Gasparilla Bowl
The Gasparilla Bowl is an annual NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game played in the Tampa Bay Area. It was first played in 2008 as the St. Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The game was renamed the Gasparilla Bowl in 2017 as a nod to the legend of José Gaspar, a mythical pirate who supposedly operated in the Tampa Bay area and who is the inspiration for Tampa's Gasparilla Pirate Festival. In May 2018, the owners announced the bowl would be relocated to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.[2]
Gasparilla Bowl | |
---|---|
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl | |
Stadium | Raymond James Stadium |
Location | Tampa, Florida |
Previous stadiums | Tropicana Field (2008–2017) |
Previous locations | St. Petersburg, Florida (2008–2017) |
Operated | 2008–present |
Conference tie-ins | American, SEC Alternate: ACC |
Previous conference tie-ins | C-USA, MAC, Sun Belt (2008–2019) |
Payout | US$1.125 million (2019)[1] |
Sponsors | |
Former names | |
magicJack Bowl (2008) St. Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef O'Brady's (2009) Beef O'Brady's Bowl (2010–2013) Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl (2014) St. Petersburg Bowl (2015–2016) | |
2018 matchup | |
South Florida vs. Marshall (Marshall 38–20) | |
2019 matchup | |
UCF vs. Marshall (UCF 48–25) |
Since 2017, the game has been sponsored by Bad Boy Mowers and officially known as Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl.[3] Previous sponsors include Bitcoin (2014), Beef O'Brady's (2009–2013), and magicJack (2008). From 2010 to 2013 when Beef O'Brady's was the title sponsor, the game was officially known as simply the Beef O'Brady's Bowl.[4]
The bowl game features teams from the American Athletic Conference against the Southeastern Conference. Previously, the 2016 edition of the game featured an SEC team, Mississippi State.
History
The Gasparilla Bowl is the third college bowl game to be played in the Tampa Bay area; the Outback Bowl has been held in Tampa since 1986 and the Cigar Bowl was played from 1947 to 1954.
On April 30, 2008, the NCAA's Postseason Football Licensing Subcommittee approved a to-be-named bowl for Tropicana Field to be played after the 2008 college football season.[5] On November 25, 2008, ESPN Regional Television, the game's owner, announced a one-year title sponsorship agreement with magicJack.[6]
The inaugural magicJack Bowl was played on Dec 20, 2008, between the South Florida Bulls and Memphis Tigers, with the USF Bulls winning by a score of 41–14. USF Quarterback Matt Grothe was named Most Outstanding Player, after throwing for 236 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 83 yards on 15 carries.
magicJack did not renew its sponsorship, and the UCF Knights and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights met in the St. Petersburg Bowl Presented by Beef O'Brady's in December 2009 after the restaurant chain obtained a title sponsorship.[7] In the second St. Petersburg Bowl Presented by Beef O'Brady's, Rutgers defeated Central Florida 45–24.
In 2010, the bowl's name was shortened to the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl and pitted the Southern Miss Golden Eagles against the Louisville Cardinals on December 21, 2010. It was the 29th meeting between former Conference USA rivals.[8] After falling behind 14–0 and 21–7, Louisville came back to win their sixth contest in a row against Southern Miss, 31–28[9]
The 2011 game featured the first Sun Belt Conference team to play in the game, as Florida International lost 20–10 to Marshall (Conference USA). This was the first time that the Big East was unable to send a team to the game. FIU joined Marshall in C-USA in 2013, both will compete in the conference's East Division for football.
Beef 'O' Brady's stopped sponsoring the bowl after the 2013 edition.[4] On June 18, 2014, it was announced that Bitcoin payment service provider BitPay would become the new sponsor of the game under a two-year deal, renamed the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl. Bitcoin, the digital currency, was accepted for ticket and concession sales at the game as part of the sponsorship, and the sponsorship itself was also paid for using bitcoin.[10][11] On April 2, 2015, after one year of sponsorship, BitPay declined to renew sponsorship of the game, and it was again called the St. Petersburg Bowl for the next two years.[12]
On August 23, 2017, Bad Boy Mowers signed a three-year deal to become the official title sponsor of the game, which was rebranded as the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl after Tampa's Gasparilla Pirate Festival.[3]
Stadium
The bowl has utilized two venues; Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg for its first 10 editions, and Raymond James Stadium in nearby Tampa starting with the 11th playing, in December 2018.
Since Tropicana Field is the home field of the Tampa Bay Rays and was designed for baseball, the football gridiron was arranged along the right field line, from home plate to the foul pole. At the time it was last played at Tropicana Field, the bowl was one of three to take place in a stadium used predominantly for baseball, the others two being the Cactus Bowl, played at Chase Field in Phoenix, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, home of the New York Yankees. The Fight Hunger Bowl was played at AT&T Park in San Francisco, home of the San Francisco Giants, but moved to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, home of the San Francisco 49ers, in 2014. The Miami Beach Bowl was played at Marlins Park in Miami, home of the Miami Marlins, but moved to Toyota Stadium, home to FC Dallas of Major League Soccer, to become the Frisco Bowl in 2017.
