Cotton Bowl

(game)

For the Cotton Bowl stadium, see Cotton Bowl (stadium).

Cotton Bowl
AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic
AT&T Cotton Bowl logo
Stadium	Cotton Bowl
Location	Dallas, Texas
Operated	1937 — present
Conference Tie-ins	Big 12, SEC
Previous Conference Tie-ins	Southwest Conference (1937 — 1995)
Payout	US$3,000,000 (2006)
Sponsors
Mobil (1989 — 1995) Southwestern Bell Corporation / SBC Communications / AT&T (1996 — present)
Former names
Mobil Cotton Bowl Classic (1989 — 1995) Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl Classic (1996 — 1999) SBC Communications Cotton Bowl Classic (2000 — 2005)
2007 Matchup
Auburn vs. Nebraska (17-14)
2008 Matchup

The Cotton Bowl is a United States college football bowl game played annually since 1937 at the self-named stadium in Dallas, Texas. On February 27 2007, it was announced that the game will move to the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in 2010.^[1] With the planned move, Cotton Bowl officials also began a campaign to become part of the Bowl Championship Series when the current contract featuring the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, and Orange bowls expires in 2010.^[2]

Since 1996, the game has been sponsored by Southwestern Bell Corporation; however, it went through several name changes, first in 2000 when the firm adopted a standardized "SBC" branding reflecting its name it adopted in 1995, SBC Communications, and since 2006, after their acquisition of AT&T, and its subsequent name change, as the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic. From 1989 until 1995, the game was sponsored by Mobil Oil and known as the Mobil Cotton Bowl Classic.

History

The Cotton Bowl was founded in Dallas, Texas in 1937 at the Texas State Fair Grounds, when Texas oil executive J. Curtis Sanford financed the first one out of his own pocket. Texas Christian University took on Marquette, winning, 16-6, but the game lost money even though some 17,000 attended. Nonetheless, Sanford persevered, and in 1938 the game made a profit as Rice defeated Colorado, 28-14, in front of a crowd of 37,000.

Some 40,000 attended the 1939 match between St. Mary's and Texas Tech, with the Gaels upsetting the undefeated Red Raiders, 20-13. In 1940 an underdog Clemson team surprised the Boston College Eagles, 6-3, in the first of several appearances at the Cotton Bowl by Tigers coach Frank Howard. Attendance at this game was given as 20,000.

In 1947 LSU and Arkansas played in front of 38,000 people to a 0-0 tie in what would later become known as the "Ice Bowl." LSU got the better of Arkansas most of the game but the game truly belonged to the weatherman.

The 1954 Cotton Bowl featured one of the most famous plays in college football history. Rice's Dickey Moegle began a run around from the 10 yard line and down the open field. Alabama's Tommy Lewis jumped off the bench and tackled Maegle. The referee Cliff Shaw saw what happened and signaled touchdown even though Maegle was "tackled" at the 42 yard line.

In 1964, the number one ranked University of Texas completed an undefeated season by defeating #2 ranked Navy (who was led by future Dallas Cowboys star Roger Staubach). The game was played less than seven weeks after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.

The 1970 game featured Notre Dame's return to bowl games after a 45-year self-imposed ban. The Irish, led by quarterback Joe Theismann, faced top-ranked and undefeated Texas. Notre Dame led 17-14 late in the fourth quarter, but the Longhorns scored a late touchdown to clinch a 21-17 victory and an undisputed national championship. The same two teams met the next year, but this time, the Irish ended the Longhorns' 30-game winning streak with a 24-11 victory, denying Texas the Associated Press national championship (the Longhorns had already clinched the championship in the United Press International poll, which did not release a post-bowl poll at the time). Texas and Notre Dame met again in the 1978 game, with the Longhorns again ranked number one, only to see the Irish and quarterback Joe Montana roll to a 38-10 victory. The Irish vaulted from fifth to first in the final polls with the victory.

The Chicken Soup Game, the 1979 Cotton Bowl, featured one of the most historic comebacks in bowl history. Notre Dame trailed the University of Houston, 34-12 midway through the fourth quarter. Thanks to a blocked punt and the brilliance of future NFL hall of famer Joe Montana, the Irish rallied to win, 35-34.

