The Capital One Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Orlando, Florida at the Citrus Bowl, and previously known as the Tangerine Bowl (1947-1982) and the Florida Citrus Bowl (1983-2002). Financial services company Capital One has been the title sponsor of the bowl since 2001 when it was the Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl but with the exclusive Capital One Bowl moniker since 2003. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Champs Sports Bowl and Florida Classic. Since becoming one of the premier bowls, the Capital One Bowl is traditionally held at 1 p.m. EST on New Year's Day, immediately before the Rose Bowl, both of which are televised on ABC. In 2004, the Capital One Bowl bid to become the fifth BCS game, but was not chosen, primarily due to the stadium's aging condition. On July 26, 2007 the Orange County Commissioners voted 5–2 in favor of spending a total of 1.1 billion dollars on building a new arena for the Orlando Magic, building a performing arts center and upgrading the Citrus Bowl. Currently, the bowl has tie-ins with the SEC and the Big Ten holding the first selection after the BCS for both conferences. s of }} 2006 [] it has the largest payout of all the non-BCS bowls at $4.25M per team. [1]

CAPITAL ONE BOWL TICKETS Monster Jam Tickets Chicago Bulls Tickets The Harlem Globetrotters Los Angeles Lakers Tickets New York Knicks Tickets Boston Celtics Tickets

History

The game is one of the oldest of the non-BCS bowls, next to the Cotton Bowl and Sun Bowl, beginning play in 1947. The first game played before an estimated crowd of 9,000. 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 (though a few major colleges did play in the bowl during this early era as well). After becoming a major college bowl game, from 1968 through 1975 the bowl featured the Mid-American Conference champion against an opponent from the Southern Conference (through 1972), the SEC (1972–1973) or an at-large opponent (1975). As the major football conferences relaxed restrictions on post-season play in the mid-1970s, the game went to a matchup between two at-large teams from major conferences, with one school typically (but not always) from the South. From 1987 to 1991 it featured the ACC Champion against an at large opponent. Since 1992, the game has featured one of the top teams from the Big Ten and the SEC.

In 1986, it was one of the bowl games considered for the site of the "winner take all" national championship game between Penn State and Miami before the Fiesta Bowl was eventually chosen.

The 1991 game featured National Championship implications. Georgia Tech won the Florida Citrus Bowl, finished 11–0–1, and were voted the 1990 UPI national champion.

The 1998 game, which featured nearby Florida beating Penn State, holds the game's attendance record at 72,940. During the 1990's, the second place finisher in the SEC typically went to this bowl. Florida coach Steve Spurrier, speaking to the fact the University of Tennessee occupied that spot three of four years as Florida finished first, famously quipped "You can't spell Citrus without U-T!"

Racial integration

In 1955, the Hillsdale Dales/Chargers team under head coach Muddy Waters refused to play in the game despite their 9–0 record because game officials prohibited the team's black players from participating in the game.

The University at Buffalo's first bowl bid was to the Tangerine Bowl in 1958. The team unanimously voted to skip the bowl because the team's two black players would not have been allowed on the field. Buffalo would not be bowl eligible for another 50 years. During the 2008 season, when the Bulls were on the verge of bowl eligibility, the 1958 team was profiled on ESPN's Outside the Lines . ^[2] The 2008 team went on to win the Mid-American Conference title, and lost to University of Connecticut 38-20 in the International Bowl.

In 1966, Morgan State, of Baltimore, Maryland under head coach Earl C. Banks a member of the NCAA College Football Hall of Fame, became the first historically black college (HBCU) to play in and win the Tangerine Bowl game by defeating West Chester State {Pa.}, finishing the season undefeated for the second straight year.

Gainesville

In early 1973, construction improvements were planned for the then 17,000-seat Tangerine Bowl stadium to expand to over 51,000 seats. In early summer 1973, however, construction was stalled due to legal concerns, and the improvements were delayed. Late in the 1973 college football season, Tangerine Bowl President Will Gieger and other officials planned to invite Miami (Ohio) and East Carolina to Orlando for the game. On November 19, 1973, East Carolina withdrew its interests, and the bowl was left with one at-large bid. In an unexpected, and unprecedented move, game officials decided to invite the Florida Gators, and move the game to Florida Field in Gainesville, their home stadium. The larger stadium would be needed to accommodate the large crowd expected. The move required special permission from the NCAA, and special accommodations were made. Both teams would be headquartered in Orlando, Florida for the week, and spend most of their time there, including practices. The teams were bused up to Gainesville, and at gametime, a near-record low temperature of -4 degrees Celsius (25 degrees Fahrenheit) greeted the participants. Despite the home-field advantage, in the game nicknamed the "Transplant Bowl," Miami defeated the Gators 16–7.

The one-time moving of the game, and the fears of a permanent relocation, rejuvenated the stalled stadium renovations in Orlando. The game returned to Orlando for 1974, and within a couple years, the expansion project was complete.

Mascot contest

Capital One also sponsors the annual "Mascot of the Year" contest. ^[3] Fans are invited to vote for their favorite college mascot. Each year, several mascots from various Division I FBS/FCS schools are nominated to "play" a simulated 10-week season. The mascot with the best record will be declared the winner and is honored at halftime on the game telecast on ABC.