In May 2018, bowl organizers announced that the bowl would be moving from Tropicana Field to Raymond James Stadium.[2]
Game results
Date | Bowl name | Winning Team | Losing Team | Attendance | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
December 20, 2008 | St. Petersburg Bowl | South Florida | 41 | Memphis | 14 | 25,205 |
December 19, 2009 | St. Petersburg Bowl | Rutgers | 45 | UCF | 24 | 28,793 |
December 21, 2010 | Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl | Louisville | 31 | Southern Miss | 28 | 20,017 |
December 20, 2011 | Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl | Marshall | 20 | FIU | 10 | 20,072 |
December 21, 2012 | Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl | UCF | 38 | Ball State | 17 | 21,759 |
December 23, 2013 | Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl | East Carolina | 37 | Ohio | 20 | 20,053 |
December 26, 2014 | St. Petersburg Bowl | NC State | 34 | UCF | 27 | 26,675 |
December 26, 2015 | St. Petersburg Bowl | Marshall | 16 | Connecticut | 10 | 14,652 |
December 26, 2016 | St. Petersburg Bowl | Mississippi State | 17 | Miami (OH) | 16 | 15,717 |
December 21, 2017 | Gasparilla Bowl | Temple | 28 | FIU | 3 | 16,363 |
December 20, 2018 | Gasparilla Bowl | Marshall | 38 | South Florida | 20 | 14,135 |
December 23, 2019 | Gasparilla Bowl | UCF | 48 | Marshall | 25 | 28,987[lower-alpha 1] |
MVPs
From 2008 through 2016, an MVP was selected from each team; since 2017, a single game MVP is named.
Year | Winning team MVP | Losing team MVP | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Position | Player | Team | Position | |
2008 | Matt Grothe | South Florida | QB | Duke Calhoun | Memphis | WR |
2009 | Mohamed Sanu | Rutgers | WR | Kamar Aiken | UCF | WR |
2010 | Jeremy Wright | Louisville | RB | Austin Davis | Southern Miss | QB |
2011 | Aaron Dobson | Marshall | WR | T. Y. Hilton | FIU | WR |
2012 | Blake Bortles | UCF | QB | Jahwan Edwards | Ball State | RB |
2013 | Vintavious Cooper | East Carolina | RB | Donte Foster | Ohio | WR |
2014 | Jacoby Brissett | NC State | QB | Josh Reese | UCF | WR |
2015 | Deandre Reaves | Marshall | WR | Bobby Puyol | Connecticut | K |
2016 | Nick Fitzgerald | Mississippi State | QB | Gus Ragland | Miami (OH) | QB |
2017 | Frank Nutile | Temple | QB | |||
2018 | Keion Davis | Marshall | RB | |||
2019 | Dillon Gabriel | UCF | QB |
Most appearances
Updated through the December 2019 edition (12 games, 24 total appearances).
- Teams with multiple appearances
Rank | Team | Appearances | Record |
---|---|---|---|
T1 | Marshall | 4 | 3–1 |
T1 | UCF | 4 | 2–2 |
T3 | South Florida | 2 | 1–1 |
T3 | FIU | 2 | 0–2 |
- Teams with a single appearance
Won: East Carolina, Louisville, Mississippi State, NC State, Rutgers, Temple
Lost: Ball State, Connecticut, Memphis, Miami (OH), Ohio, Southern Miss
Appearances by conference
Updated through the December 2019 edition (12 games, 24 total appearances).
Conference | Record | Appearances by season | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Games | W | L | Win pct. | Won | Lost | |
C-USA | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0.500 | 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018 | 2008, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2019 |
The American | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0.625 | 2008, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2019 | 2014, 2015, 2018 |
MAC | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 2012, 2013, 2016 | |
ACC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2014 | |
SEC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2016 | |
Sun Belt | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 2011 |
- The American's record includes appearances of the Big East Conference, as The American retains the charter of the original Big East, following its 2013 realignment. Teams representing the Big East appeared in three games, compiling a 3–0 record.
- UCF has appeared as a member of C-USA (2009 and 2012) and The American (2014 and 2019).
