to take the Big East's spot in this game.

With a new TV contract with CBS Sports to televise the game the payout for each team will jump to $2.5 million for the 2006-07 game. The longtime broadcaster of the game was ABC. Then in the early 90's TBS bought the rights to the game and was the home of the game until it moved to January 1st and NBC.

The Gator Bowl is one of Jacksonville's annual sports highlights. In 1963, the Hotel Roosevelt in downtown caught fire after a post-Gator Bowl party in the ballroom. 22 hotel patrons lost their lives.

It was in the 1978 game between Ohio State and Clemson where Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes lost his temper after a late game interception by Charlie Bauman to seal the Tigers' 17-15 win over the Buckeyes caused Hayes to clothesline Bauman in front of a national television audience on the sideline. Hayes was dismissed the next day by Ohio State's Board of Trustees.The Gator Bowl Association has a storied and unforgettable 60 year tradition.

The game has showcased many of college football's biggest names like Heisman Trophy winners George Rogers, Pat Sullivan, Earl Campbell, and John David Crow. Wonderful players such as Dan Marino, Michael Vick, Thurman Thomas, Archie Manning, Larry Csonka, and Peyton Manning are also part of the Gator Bowl Mystique. The Gator Bowl has also featured many of America's best coaches including Bobby Bowden, Steve Spurrier, and Vince Dooley.