Outback Bowl

Outback Bowl
Outback Bowl logo
Stadium	Raymond James Stadium
Location	Tampa, Florida
Previous Stadiums	Legion Field (1977-85) Tampa Stadium (1986-98)
Operated	1986-present
Conference Tie-ins	Big Ten, SEC
Payout	US$3,300,000 (As of 2008[update])
Sponsors
Outback Steakhouse
Former names
Hall of Fame Bowl (1986-1994)
2009 Matchup
Iowa vs. South Carolina (Iowa 31-10)
2010 Matchup
SEC vs Big Ten (January 1)

The Outback Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The bowl was first called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1994. The name "Outback" comes from the game's title sponsor, Outback Steakhouse.

History

The Hall of Fame Bowl was held at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama from 1977–1985. In the spring of 1986, the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame decided to discontinue their association with the bowl and realigned with a new bowl game to begin in Tampa, first at Tampa Stadium (later Houlihan's Stadium) from 1986 until 1998 and then into "The New Sombrero" Raymond James Stadium beginning in 1999. The Birmingham bowl continued for a few more years as the All-American Bowl until folding.

The new bowl game in Tampa became the first bowl in the community since the Cigar Bowl from 1947–1954. It was also the first major college bowl ever to be played in Tampa because the Cigar Bowl matched small colleges (a notable participant in that bowl was Florida State, who later became a major college football power). The Bowl is organized by the Tampa Bay Bowl Association and since the 1996 game has contracts with the SEC and the Big Ten Conference. The minimum payout for each participating school is US$3.3 million.

In October 2009, the Outback Bowl announced that it has extended its contract with the Big Ten Conference through the 2013 football season. The bowl will continue to invite the third pick of teams from the Big Ten to face the third pick from the SEC. Before the 1996 game, the Big Ten, which began its Outback Bowl association in 1993, faced teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference.^[1]

The Outback Bowl currently airs on ESPN as its only New Year's Day bowl game; prior to its move the bowl aired on NBC.

The January 1, 2009 Outback Bowl featured a match-up between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the South Carolina Gamecocks. Iowa won the game, 31–10. The 2009 MVP was Shonn Greene of Iowa.

2007 Outback Bowl

The January 1, 2007 Outback Bowl featured the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten defeating the Tennessee Volunteers of the SEC by a score of 20–10. The game was televised by ESPN on New Year's Day. Penn State last participated in the game in 1999 Outback Bowl when they defeated Kentucky by the score of 26–14. Tennessee last played in Tampa in the 1993 Hall of Fame Bowl, defeating Boston College 38–23.

Game results

MVPs

Most appearances

See also

• Outback Bowl broadcasters

References

External links

• Official Website of the Outback Bowl
• Centre Daily Times Website on 2007 Outback Bowl — home of Penn State's Nittany Lions