Citrus Bowl | |
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Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl | |
Stadium | Camping World Stadium |
Location | Orlando, Florida |
Previous stadiums | Florida Field (1973) |
Previous locations | Gainesville, Florida (1973) |
Operated | 1947–present |
Conference tie-ins | Big Ten, SEC |
Previous conference tie-ins |
OVC (1947–1967) MAC (1968–1975) SoCon (1968–1972) SEC (1972–1973) ACC (1987–1991) |
Payout | US$4,250,000 (As of 2015[update]) |
Sponsors | |
Florida Citrus Growers Association (1983–2002)
CompUSA (1994–1999) Ourhouse.com (2000) Capital One (2001–2014) Buffalo Wild Wings (2015–present) |
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Former names | |
Tangerine Bowl (1947–1982)
Florida Citrus Bowl (1983–1993) CompUSA Florida Citrus Bowl (1994–1999) Ourhouse.com Florida Citrus Bowl (2000) Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (2001–2002) Capital One Bowl (2003–2014) |
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2016 season matchup | |
LSU vs. Louisville (LSU 29–9) | |
2017 season matchup | |
January 1, 2018 |
The Citrus Bowl, also known as the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl for sponsorship purposes, is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. It was previously known as the Tangerine Bowl (1947–1982), the Florida Citrus Bowl (1983–2002), and the Capital One Bowl (2003–2014). The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Russell Athletic Bowl and Florida Classic.
Since becoming one of the premier bowls, the Citrus Bowl is typically played at 1 p.m. EST on New Year's Day, immediately before the Rose Bowl, both of which have been televised on ESPN since 2011. When January 1 is a Sunday, the game has been played on January 2 or December 31, to avoid conflicting with the National Football League schedule. As of 2015[update], at $4.25 million per team, it has the largest payout of all the non-College Football Playoff (CFP) bowls. In nearly every year since 1985, the game has featured two teams ranked in the Top 25.
The game, which began play in 1947, is one of the oldest of the non-CFP bowls, along with the Gator Bowl and Sun Bowl. By 1952, the game was dubbed the "Little Bowl with the Big Heart", because all the proceeds from the game went to charity.
Before 1968, the game featured matchups between schools throughout the South, often featuring the Ohio Valley Conference champion or other small colleges, although a few major colleges did play in the bowl during this early era as well.