Gator Bowl (game)

TaxSlayer Bowl
"Gator Bowl"
Stadium	EverBank Field
Location	Jacksonville, Florida
Previous stadiums	Gator Bowl Stadium (1946–1993) Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (1994)
Previous locations	Gainesville, Florida (1994)
Operated	1946–present
Conference tie-ins	SEC, Big Ten, ACC
Previous conference tie-ins	Southern (1946–52) SEC (1953–75, 1992–94) ACC (1996–2010) Big East (1996–2010) Big 12 (2006–10) Notre Dame (2006–10)
Payout	US$3,500,000 (As of 2014[update])
Sponsors
Mazda (1986–91) Outback Steakhouse (1992–94) Toyota (1995–2007) Konica Minolta (2008–10) Progressive Insurance (2011) TaxSlayer.com (2012–present)
Former names
Gator Bowl (1946–85) Mazda Gator Bowl (1986–91) Outback Gator Bowl (1992–94) Toyota Gator Bowl (1995–2007) Konica Minolta Gator Bowl (2008–10) Progressive Gator Bowl (2011) TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl (2012–2013)
2015 season matchup
Penn State vs. Georgia (Georgia 24–17)
2016 season matchup
Georgia Tech vs. Kentucky (Georgia Tech 33–18)

The TaxSlayer Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Originally named the Gator Bowl, it has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally.TaxSlayer.com became the title sponsor in 2011 and the bowl took its current name in 2014 after a new contract. The bowl is operated by Gator Bowl Sports.

According to writer Anthony C. DiMarco, Charles Hilty, Sr. first conceived of the event. Hilty, together with Ray McCarthy, Maurice Cherry, and W. C. Ivey, put up $10,000 to underwrite the first game, which was held at Jacksonville's football stadium, Fairfield Stadium, on January 1, 1946. The first two years of the event did not sell out the small capacity stadium, drawing only 7,362 to the 1946 match when the Wake Forest Demon Deacons defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks, 26–14. The stadium was expanded in 1948 and renamed the Gator Bowl Stadium in honor of the event. However, it was not until the 1949 match-up between the Clemson Tigers and the Missouri Tigers that the future of the Gator Bowl was assured. The 1948 attendance of 16,666 for a 20–20 tie between Maryland and Georgia, was nearly doubled with 32,939 watching Clemson squeak by Missouri, 24–23, on a late field goal by Jack Miller. By the 1970s, the attendance regularly reached 60,000–70,000.

The Gator Bowl is one of Jacksonville's annual sports highlights. However, the event was once associated with a tragedy. In 1963, the Hotel Roosevelt in downtown Jacksonville caught fire after a post-Gator Bowl party in the ballroom. It was later determined that the party was not the cause of the fire, and that the timing was a tragic coincidence. The fire resulted in 22 deaths.