The winning school is awarded $10,000 towards their mascot program.

Past winners

• 2002 Monte the Grizzly from Montana
• 2003 Cocky from South Carolina
• 2004 Monte the Grizzly from Montana
• 2005 Herbie Husker from Nebraska
• 2006 Butch T. Cougar from Washington State
• 2007 Zippy from Akron (competition theme based on the U.S. Open)
• 2008 Cy the Cardinal from Iowa State

Results

Italics denote a tie game.

Season	Date Played	Winning Team		Losing Team
1946	January 1, 1947		31		0
1947	January 1, 1948		7	Marshall	0
1948	January 1, 1949		21		21
1949	January 2, 1950		7		6
1950	January 1, 1951		35		14
1951	January 1, 1952		35	Arkansas State	20
1952	January 1, 1953		33		0
1953	January 1, 1954	Arkansas State	7		7
1954	January 1, 1955		7		6
1955	January 2, 1956		6		6
1956	January 1, 1957		20		13
1957	January 1, 1958		10		9
1958	December 27, 1958		26		7
1959	January 1, 1960		21		12
1960	December 30, 1960		27		0
1961	December 29, 1961		21		14
1962	December 22, 1962		49		21
1963	December 28, 1963		27		0
1964	December 12, 1964	East Carolina	14		13
1965	December 11, 1965	East Carolina	31		0
1966	December 10, 1966		14		6
1967	December 16, 1967		25		8
1968	December 27, 1968		49		42
1969	December 26, 1969		56		33
1970	December 28, 1970		40		12
1971	December 28, 1971		28		3
1972	December 29, 1972		21	Kent State	18
1973	December 22, 1973		16	Florida	7
1974	December 21, 1974		21	Georgia	10
1975	December 20, 1975		20		7
1976	December 18, 1976		49		21
1977	December 23, 1977		40		17
1978	December 23, 1978		30		17
1979	December 22, 1979		34	Wake Forest	10
1980	December 20, 1980	Florida	35		20
1981	December 19, 1981		19		17
1982	December 18, 1982		33		26
1983	December 17, 1983	Tennessee	30	Maryland	23
1984	December 22, 1984		17	Georgia	17
1985	December 28, 1985	Ohio State	10		7
1986	January 1, 1987		16	USC	7
1987	January 1, 1988		35	Penn State	10
1988	January 2, 1989		13		6
1989	January 1, 1990	Illinois	31		21
1990	January 1, 1991	Georgia Tech	45	Nebraska	21
1991	January 1, 1992	California	37		13
1992	January 1, 1993	Georgia	21	Ohio State	14
1993	January 1, 1994	Penn State	31	Tennessee	13
1994	January 2, 1995	Alabama	24	Ohio State	17
1995	January 1, 1996	Tennessee	20	Ohio State	14
1996	January 1, 1997	Tennessee	48		28
1997	January 1, 1998	Florida	21	Penn State	6
1998	January 1, 1999		45	Arkansas	31
1999	January 1, 2000		37	Florida	34
2000	January 1, 2001		31	Auburn	28
2001	January 1, 2002		45		17
2002	January 1, 2003	Auburn	13	Penn State	9
2003	January 1, 2004	Georgia	34		27 (OT)
2004	January 1, 2005	Iowa	30	LSU	25
2005	January 2, 2006		24	Auburn	10
2006	January 1, 2007	Wisconsin	17	Arkansas	14
2007	January 1, 2008	Michigan	41	Florida	35
2008	January 1, 2009	Georgia	24	Michigan State	12