The 1989 game between UCLA and Arkansas was highly publicized in the Dallas area because UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman was expected to be the #1 pick in the NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys. Much was made of Cowboys coach Tom Landry watching Aikman practice at Texas Stadium (UCLA's practice facility for game preparation). Landry never got to draft Aikman, because he was fired the next month, but his successor, Jimmy Johnson, did draft Aikman.

The Bowl was known for featuring great quarterbacks. Sammy Baugh, Davey O'Brien, Babe Parelli, Bart Starr, Roger Staubach, Joe Theismann, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Doug Flutie, Troy Aikman and Eli Manning all have played in the game.

Three of the four Heisman Trophy winners from 1985 to 1988 finished their college career in the Cotton Bowl. Doug Flutie for Boston College in 1985, Bo Jackson of Auburn in 1986, and Tim Brown of Notre Dame in 1988.

For 40 years the champion of the now-defunct Southwest Conference played as the home team in the Cotton Bowl. Up until the mid-1980s the contest was counted among the four major New Year's bowls, but lost that stature when many SWC teams served NCAA probations for rule violations (rendering them bowl ineligible), while the Fiesta Bowl, unhindered by conference tie-ins, was able to attract national championship contenders. Eventually it replaced the Cotton Bowl as one of the four "major bowls." The SWC champion lost the last 7 times they played host to the event, and the bowl's last national champion was Notre Dame in 1977. Since 1996, the game has been anchored by the Big 12 Conference. The opponent in the late 1990s was either the Pacific 10 Conference or Western Athletic Conference, and since 1999 the Southeastern Conference (usually a Western Division team) with Southwestern Bell (now AT&T) sponsoring the event. The SEC representative has won the last four games through the 2007 game.

It continues to be played on New Year's Day (except when January 1 falls on a Sunday; then it is moved to January 2), and is usually the second game of the day to kick off, generally following the Outback Bowl. The 1967 game was moved to Saturday, December 31, 1966, due to the Dallas Cowboys hosting the NFL Championship Game at the stadium on New Year's Day, a Sunday (Note: The other major bowl games that year --- the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Orange Bowl --- were played on Monday, January 2nd).

Fox Sports has televised the game since 1999. For many decades, the Cotton Bowl was a New Year's Day staple on CBS, where the man most associated with the game, Lindsey Nelson, handled the play-by-play. NBC transmitted it for a brief period during the mid-1990s. Currently, Brad Sham (best known as the voice of the Dallas Cowboys) is the radio voice of the Cotton Bowl on the Westwood One network, and longtime NFL broadcaster Pat Summerall has come out of retirement to announce the annual game for Fox.

