Gasparilla Bowl
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
StadiumRaymond James Stadium
LocationTampa, Florida
Previous stadiumsTropicana Field
(2008–2017)
Previous locationsSt. Petersburg, Florida
(2008–2017)
Operated2008–present
Conference tie-inssee tie-ins
Previous conference tie-insBig East/AAC, C-USA, ACC
PayoutUS$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)
  • Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl (2017–2019)
  • Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl (2020–present)
2022 matchup
Wake Forest vs. Missouri (Wake Forest 27–17)
2023 matchup
UCF vs. Georgia Tech (Georgia Tech 30–17)

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]

Since 2020, it has been sponsored by Union Home Mortgage and officially known as the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. 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.[3] Previous sponsors include magicJack (2008), Beef O'Brady's (2009–2013), BitPay (2014), and Bad Boy Mowers (2017–2019).

History

The Gasparilla Bowl is the third college bowl game to be played in the Tampa Bay area; the ReliaQuest Bowl (which has operated under several names) 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 yet-to-be-named bowl game for Tropicana Field to be played as part of the 2008 college football season.[4] On November 25, 2008, ESPN Regional Television, the game's owner, announced a one-year title sponsorship agreement with magicJack.[5]

The inaugural magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl was played on December 20, 2008, between South Florida and Memphis. The hometown Bulls won by the score of 41–14, with quarterback Matt Grothe was named Most Outstanding Player.

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.[6] 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.[7] Louisville rallied from a 14-point deficit to win their sixth contest in a row against Southern Miss.[8]

Beef 'O' Brady's stopped sponsoring the bowl after the 2013 edition.[3] 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.[9][10] 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.[11]

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.[12] The sponsorship ended after the 2019 game.[13]

On October 20, 2020, Union Home Mortgage signed on as title sponsor of the bowl, making it the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl.[14] 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.[15] As no replacement team was available, the bowl was subsequently canceled.[15]

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.[16] 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";[17] 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:[18]

Stadium

Tropicana Field
Raymond James 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.

Tropicana Field is the home ballpark of the Tampa Bay Rays and was specifically designed for baseball. The football gridiron was situated down the right field line from near home plate to the outfield wall. It was one of several college bowl games played in baseball-specific stadiums, a list which included the now-Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Chase Field; moved to Sun Devil Stadium, but has since returned), the Pinstripe Bowl (Yankee Stadium), the Fight Hunger Bowl (AT&T Park; since moved to Levi's Stadium and discontinued) and the Miami Beach Bowl (Marlins Park; bowl moved to Frisco, Texas). This practice ended after the 2018 game, when the bowl moved to Tampa; as of 2021, Chase Field and Yankee Stadium still host their respective bowls and have since been joined by Fenway Park, which is host of the Fenway Bowl, and Petco Park, which became the home of the Holiday Bowl after SDCCU Stadium was closed and demolished.[2]

Game results

Date Bowl name Winning Team Losing Team Venue Attendance
December 20, 2008St. Petersburg BowlSouth Florida41Memphis14Tropicana Field25,205
December 19, 2009St. Petersburg BowlRutgers45UCF2428,793
December 21, 2010Beef 'O' Brady's BowlLouisville31Southern Miss2820,017
December 20, 2011Beef 'O' Brady's BowlMarshall20FIU1020,072
December 21, 2012Beef 'O' Brady's BowlUCF38Ball State1721,759
December 23, 2013Beef 'O' Brady's BowlEast Carolina37Ohio2020,053
December 26, 2014St. Petersburg BowlNC State34UCF2726,675
December 26, 2015St. Petersburg BowlMarshall16Connecticut1014,652
December 26, 2016St. Petersburg BowlMississippi State17Miami (OH)1615,717
December 21, 2017Gasparilla BowlTemple28FIU316,363
December 20, 2018Gasparilla BowlMarshall38South Florida20Raymond James Stadium14,135
December 23, 2019Gasparilla BowlUCF48Marshall2528,987[lower-alpha 1]
December 26, 2020Gasparilla BowlCanceled due to COVID-19 issues[21][lower-alpha 2]
December 23, 2021Gasparilla BowlUCF29Florida1763,669
December 23, 2022Gasparilla BowlWake Forest27Missouri1734,370
December 22, 2023Gasparilla BowlGeorgia Tech30UCF1730,281

Source:[22]

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
2008Matt GrotheSouth FloridaQBDuke CalhounMemphisWR
2009Mohamed SanuRutgersWRKamar AikenUCFWR
2010Jeremy WrightLouisvilleRBAustin DavisSouthern MissQB
2011Aaron DobsonMarshallWRT. Y. HiltonFIUWR
2012Blake BortlesUCFQBJahwan EdwardsBall StateRB
2013Vintavious CooperEast CarolinaRBDonte FosterOhioWR
2014Jacoby BrissettNC StateQBJosh ReeseUCFWR
2015Deandre ReavesMarshallWRBobby PuyolConnecticutK
2016Nick FitzgeraldMississippi StateQBGus RaglandMiami (OH)QB
2017Frank NutileTempleQB 
2018Keion DavisMarshallRB 
2019Dillon GabrielUCFQB 
2021Ryan O'KeefeUCFWR 
2022Sam HartmanWake ForestQB 
2023Jamal HaynesGeorgia TechRB 

Source:[23][24]

Most appearances

UCF in the red zone during the 2021 game

Updated through the December 2023 edition (15 games, 30 total appearances).

