First Responder Bowl
The First Responder Bowl is an NCAA post-season college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas, Texas, area. The bowl was first held on January 1, 2011, and since 2014 has been contested in late December. All editions of the bowl have been held at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park in Dallas with one exception; since the Cotton Bowl was being used for the 2020 NHL Winter Classic and was not available, the 2019 edition of the bowl was played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the campus of Southern Methodist University in nearby University Park, Texas.
| First Responder Bowl | |
|---|---|
| Servpro First Responder Bowl | |
 | |
| Stadium | Gerald J. Ford Stadium |
| Location | University Park, Texas |
| Previous stadiums | Cotton Bowl (2011–2018) |
| Previous locations | Fair Park, Dallas, Texas (2011–2018) |
| Operated | 2011–present |
| Conference tie-ins | Big Ten, Big 12, C-USA |
| Payout | US$824,545 (2019)[1] |
| Sponsors | |
| Former names | |
Dallas Football Classic (2011, working title) TicketCity Bowl (2011–2012) Heart of Dallas Bowl presented by PlainsCapital Bank (2013–Jan 2014) Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dec 2014–2017) | |
| 2018 matchup | |
| Boise State vs. Boston College (Game abandoned due to weather) | |
| 2019 matchup | |
| Western Michigan vs. Western Kentucky (Western Kentucky 23–20) | |
Originally commissioned as the Dallas Football Classic, it has undergone name changes due to changes in sponsorship. From 2011 to 2012, it was named the TicketCity Bowl after sponsor TicketCity. It was then known as the Heart of Dallas Bowl when PlainsCapital Bank (2013) and Zaxby's (2014–2017) were its sponsors. Since 2018, the game has been sponsored by Servpro and officially known as the Servpro First Responder Bowl.[2][3]
History
The game was tentatively called the Dallas Football Classic until TicketCity, an online reseller of sports and entertainment tickets, became the first title sponsor,[4] renaming the game as the TicketCity Bowl. This game physically replaced the Cotton Bowl Classic, which moved from its longtime eponymous home to AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington in 2010.[5] In the 2011 edition, the inaugural playing of the bowl, Texas Tech of the Big 12 Conference defeated Northwestern of the Big Ten Conference.
After its first two playings, the bowl was renamed as the Heart of Dallas Bowl. The 2013 edition, the first to be so named, saw Oklahoma State of the Big 12 defeat Purdue of the Big Ten. PlainsCapital Bank was the title sponsor in 2013, followed by Zaxby's as the title sponsor from 2014 to 2017.[6]
The 2018 edition was the first to be named the First Responder Bowl, with Servpro as the title sponsor. That game was cancelled due to severe weather with 5:08 remaining in the first quarter, and is consider a no-contest for the teams involved; Boise State of the Mountain West Conference and Boston College of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).[7]
Stadium
The Cotton Bowl stadium opened in 1932. Originally known as the Fair Park Bowl, it is located in Fair Park, site of the State Fair of Texas. Due to the immense crowds that SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s, the stadium became known as "The House That Doak Built." The Cotton Bowl Classic called the stadium home from the bowl's inception in 1937 until the 2009 game, after which it moved to what is now AT&T Stadium. The stadium also served as the original home of Dallas' first, ill-fated National Football League franchise in 1952. Later, and far more successfully, the NFL's Dallas Cowboys called the Cotton Bowl home for 11 years, from the team's formation in 1960 until 1971, when the Cowboys moved to Texas Stadium. The American Football League's Dallas Texans likewise began play at the Cotton Bowl in 1960, but were unable to compete successfully financially with Cowboys and after only three money-losing seasons moved to Kansas City, where they became quite successful on and off the field as the Kansas City Chiefs.
The 2019 edition was held at to Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas, to accommodate the 2020 NHL Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl.[8]
Tie-ins
The First Responder Bowl has tie-ins with the Big Ten Conference, the Big 12 Conference, and Conference USA (C-USA).
From 2014 through 2019, the Big Ten is contracted to send a team each season, with alternating appearances from the Big 12 (even seasons) and C-USA (odd seasons). [9] The Big 12's rotating appearance schedule has been renewed through the 2025–26 football season.[10] The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) has also announced a tie-in with the bowl beginning in the 2020–21 football season in which the bowl would be one of three bowl games the ACC could send a team to.[11]
For the 2013 season, the Big Ten did not have enough bowl-eligible teams, so the selection committee chose an at-large team, UNLV from the Mountain West Conference, to take their place. For the 2015 season, the Big 12 did not have enough bowl-eligible teams, so the selection committee selected the Washington Huskies from the Pac-12 Conference to take its place.[12] For the 2016 season, the Big Ten sent four teams to CFP bowls, so the selection committee chose an at-large team, independent Army, to take its place.[13] In 2017 and 2018, Conference USA was unable to send teams due to not enough members of their conference having bowl eligibility. In 2017, the Pac-12 sent Utah to face West Virginia from the Big 12. In 2018, the Big Ten did not have any remaining bowl eligible teams to send; the matchup, which was not played to completion, pitted Boise State of the Mountain West versus Boston College of the ACC. In 2019, Western Michigan became the first Mid-American Conference (MAC) team invited to the bowl.