Previous results

Date Played	Winning Team		Losing Team		notes
January 1, 1937	TCU	16	Marquette	6
January 1, 1938	Rice	28	Colorado	14
January 2, 1939	Saint Mary's (CA)	20	Texas Tech	13
January 1, 1940	Clemson	6	Boston College	3
January 1, 1941	Texas A&M	13	Fordham	12
January 1, 1942	Alabama	29	Texas A&M	21
January 1, 1943	Texas	14	Georgia Tech	7
January 1, 1944	Texas	7	Randolph Field	7
January 1, 1945	Oklahoma State	34	TCU	0
January 1, 1946	Texas	40	Missouri	27
January 1, 1947	Arkansas	0	LSU	0
January 1, 1948	SMU	13	Penn State	13
January 1, 1949	SMU	21	Oregon	13
January 2, 1950	Rice	27	North Carolina	13
January 1, 1951	Tennessee	20	Texas	14
January 1, 1952	Kentucky	20	TCU	7
January 1, 1953	Texas	16	Tennessee	0
January 1, 1954	Rice	28	Alabama	6
January 1, 1955	Georgia Tech	14	Arkansas	6
January 2, 1956	Mississippi	14	TCU	13
January 1, 1957	TCU	28	Syracuse	27
January 1, 1958	Navy	20	Rice	7
January 1, 1959	TCU	0	Air Force	0
January 1, 1960	Syracuse	23	Texas	14
January 2, 1961	Duke	7	Arkansas	6
January 1, 1962	Texas	12	Mississippi	7
January 1, 1963	LSU	13	Texas	0
January 1, 1964	Texas	28	Navy	6
January 1, 1965	Arkansas	10	Nebraska	7
January 1, 1966	LSU	14	Arkansas	7
December 31, 1966	Georgia	24	SMU	9
January 1, 1968	Texas A&M	20	Alabama	16
January 1, 1969	Texas	36	Tennessee	13
January 1, 1970	Texas	21	Notre Dame	17
January 1, 1971	Notre Dame	24	Texas	11
January 1, 1972	Penn State	30	Texas	6
January 1, 1973	Texas	17	Alabama	13
January 1, 1974	Nebraska	19	Texas	3
January 1, 1975	Penn State	41	Baylor	20
January 1, 1976	Arkansas	31	Georgia	10
January 1, 1977	Houston	30	Maryland	21
January 2, 1978	Notre Dame	38	Texas	10
January 1, 1979	Notre Dame	35	Houston	34
January 1, 1980	Houston	17	Nebraska	14
January 1, 1981	Alabama	30	Baylor	2
January 1, 1982	Texas	14	Alabama	12
January 1, 1983	SMU	7	Pittsburgh	3
January 2, 1984	Georgia	10	Texas	9
January 1, 1985	Boston College	45	Houston	28
January 1, 1986	Texas A&M	36	Auburn	16
January 1, 1987	Ohio State	28	Texas A&M	12
January 1, 1988	Texas A&M	35	Notre Dame	10
January 2, 1989	UCLA	17	Arkansas	3
January 1, 1990	Tennessee	31	Arkansas	27
January 1, 1991	Miami	46	Texas	3
January 1, 1992	Florida State	10	Texas A&M	2
January 1, 1993	Notre Dame	28	Texas A&M	3
January 1, 1994	Notre Dame	24	Texas A&M	21
January 2, 1995	USC	55	Texas Tech	14
January 1, 1996	Colorado	38	Oregon	6
January 1, 1997	BYU	19	Kansas State	15
January 1, 1998	UCLA	29	Texas A&M	23
January 1, 1999	Texas	38	Mississippi State	11
January 1, 2000	Arkansas	27	Texas	6
January 1, 2001	Kansas State	35	Tennessee	21
January 1, 2002	Oklahoma	10	Arkansas	3
January 1, 2003	Texas	35	LSU	20
January 2, 2004	Mississippi	31	Oklahoma State	28
January 1, 2005	Tennessee	38	Texas A&M	7	notes
January 2, 2006	Alabama	13	Texas Tech	10	notes
January 1, 2007	Auburn	17	Nebraska	14	notes
January 1, 2008