Teams with multiple appearances
Rank Team Appearances Record
1UCF63–3
2Marshall43–1
3South Florida21–1
FIU20–2
Teams with a single appearance

Won (8): East Carolina, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Mississippi State, NC State, Rutgers, Temple, Wake Forest
Lost (8): Ball State, Connecticut, Florida, Memphis, Miami (OH), Missouri, Ohio, Southern Miss

Appearances by conference

Updated through the December 2023 edition (15 games, 30 total appearances).

Conference Record Appearances by season
Games W L Win pct. Won Lost
C-USA1055.5002011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 20182008, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2019
The American963.6672008, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2019, 20212014, 2015, 2018
ACC3301.0002014, 2022, 2023 
SEC312.33320162021, 2022
MAC303.000 2012, 2013, 2016
Sun Belt101.000 2011
Big 12101.000 2023
  • 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 both a member of C-USA (2009 and 2012) and The American (2014, 2019, 2021, and 2023).

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 yards251, Ryan O'Keefe (UCF)2021
Touchdowns (all-purpose)3, shared by:
Mohamed Sanu (Rutgers)
Latavius Murray (UCF)
Josh Reese, (UCF)

2009
2012
2014
Rushing yards 198, Vintavious Cooper (East Carolina)2013
Rushing touchdowns 2, multiple times—most recent:
Isaiah Bowser (UCF)

2021
Passing yards 294, Tom Savage (Rutgers)2009
Passing touchdowns 3, shared by:
Matt Grothe (South Florida)
Blake Bortles (UCF)
Justin Holman (UCF)
Sam Hartman (Wake Forest)

2008
2012
2014
2022
Receptions 11, A. T. Perry (Wake Forest)2022
Receiving yards 165, Randall St. Felix (South Florida)2018
Receiving touchdowns3, Josh Reese (UCF)2014
Tackles14 by several players, most recently:
Greg Reaves (South Florida)[25]
 
2018
Sacks2, shared by:
Steve Beauharnais (Rutgers)
Tyler Williams (Wake Forest)

2009
2022
Interceptions1, by several players, most recently:
Jaylon Carlies (Missouri)
2022
Long Plays Player, Record, Team vs. Opponent Year
Touchdown run62 yds., Desmond Johnson (Southern Miss)2010
Touchdown pass80 yds., Donte Foster from Derrius Vick (Ohio)2013
Kickoff return95 yds., Jeremy Wright (Louisville)2010
Punt return39 yds., Andre Snipes-Booker (Marshall)2011
Interception return75 yds., Micah Abraham (Marshall)2019
Fumble return
Punt61 yds., Tyler Williams (Marshall)2015
Field goal52 yds., Bobby Puyol (UConn)2015

Source:[26][27]

Media coverage

The bowl has been televised on ESPN since its inception, and broadcast on ESPN Radio and later Gameday Radio.

Notes

  1. 28,987 per game day summary;[19] 33,539 per post-game summary[20]
  2. The 2020 game was scheduled to feature South Carolina vs. UAB.

References

  1. "2019 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Gasparilla Bowl leaving St. Petersburg after 10 years". 10NEWS. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  3. 1 2 "'O' No! Beef 'O' Brady's to drop sponsorship of local bowl game". Tampa Bay Business Journal.
  4. NCAA committee approves 34 football bowl games The Associated Press, ESPN.com. April 30, 2008. Accessed April 30, 2008.
  5. "No longer St. Pete Bowl" Archived 2012-09-14 at archive.today from Tampa Tribune, 2008-11-25, retrieved 2008-12-02
  6. "Golden Eagles to Face Louisville in Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl" Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine 2010-12-05, retrieved 2010-12-05
  7. "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.
  8. Wilkerson, Chris (August 22, 2014). "BitPay exec: We paid ESPN for our sponsorship in bitcoin". Tampa Bay Business Journal.
  9. Casey, Michael J. (18 June 2014). "BitPay to Sponsor St. Petersburg Bowl in First Major Bitcoin Sports Deal". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  10. "Bitcoin backer BitPay dumps St. Pete Bowl sponsorship". Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  11. "Bad Boy Mowers Signs on as New Bowl Game Title Sponsor Bowl Game Changes Name to Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl". gasparillabowl.com. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  12. "Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl will, sadly, no longer be the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl". Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  13. "Union Home Mortgage Named New Title Sponsor For Gasparilla Bowl". gasparillabowl.com. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  14. 1 2 "Tampa's Gasparilla Bowl canceled after South Carolina bails". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  15. Batten, Sammy (August 8, 2013). "ACC announces 2014 bowl partnerships". The Fayetteville Observer. Fayetteville, North Carolina. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  16. Trister, Noah (December 5, 2016). "Miss. State, North Texas headed to bowls at 5-7". Tallahassee Democrat. AP. p. D2. Retrieved December 6, 2020 via newspapers.com.
  17. Baker, Matt (October 20, 2020). "Gasparilla Bowl announces new title sponsor". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  18. "UCF vs. Marshall - Game Summary - December 23, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  19. "Scoring Summary (Final) UCF vs Marshall" (PDF). gasparillabowl.com. December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  20. 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.
  21. "Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl" (PDF). Bowl/All Star Game Records. NCAA. 2020. pp. 15–16. Retrieved January 3, 2021 via NCAA.org.
  22. "Game Facts and History". gasparillabowl.com. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  23. @GasparillaBowl (December 23, 2023). "Congrats to the 2023 @unionhomemtg Gasparilla Bowl MVP, #11 @jamalhaynes16 !" (Tweet). Retrieved December 22, 2023 via Twitter.
  24. Knight, Joey (December 21, 2018). "Gasparilla Bowl journal: Barnett-St. Felix connection shines". tampabay.com.
  25. "Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl Media Guide". ESPN Events. 2017. pp. 27–36. Retrieved December 23, 2019 via issuu.com.
  26. "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.
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