After having been played on January 1 or January 2 for its first four editions, the game moved to a late December date beginning with the 2014 season.
| Season | Contracted tie-ins | Date played | Actual participants | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Big Ten | Big 12 | January 1, 2011 | Big Ten | Big 12 |
| 2011 | C-USA | January 2, 2012 | Big Ten | C-USA | |
| 2012 | Big 12 | January 1, 2013 | Big Ten | Big 12 | |
| 2013 | C-USA | January 1, 2014 | Mountain West | C-USA | |
| 2014 | C-USA | Big Ten | December 26, 2014 | C-USA | Big Ten |
| 2015 | Big 12 | December 26, 2015 | C-USA | Pac-12 | |
| 2016 | Big Ten | December 27, 2016 | C-USA | Independent | |
| 2017 | Big 12 | December 26, 2017 | Pac-12 | Big 12 | |
| 2018 | Big Ten | December 26, 2018 | Mountain West | ACC | |
| 2019 | Big 12 | December 30, 2019 | C-USA | MAC | |
Bold conference denotes winner of games played; the 2018 game was abandoned, due to weather.
Game results
Rankings are based on the AP Poll prior to the game being played.
| Date played | Bowl name | Winning team | Losing team | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2011 | TicketCity Bowl | Texas Tech | 45 | Northwestern | 38 | 40,121 |
| January 2, 2012 | TicketCity Bowl | No. 20 Houston | 30 | No. 24 Penn State | 14 | 46,817 |
| January 1, 2013 | Heart of Dallas Bowl | Oklahoma State | 58 | Purdue | 14 | 48,313 |
| January 1, 2014 | Heart of Dallas Bowl | North Texas | 36 | UNLV | 14 | 38,380 |
| December 26, 2014 | Heart of Dallas Bowl | Louisiana Tech | 35 | Illinois | 18 | 31,297 |
| December 26, 2015 | Heart of Dallas Bowl | Washington | 44 | Southern Miss | 31 | 20,229 |
| December 27, 2016 | Heart of Dallas Bowl | Army | 38 | North Texas | 31 (OT) | 39,117 |
| December 26, 2017 | Heart of Dallas Bowl | Utah | 30 | West Virginia | 14 | 20,507 |
| December 26, 2018 | First Responder Bowl | No. 23 Boise State N/C Boston College |  | |||
| December 30, 2019 | First Responder Bowl | Western Kentucky | 23 | Western Michigan | 20 | 13,164 |
MVPs
| Year | Player | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Taylor Potts | Texas Tech | QB |
| 2012 | Case Keenum | Houston | QB |
| 2013 | Clint Chelf | Oklahoma State | QB |
| 2014 (Jan.) | Derek Thompson | North Texas | QB |
| 2014 (Dec.) | Houston Bates | Louisiana Tech | LB |
| 2015 | Myles Gaskin | Washington | RB |
| 2016 | Ahmad Bradshaw | Army | QB |
| 2017 | Julian Blackmon | Utah | CB |
| 2018 | none selected | ||
| 2019 | Lucky Jackson | Western Kentucky | WR |
Most appearances
Updated through the December 2019 edition (10 games, 20 total appearances).
- Teams with multiple appearances
| Rank | Team | Appearances | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Texas | 2 | 1–1 |
- Teams with a single appearance
Won: Army, Houston, Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Utah, Washington, Western Kentucky
Lost: Illinois, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Southern Miss, UNLV, West Virginia, Western Michigan
No contest: Boise State, Boston College
Appearances by conference
Updated through the December 2019 edition (10 games, 20 total appearances).
| Conference | Record | Appearances by season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | W | L | Win pct. | Won | Lost | No contest | |
| C-USA | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0.667 | 2011*, 2013*, 2014, 2019 | 2015, 2016 | |
| Big Ten | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 | 2010*, 2011*, 2012*, 2014 | ||
| Big 12 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | 2010*, 2012* | 2017 | |
| Pac-12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 2015, 2017 | ||
| Mountain West | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 2013* | 2018 | |
| Independent | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2016 | ||
| MAC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 2019 | ||
| ACC | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 2018 | ||
- The 2018 game, scheduled between ACC and Mountain West teams, was a no-contest due to weather; no win or loss resulting.
- Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the following calendar year.
- Independent appearances: Army (2016)
Game records
| Team | Performance vs. Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Most points scored (one team) | 58, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue | 2013 |
| Most points scored (losing team) | 38, Northwestern vs. Texas Tech | 2011 |
| Most points scored (both teams) | 83, Texas Tech vs. Northwestern | 2011 |
| Fewest Points Allowed | 14, most recent: Utah vs. West Virginia | 2017 |
| Largest margin of victory | 44, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue | 2013 |
| Total yards | 600, Houston vs. Penn State (532 pass, 68 rush) | 2012 |
| Rushing yards | 480, Army vs. North Texas | 2016 |
| Passing yards | 532, Houston vs. Penn State | 2012 |
| First downs | 34, Texas Tech vs. Northwestern | 2011 |
| Fewest yards allowed | 153, Utah vs. West Virginia | 2017 |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | 22, Washington vs. Southern Miss | 2015 |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | 53, North Texas vs. Army | 2016 |
| Individual | Performance, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Total offense | 542, Case Keenum, Houston vs. Penn State (532 pass, 10 rush) | 2012 |
| All-purpose yards | ||
| Touchdowns (all-purpose) | 4, Myles Gaskin, Washington vs. Southern Miss | 2015 |
| Rushing yards | 181, Myles Gaskin, Washington vs. Southern Miss | 2015 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 4, Myles Gaskin, Washington vs. Southern Miss | 2015 |
| Passing yards | 532, Case Keenum, Houston vs. Penn State | 2012 |
| Passing touchdowns | 4, Taylor Potts, Texas Tech vs. Northwestern | 2011 |
| Receiving yards | 228, Patrick Edwards, Houston vs. Penn State | 2012 |
| Receiving touchdowns | 2, most recent: Mike Thomas, Southern Miss vs. Washington | 2015 |
| Tackles | 15, shared by: Quentin Davie, Northwestern vs. Texas Tech Jeremy Timpf, Army vs. North Texas | 2011 2016 |
| Sacks | 4.5, Houston Bates, Louisiana Tech vs. Illinois | 2014 (Dec.) |
| Interceptions | 2, most recent: Julian Blackmon, Utah vs. West Virginia | 2017 |
| Long Plays | Performance, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Touchdown run | 86, shared by: Eric Stephens, Texas Tech vs. Northwestern Myles Gaskin, Washington vs. Southern Miss | 2011 2015 |
| Touchdown pass | 80, Cody Sokol to Kenneth Dixon, Louisiana Tech vs. Illinois | 2014 (Dec.) |
| Kickoff return | 49, Marcus Sullivan, UNLV vs. North Texas | 2014 (Jan.) |
| Punt return | 64, Josh Stewart, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue | 2013 |
| Interception return | 88, Kareem Ali, Western Michigan vs. Western Kentucky | 2019 |
| Fumble return | 37, Daytawion Lowe, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue | 2013 |
| Punt | 65, Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue | 2013 |
| Field goal | 52, Cory Munson, Western Kentucky vs. Western Michigan | 2019 |
Media coverage
ESPNU televised the first four games. Since December 2014, the game has aired on ESPN.
References
- "2019 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- "New SERVPRO First Responder Bowl to be played at Cotton Bowl Stadium". Retrieved August 13, 2018.
- "Heart of Dallas Bowl to be rebranded by ESPN as vote to keep game in the city looms". Retrieved August 13, 2018.
- http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/11/08/dallas-bowl-game-gets-new-title-sponsor/
- Dallas Football Classic To Debut at Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day, AP via CBSSports.com, 14 October 2009
- "Zaxby's named title sponsor for Heart of Dallas Bowl". Retrieved October 21, 2014.
- "First Responder Bowl: Boise State vs. Boston College canceled, ruled no contest due to inclement weather". CBSSports.com. December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
- Baby, Ben (May 23, 2019). "Conflict with Winter Classic forces First Responder Bowl to move from Cotton Bowl to SMU's Ford Stadium". dallasnews.com. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
- http://lasvegassun.com/news/2013/dec/08/unlv-football-bowl-bid/
- "First Responder Bowl Renews Rotating Partnership with Big 12". firstresponderbowl.com (Press release). June 4, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
- "ACC Announces Bowl Agreements for 2020-25". firstresponderbowl.com (Press release). July 11, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
- http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/story/washington-huskies-southern-mississippi-golden-eagles-heart-of-dallas-bowl-myles-gaskin-122615
- http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/college/big-12/texas-christian-university/article118887113.html