Tampa Bay Bowl
The Tampa Bay Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to 2022. It is organized by the Tampa Bay Bowl Association under Jim McVay, who has been the president and CEO since 1988. History. The game was not Tampa's first bowl game; the Cigar Bowl was played at old Phillips Field near downtown from 1947 to 1954. The Cigar Bowl  matched small college teams, making the first edition of the Hall of Fame Bowl, played in December 1986, the first major bowl game to be played in the area. Hall of Fame Bowl. The Hall of Fame Classic was held at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, from 1977 to 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 realign with a new bowl game to be played in Tampa Stadium which would inherit the Hall of Fame Bowl name. Initially, the Hall of Fame  Bowl did not have agreements with any conferences, so it usually matched a school from either the Southeastern Conference (SEC) or the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) against a team from another region of the country. Outback Bowl. Outback Steakhouse became the game's title sponsor in April 1995. At the same time, the bowl signed agreements with the SEC and the Big Ten Conference, creating an annual inter-conference matchup that has continued since. In 1999, the bowl moved from Tampa Stadium (then known as Houlihan's Stadium) into the newly constructed Raymond James Stadium, which had been constructed nearby . Tampa Bay Bowl. In March 2022, it was announced that the bowl's name was changing to Tampa Bay Bowl, due to the end of sponsorship by Outback Steakhouse. The game. The bowl is played on New Year's Day unless January 1 falls on a Sunday, in which case it is moved to the following Monday. It is usually the first game to start on a day which is traditionally full of college bowl games, and has kicked off as early as 11AM. ESPN has had television rights to the game since 1993. Under an extension of those rights  signed in 2010, ESPN broadcasts the game on either ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2, in conjunction with the Citrus Bowl and the New Year's Six bowl games. Before 1993, the Hall of Fame Bowl aired on NBC. Upon signing agreements with the SEC and Big Ten in 1995, the bowl had the third pick of teams from each conference after the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) teams were placed. Since 2014, both the SEC and Big Ten have worked with a group of several bowl games, including this one, to place their bowl-eligible teams after the College Football Playoff (CFP ) and associated bowls have made their selections. As of 2017, the bowl's payout was $3.5 million for each team. Game results. Rankings are based on the AP Poll prior to the game being played. Source: MVPs. The bowl has named an MVP since inception; in the inaugural game, there were co-MVPs. Most appearances. Updated through the January 2022 edition (36 games, 72 total appearances). Won (5): Arkansas, Clemson, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ole Miss Lost (7): Duke, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi State, NC State, Purdue Appearances by conference. Updated through the January 2022 edition (36 games, 72 total  appearances). Game records. Source: Media coverage. The inaugural edition of the bowl was carried by Mizlou in December 1986, with NBC carrying the next five editions (1988–1992). Since 1993, the game has been carried by ESPN or ESPN2, except for four broadcasts on ABC (2011, 2012, 2017, and 2021).