Since 2020, the game has been sponsored by Union Home Mortgage and has been officially known as the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. Previous sponsors include magicJack (2008), Beef O'Brady's (2009–2013), BitPay (2014), and Bad Boy Mowers (2017–2019).[2]
History
The Gasparilla Bowl is the third college bowl game to be played in the Tampa Bay area. The first was the Cigar Bowl, which was played in Tampa from 1947 to 1954, and the second was the ReliaQuest Bowl, which has been held in Tampa since 1986 and was known as the Outback Bowl for over 20 years.
In 2008, the NCAA's Postseason Football Licensing Subcommittee approved a yet-to-be-named bowl game to be owned by ESPN and played at Tropicana Field after the 2008 college football season.[3] Telecom company magicJack signed on as the title sponsor, and the inauguralmagicJack St. Petersburg Bowl was played on December 20, 2008, between South Florida and Memphis, with the Bulls winning 41–14 behind Most Outstanding Player quarterback Matt Grothe.[4]
For the 2009 game, restaurant chain Beef O'Brady's took over as presenting sponsor. The game became known as St. Petersburg Bowl Presented by Beef O'Brady's in December 2009 after the restaurant chain obtained a title sponsorship.[5]Rutgers defeated UCF 45–24.
In 2010, the bowl's name was shortened to the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl. Southern Miss faced Louisville; it was the 29th meeting between former Conference USA rivals.[6] Louisville rallied from a 14-point deficit to win their sixth contest in a row against Southern Miss.[7]
Beef 'O' Brady's stopped sponsoring the bowl after the 2013 edition.[2] On June 18, 2014, it was announced that Bitcoinpayment service providerBitPay 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.[8][9] 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.[10]
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.[11] The sponsorship ended after the 2019 game.[12]
On October 20, 2020, Union Home Mortgage signed on as title sponsor of the bowl, making it the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl.[13] The 2020 edition of the bowl was set to matchup South Carolina and UAB. However, on December 22, South Carolina had to withdraw from the bowl due to COVID-19 issues within their program.[14] As no replacement team was available, the bowl was subsequently canceled.[14]
Conference tie-ins
The first three editions of the bowl featured teams from C-USA and the Big East. The American Athletic Conference (AAC) succeeded the Big East after 2013. The bowl entered a six-year agreement with the ACC for the 2014 to 2019 seasons; the ACC would provide a team in 2014 and 2016, and would be an alternate for the other seasons.[15] Ultimately, the only ACC team to play in the bowl during this period was NC State in 2014. Four of the five games from 2015 through 2019 featured a matchup between AAC and C-USA teams. The exception was 2016, when an overall lack of bowl-eligible teams yielded some "odd matchups";[16] the bowl's 2016 edition featured teams from the MAC and SEC.
As of the 2020 football season, the bowl has a large set of tie-ins, such that it could feature teams from eight different conferences as well as two independent programs:[17]
"The Trop" is the home ballpark of the Tampa Bay Rays of MLB, and when it was first established, the then-St. Pete Bowl was one of several new college bowl games to be played in baseball venues.[19] At Tropicana Field, the football gridiron was situated down the right field line from near home plate to the outfield wall with just enough room for the endzones.[20]
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) The American (2014, 2019, 2021) and the Big 12 (2023).
14 by several players, most recently: Greg Reaves (South Florida)[28]
2018
Sacks
2, shared by: Steve Beauharnais (Rutgers) Tyler Williams (Wake Forest)
2009 2022
Interceptions
1, by several players, most recently: Kevin Adams III (Tulane) Dickson Agu (Tulane) Trikweze Bridges (Florida) Alfonzo Allen Jr. (Florida) Myles Graham (Florida)
The bowl has been televised on ESPN since its inception, and broadcast on ESPN Radio and later Gameday Radio.
Notes
^28,987 per game day summary;[21] 33,539 per post-game summary[22]
^The 2020 game was scheduled to feature South Carolina vs. UAB, but South Carolina pulled out of the contest due to a COVID-19 outbreak among among its coaching staff and no replacement team could be arranged on short notice.
^Low, Chris (December 22, 2020). "South Carolina Gamecocks out of Gasparilla Bowl due to COVID-19 issues". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020. With South Carolina unable to play in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl on Saturday against UAB because of COVID-19 issues, the bowl game has been canceled.
^"Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl"(PDF). Bowl/All Star Game Records. NCAA. 2020. pp. 15–16. Retrieved January 3, 2021 – via NCAA.org.