MVPs

Date Played	MVP(s)	Team	Position
January 1, 1937	Ki Aldrich	TCU	C
	Sammy Baugh	TCU	QB
	L.D. "Dutch" Meyer	TCU	K
January 1, 1938	Ernie Lain	Rice	HB
January 1, 1938	Byron "Whizzer" White	Colorado	QB
January 1, 1939	Jerry Dowd	St. Mary's	C
January 1, 1939	Elmer Tarbox	Texas Tech	HB
January 1, 1940	Banks McFadden	Clemson	B
January 1, 1941	Charles Henke	Texas A&M	G
	John Kimbrough	Texas A&M	FB
	Chip Roult	Texas A&M	T
	Lou DeFilippo	Fordham	C
	Joe Ungerer	Fordham	T
January 1, 1942	Jimmy Nelson	Alabama	HB
	Holt Rast	Alabama	E
	Don Whitmire	Alabama	T
	Martin Ruby	Texas A&M	T
January 1, 1943	Jack Freeman	Texas	G
	Roy McKay	Texas	B
	Stanley Mauldin	Texas	T
	Harvey Hardy	Georgia Tech	G
	Jack Marshall	Georgia Tech	E
January 1, 1944	Martin Ruby	Texas	T
	Glenn Dobbs	Texas	QB
	Randolph Field	Texas	T
	Joe Parker	Texas	E
January 1, 1945	Neil Armstrong	Oklahoma State	E
	Bob Fenimore	Oklahoma State	RB
	Ralph Foster	Oklahoma State	DT
January 1, 1946	Hub Bechtol	Texas	E
	Bobby Layne	Texas	B
	Jim Kekeris	Missouri	T
January 1, 1947	Alton Baldwin	Arkansas	E
January 1, 1947	Y.A. Tittle	LSU	QB
January 1, 1948	Steve Suhey	Penn State	G
January 1, 1948	Doak Walker	SMU	RB
January 1, 1949	Kyle Rote	SMU	RB
	Doak Walker	SMU	RB
	Brad Ecklund	Oregon	C
	Norm Van Brocklin	Oregon	QB
January 2, 1950	Billy Burkhalter	Rice	HB
	Joe Watson	Rice	C
	James Williams	Rice	E
January 1, 1951	Andy Kozar	Tennessee	FB
	Hank Lauricella	Tennessee	HB
	Horace "Bud" Sherrod	Tennessee	DE
	Bud McFadin	Texas	G
January 1, 1952	Emery Clark	Kentucky	HB
	Ray Correll	Kentucky	G
	Vito "Babe" Parilli	Kentucky	QB
	Keith Flowers	TCU	FB
January 1, 1953	Richard Ochoa	Texas	FB
	Harley Sewell	Texas	G
	Bob Griesbach	Tennessee	LB
January 1, 1954	Richard Chapman	Rice	T
	Dan Hart	Rice	E
	Dicky Maegle	Rice	HB
January 1, 1955	George Humphreys	Georgia Tech	FB
January 1, 1955	Bud Brooks	Arkansas	G
January 2, 1956	Buddy Alliston	Mississippi	G
January 2, 1956	Eagle Day	Mississippi	QB
January 1, 1957	Norman Hamilton	TCU	T
January 1, 1957	Jim Brown	Syracuse	HB
January 1, 1958	Tom Forrestal	Navy	QB
January 1, 1958	Tony Stremic	Navy	G
January 1, 1959	Dave Phillips	Air Force	T
January 1, 1959	Jack Spikes	TCU	FB
January 1, 1960	Ernie Davis	Syracuse	HB
January 1, 1960	Maurice Doke	Texas	G
January 2, 1961	Dwight Bumgarner	Duke	T
January 2, 1961	Lance Alworth	Arkansas	HB
January 1, 1962	Mike Cotten	Texas	QB
January 1, 1962	Bob Moses	Texas	E
January 1, 1963	Lynn Amedee	QB	LSU
January 1, 1963	Johnny Treadwell	Texas	G
January 1, 1964	Scott Appleton	Texas	T
January 1, 1964	Duke Carlisle	Texas	QB
January 1, 1965	Ronnie Caveness	Arkansas	LB
January 1, 1965	Fred Marshall	Arkansas	QB
January 1, 1966	Joe Labruzzo	LSU	TB
January 1, 1966	David McCormick	LSU	T
December 31, 1966	Kent Lawrence	Georgia	TB
December 31, 1966	George Patton	Georgia	T
January 1 , 1968	Grady Allen	Texas A&M	DE
	Edd Hargett	Texas A&M	QB
	Bill Hobbs	Texas A&M	LB
January 1, 1969	Tom Campbell	Texas	LB
	Charles "Cotton" Speyrer	Texas	WR
	James Street	Texas	QB
January 1, 1970	Steve Worstar	Texas	FB
January 1, 1970	Bob Olson	Notre Dame	LB