Game records
Team | Performance, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
---|---|---|
Most points scored (one team) | 48, UCF vs. Marshall | 2019 |
Most points scored (both teams) | 73, UCF vs. Marshall | 2019 |
Most points scored (losing team) | 28, Southern Miss vs. Louisville | 2010 |
Fewest points allowed | 3, Temple vs. FIU | 2017 |
Margin of victory | 27, South Florida vs. Memphis | 2008 |
Total yards | 587, UCF vs. Marshall | 2019 |
Rushing yards | 310, UCF vs. Marshall | 2019 |
Passing yards | 328, Ohio vs. East Carolina | 2013 |
First downs | 30, East Carolina vs. Ohio | 2013 |
Fewest yards allowed | 213, Marshall vs. Connecticut | 2015 |
Fewest rushing yards allowed | 35, Rutgers vs. UCF | 2009 |
Fewest passing yards allowed | 86, Marshall vs. Connecticut | 2015 |
Individual | Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
All-purpose yards | 220, Vintavious Cooper, East Carolina vs. Ohio | 2013 |
Touchdowns (all-purpose) | 3, shared by: Mohamed Sanu, Rutgers vs. UCF Latavius Murray, UCF vs. Ball State Josh Reese, UCF vs. NC State |
2009 2012 2014 |
Rushing yards | 198, Vintavious Cooper, East Carolina vs. Ohio | 2013 |
Rushing touchdowns | 2, multiple times—most recent: Keion Davis, Marshall vs. South Florida | 2018 |
Passing yards | 294, Tom Savage, Rutgers vs. UCF | 2009 |
Passing touchdowns | 3, shared by: Matt Grothe, South Florida vs. Memphis Blake Bortles, UCF vs. Ball State Justin Holman, UCF vs. NC State | 2008 2012 2014 |
Receiving yards | 165, Randall St. Felix, Marshall vs. South Florida | 2018 |
Receiving touchdowns | 3, Josh Reese, UCF vs. NC State | 2014 |
Tackles | 14 by several players, most recently: Greg Reaves, South Florida vs. Marshall[17] | 2018 |
Sacks | 2, Steve Beauharnais, Rutgers vs. UCF | 2009 |
Interceptions | ||
Long Plays | Player, Record, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
Touchdown run | 62, Desmond Johnson, Southern Miss vs. Louisville | 2010 |
Touchdown pass | 80, Donte Foster from Derrius Vick, Ohio vs. East Carolina | 2013 |
Kickoff return | 95, Jeremy Wright, Louisville vs. Southern Miss | 2010 |
Punt return | 39, Andre Snipes-Booker, Marshall vs. FIU | 2011 |
Interception return | 75, Micah Abraham, Marshall vs. UCF | 2019 |
Fumble return | ||
Punt | 61, Tyler Williams, Marshall vs. Connecticut | 2015 |
Field goal | 52, Bobby Puyol, Connecticut vs. Marshall | 2015 |
Media coverage
The bowl has been televised on ESPN since its inception, and broadcast on ESPN Radio and later Gameday Radio.
Notes
References
- "2019 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- "Gasparilla Bowl leaving St. Petersburg after 10 years". 10NEWS. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
- "Bad Boy Mowers Signs on as New Bowl Game Title Sponsor Bowl Game Changes Name to Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl". Retrieved August 23, 2017.
- "'O' No! Beef 'O' Brady's to drop sponsorship of local bowl game". Tampa Bay Business Journal.
- NCAA committee approves 34 football bowl games The Associated Press, ESPN.com. April 30, 2008. Accessed April 30, 2008.
- "No longer St. Pete Bowl" Archived 2012-09-14 at Archive.today from Tampa Tribune, 2008-11-25, retrieved 2008-12-02
- "Golden Eagles to Face Louisville in Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl" 2010-12-05, retrieved 2010-12-05
- "Louisville holds on for 31-28 win over Southern Miss in Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 2014-01-18. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
- Wilkerson, Chris (August 22, 2014). "BitPay exec: We paid ESPN for our sponsorship in bitcoin". Tampa Bay Business Journal.
- "BitPay to Sponsor St. Petersburg Bowl in First Major Bitcoin Sports Deal". Retrieved 18 June 2014.
- "Bitcoin backer BitPay dumps St. Pete Bowl sponsorship". Retrieved 2 April 2015.
- "UCF vs. Marshall - Game Summary - December 23, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
- "Scoring Summary (Final) UCF vs Marshall" (PDF). gasparillabowl.com. December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
- "Game Facts and History". gasparillabowl.com. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
- @GasparillaBowl (December 23, 2019). "Your 2019 #GasparillaBowl MVP @_dillongabriel_" (Tweet). Retrieved December 23, 2019 – via Twitter.
- Knight, Joey (December 21, 2018). "Gasparilla Bowl journal: Barnett-St. Felix connection shines". tampabay.com.
- "Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl Media Guide". ESPN Events. 2017: 27–36. Retrieved December 23, 2019 – via issuu.com. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - "UCF Jumps Out to 21-0 Lead and Rolls to 48-25 Win Over Marshall in 2019 Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl". gasparillabowl.com. December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.