Ask Sports: How many of these bowl games are new this year?
How many of these bowl games are new this year? What happened to the Weed Eater Bowl?
One fact was well-illustrated in Louisiana Lafayette’s 16-3 win over Nevada in the R+L New Orleans Bowl on Saturday to kick off the college bowl season – a 10 a.m. kickoff time nearly two full weeks before New Year’s Day means we have a pretty crowded bowl schedule.
That game was one of five Saturday. By the time the first College Football Playoff crowns a champion Jan. 12, 39 games will have been played.
After holding the line at 35 bowl games for a relatively-long five years, Football Bowl Subdivision jumped to 39 this year continuing the trend that of bowl-game explosion that started more than 20 years ago.
While one of those new games is the welcomed championship game, not everyone will be excited about the inaugural Boca Raton or Camellia Bowls.
Here’s a cheat sheet of this year’s bowl schedule, their histories and what’s new this year about each one. (We didn’t include every sponsor, but just when the actual name of the bowl changed, like the Peach Bowl becoming the Chick-fil-A Bowl and back again.)
The memorable Poulan Weed-Eater Independence Bowl (1991-97) lives on as the Duck Commander Independence Bowl.
Bowl Name | Site | First year | Bowl’s previous names | Teams |
R+L Carriers New Orleans | New Orleans | 2001 | None | La.-Lafayette vs. Nevada |
Gildan New Mexico | Albuquerque | 2006 | None | Utah State vs. UTEP |
Royal Purple Las Vegas | Las Vegas | 1992 | None | Utah vs. Colorado State |
Famous Idaho Potato | Boise, Idaho | 1997 | Humanitarian Bowl, MPC Computers Bowl | W. Michigan vs. Air Force |
Raycom Media Camellia | Montgomery, Ala. | 2014 | None | Bowling Green vs. South Alabama |
Miami Beach | Miami, Fla. | 2014 | None | BYU vs. Memphis |
Boca Raton | Boca Raton, Fla. | 2014 | None | Marshall vs. Northern Illinois |
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia | San Diego | 2005 | None | Navy vs. San Diego State |
Popeyes Bahamas | Nassau, Bahamas | 2014 | None | Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky |
Hawaii | Honolulu | 2002 | None, not the same as the defunct Aloha Bowl | Fresno State vs. Rice |
Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas | Dallas | 2011 | TicketCity Bowl | Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech |
Quick Lane | Detroit | 2014 | New bowl, replaces Pizza/Motor City Bowl | Rutgers vs. North Carolina |
Bitcoin St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg, Fla. | 2008 | Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl | UCF vs. NC State |
Military | Annapolis, Md. | 2008 | EagleBank Bowl | Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech |
Hyundai Sun | El Paso | 1935 | John Hancock Bowl | Duke vs. Arizona State |
Duck Commander Independence | Shreveport, La. | 1976 | AdvoCare V100 Bowl | Miami vs. South Carolina |
New Era Pinstripe | New York | 2010 | None | Penn State vs. Boston College |
National University Holiday | San Diego | 1978 | None | Nebraska vs. Southern Cal |
AutoZone Liberty | Memphis, Tenn. | 1959 | Always the Liberty Bowl, but previously played in Philadelphia and Atlantic City | Texas A&M vs. West Virginia |
Russell Athletic | Orlando, Fla. | 1990 | Blockbuster Bowl, Carquest Bowl, MicronPC Bowl, Tangerine Bowl, Champs Sports Bowl | Oklahoma vs. Clemson |
AdvoCare Texas | Houston | 2006 | Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas | Arkansas vs. Texas |
Franklin American Mortgage Music City | Nashville, Tenn. | 1998 | None | Notre Dame vs. LSU |
Belk | Charlotte, N.C. | 2002 | Continental Tire Bowl, Meineke Car Care Bowl | Georgia vs. Louisville |
Foster Farms | Santa Clara, Calif. | 2002 | San Francisco Bowl, Emerald Bowl, Fight Hunger Bowl | Stanford vs. Maryland |
Outback | Tampa, Fla. | 1986 | Hall of Fame Bowl | Auburn vs. Wisconsin |
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus | Orlando, Fla. | 1947 | Tangerine Bowl, Capital One Bowl | Missouri vs. Minnesota |
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces | Fort Worth | 2003 | Fort Worth Bowl | Houston vs. Pittsburgh |
TaxSlayer | Jacksonville, Fla. | 1946 | Gator Bowl | Iowa vs. Tennessee |
Valero Alamo | San Antonio | 1993 | None | Kansas State vs. UCLA |
TicketCity Cactus | Tempe, Ariz. | 1989 | Copper Bowl, Insight Bowl, Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl | Washington vs. Oklahoma St. |
Birmingham | Birmingham, Ala. | 2006 | PapaJohns.com Bowl, BBVA Compass Bowl | East Carolina vs. Florida |
GoDaddy | Mobile, Ala. | 1999 | Mobile Alabama Bowl, GMAC Bowl | Toledo vs. Arkansas State |
Chick-fil-A Peach * | Atlanta | 1968 | Chick-fil-A Bowl | Mississippi vs. TCU |
Vizio Fiesta * | Glendale, Ariz. | 1971 | Boise St. vs. Arizona | |
Capital One Orange * | Miami Gardens, Fla. | 1935 | Miss. St. vs. Georgia Tech | |
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic* | Arlington, Texas | 1937 | Cotton Bowl | Michigan St. vs. Baylor |
Rose * | Pasadena, Calif. | 1902 | Florida St. vs. Oregon | |
Allstate Sugar * | New Orleans, La. | 1935 | Ohio St. vs. Alabama | |
College Football Playoff National Championship | Arlington, Texas | 2015 | Semifinal winners | |
*- New Year’s Six Bowl games |
This story was originally published December 21, 2014 at 7:55 AM with the headline "Ask Sports: How many of these bowl games are new this year?."