January 1, 1971	Clarence Ellis	Notre Dame	CB
January 1, 1971	Eddie Phillips	Texas	QB
January 1, 1972	Bruce Bannon	Penn State	DE
January 1, 1972	Lydell Mitchell	Penn State	RB
January 1, 1973	Randy Braband	Texas	LB
January 1, 1973	Alan Lowry	Texas	QB
January 1, 1974	Tony Davis	Nebraska	TB
January 1, 1974	Wade Johnson	Texas	LB
January 1, 1975	Tom Shuman	Penn State	QB
January 1, 1975	Ken Quesenberry	Baylor	S
January 1, 1976	Ike Forte	Arkansas	HB
January 1, 1976	Hal McAfee	Arkansas	LB
January 1, 1977	Alois Blackwell	Houston	RB
January 1, 1977	Mark Mohr	Houston	CB
January 1, 1978	Vagas Ferguson	Notre Dame	RB
January 1, 1978	Bob Golic	Notre Dame	LB
January 1, 1979	Joe Montana	Notre Dame	QB
January 1, 1979	David Hodge	Houston	LB
January 1, 1980	Terry Elston	Houston	QB
January 1, 1980	David Hodge	Houston	LB
January 1, 1981	Warren Lyles	Alabama	NG
January 1, 1981	Major Ogilvie	Alabama	RB
January 1, 1982	Robert Brewer	Texas	QB
January 1, 1982	Robbie Jones	Alabama	LB
January 1, 1983	Wes Hopkins	SMU	SS
January 1, 1983	Lance McIlhenny	SMU	QB
January 1, 1984	John Lastinger	Georgia	QB
January 1, 1984	Jeff Leiding	Texas	LB
January 1, 1985	Bill Romanowski	Boston College	LB
January 1, 1985	Steve Strachan	Boston College	FB
January 1, 1986	Domingo Bryant	Texas A&M	SS
January 1, 1986	Bo Jackson	Auburn	TB
January 1, 1987	Chris Spielman	Ohio State	LB
January 1, 1987	Roger Vick	Texas A&M	FB
January 1, 1988	Adam Bob	Texas A&M	LB
January 1, 1988	Bucky Richardson	Texas A&M	QB
January 2, 1989	Troy Aikman	UCLA	QB
January 2, 1989	LaSalle Harper	Arkansas	LB
January 1, 1990	Carl Pickens	Tennessee	FS
January 1, 1990	Chuck Webb	Tennessee	TB
January 1, 1991	Craig Erickson	Miami (Fla.)	QB
January 1, 1991	Russell Maryland	Miami (Fla.)	DL
January 1, 1992	Sean Jackson	Florida State	RB
January 1, 1992	Chris Crooms	Texas A&M	S
January 1, 1993	Rick Mirer	Notre Dame	QB
January 1, 1993	Devon McDonald	Notre Dame	DE
January 1, 1994	Lee Becton	Notre Dame	RB
January 1, 1994	Antonio Shorter	Texas A&M	L
January 2, 1995	Keyshawn Johnson	USC	WR
January 2, 1995	John Herpin	USC	CB
January 1, 1996	Herchell Troutman	Colorado	RB
January 1, 1996	Marcus Washington	Colorado	DB
January 1, 1997	Steve Sarkisian	BYU	QB
	Shay Muirbrook	BYU	LB
	Kevin Lockett	Kansas State	WR
January 1, 1998	Cade McNown	UCLA	QB
January 1, 1998	Dat Nguyen	Texas A&M	LB
January 1, 1999	Ricky Williams	Texas	RB
January 1, 1999	Aaron Babino	Texas	LB
January 1, 2000	Cedric Cobbs	Arkansas	RB
January 1, 2000	D.J. Cooper	Arkansas	LB
January 1, 2001	Jonathan Beasley	Kansas State	QB
January 1, 2001	Chris L. Johnson	Kansas State	DE
January 1, 2002	Quentin Griffin	Oklahoma	RB
January 1, 2002	Roy Williams	Oklahoma	S
January 1, 2003	Roy Williams	Texas	WR
January 1, 2003	Cory Redding	Texas	DE
January 2, 2004	Eli Manning	Mississippi	QB
January 2, 2004	Josh Cooper	Mississippi	DE
January 1, 2005	Rick Clausen	Tennessee	QB
January 1, 2005	Justin Harrell	Tennessee	DT
January 2, 2006	Brodie Croyle	Alabama	QB
January 2, 2006	DeMeco Ryans	Alabama	LB
January 1, 2007	Courtney Taylor	Auburn	WR
January 1, 2007	Will Herring	Auburn	LB