MVPs

Date played	MVP(s)	Team	Position
January 1, 1949	Dale McDaniels	Murray State	NL
	Ted Scown	Sul Ross State	NL
January 2, 1950	Don Heinigan	St. Vincent	NL
	Chick Davis	Emory & Henry	NL
January 1, 1951	Pete Anania	Morris Harvey	NL
	Charles Hubbard	Morris Harvey	NL
January 1, 1952	Bill Johnson	Stetson	NL
	Dave Laude	Stetson	NL
January 1, 1953	Marvin Brown	East Texas State	NL
January 1, 1954	Billy Ray Norris	East Texas State	NL
	Bobby Spann	Arkansas State	NL
January 1, 1955	Bill Englehardt	Omaha	NL
January 2, 1956	Barry Drexler	Juniata	NL
January 1, 1957	Ron Mills	West Texas State	NL
January 1, 1958	Garry Berry	East Texas State	NL
	Neal Hinson	East Texas State	NL
December 27, 1958	Sam McCord	East Texas State	NL
January 1, 1960	Bucky Pitts	Middle Tennessee	NL
	Bob Waters	Presbyterian	NL
December 30, 1960	Jerry Nettles	Citadel	NL
December 29, 1961	Windell Hebert	Lamar	QB
December 22, 1962	Joe Lopasky	Houston	NL
	Billy Rolands	Houston	NL
December 28, 1963	Sharon Miller	Western Kentucky	NL
December 12, 1964	Bill Cline	East Carolina	NL
	Jerry Whelchel	Massachusetts	NL
December 11, 1965	Dave Alexander	East Carolina	NL
December 10, 1966	Willie Lanier	Morgan State	NL
December 16, 1967	Errol Hook	Tennessee-Martin	NL
	Gordon Lambert	Tennessee-Martin	NL
December 27, 1968	Buster O'Brien	Richmond	B
	Walker Gillette	Richmond	L
December 26, 1969	Chuck Ealey	Toledo	QB
	Dan Crockett	Toledo	L
December 28, 1970	Chuck Ealey	Toledo	QB
	Vince Hublen	William & Mary	L
December 28, 1971	Chuck Ealey	Toledo	QB
	Mel Long	Toledo	L
December 29, 1972	Freddie Solomon	Tampa	B
	Jack Lambert	Kent State	L
December 22, 1973	Chuck Varner	Miami	B
	Brad Cousino	Miami	B
December 21, 1974	Sherman Smith	Miami	B
	Brad Cousino	Miami	L
	John Roudebush	Miami	L
December 20, 1975	Rob Carpenter	Miami	B
	Jeff Kelly	Miami	L
December 18, 1976	Terry Miller	Oklahoma State	B
	Phillip Dokes	Oklahoma State	L
December 23, 1977	Jimmy Jordan	Florida State	QB
December 23, 1978	Ted Brown	North Carolina State	RB
December 22, 1979	David Woodley	LSU	QB
December 20, 1980	Cris Collinsworth	Florida	WR
December 19, 1981	Jeff Gaylord	Missouri	LB
December 18, 1982	Randy Campbell	Auburn	QB
December 17, 1983	Johnnie Jones	Tennessee	RB
December 22, 1984	James Jackson	Georgia	QB
December 28, 1985	Larry Kolic	Ohio State	LB
January 1, 1987	Aundray Bruce	Auburn	LB
January 1, 1988	Rodney Williams	Clemson	QB
January 2, 1989	Terry Allen	Clemson	TB
January 1, 1990	Jeff George	Illinois	QB
January 1, 1991	Shawn Jones	Georgia Tech	QB
January 1, 1992	Mike Pawlawski	California	QB
January 1, 1993	Garrison Hearst	Georgia	RB
January 1, 1994	Bobby Engram	Penn State	WR
January 2, 1995	Sherman Williams	Alabama	RB
January 1, 1996	Jay Graham	Tennessee	RB
January 1, 1997	Peyton Manning	Tennessee	QB
January 1, 1998	Fred Taylor	Florida	TB
January 1, 1999	Anthony Thomas	Michigan	RB
January 1, 2000	Plaxico Burress	Michigan State	WR
January 1, 2001	Anthony Thomas	Michigan	RB
January 1, 2002	Casey Clausen	Tennessee	QB
January 1, 2003	Ronnie Brown	Auburn	TB
January 1, 2004	David Greene	Georgia	QB
January 1, 2005	Drew Tate	Iowa	QB
January 2, 2006	Brian Calhoun	Wisconsin	RB
January 1, 2007	John Stocco	Wisconsin	QB
January 1, 2008	Chad Henne	Michigan	QB
January 1, 2009	Matt Stafford	Georgia	QB

Broadcasting

ABC has televised the game since 1987, with NBC airing it in 1984-85 and the syndicated Mizlou Television Network doing so prior to 1984.

Radio broadcast rights for the game are currently held by Sports USA Radio Network. The Capital One Bowl, known prior to 2003 as the Florida Citrus Bowl (1983-2002) and the Tangerine Bowl (1947-1982), has been televised by ABC since 1987. Prior to that the game was televised by NBC in 1984 and 1985, and before that by the syndicated Mizlou Television Network.

Date	Network	Play-by-play announcers	Color commentators	Sideline reporters
January 1, 2009	ABC	Mike Patrick	Todd Blackledge	Holly Rowe
January 1, 2008	ABC	Mike Patrick	Todd Blackledge	Holly Rowe
January 1, 2007 [4]	ABC	Brad Nessler	Bob Griese and Paul Maguire	Erin Andrews
January 2, 2006 [5]	ABC	Ron Franklin	Bob Davie	Holly Rowe
January 2, 2005 [6]	ABC	Gary Thorne	Ed Cunningham	Jerry Punch
January 1, 2004 [7]	ABC	Gary Thorne	David Norrie	Jerry Punch
January 1, 2003	ABC	Sean McDonough	David Norrie
January 1, 2001	ABC	Sean Grande	David Norrie	Chip Tarkenton
January 1, 2000 [8]	ABC	Brent Musburger	Gary Danielson	Jack Arute
January 1, 1999	ABC [9]	Terry Gannon	Tim Brant	Dean Blevins
January 1, 1998	ABC	Terry Gannon	Tim Brant
January 1, 1997	ABC	Mark Jones	John Spagnola
January 1, 1995	ABC	Mark Jones	Tim Brant
January 2, 1994	ABC	Mark Jones	Tim Brant	John Spagnola
January 1, 1993	ABC	Brent Musburger	Dick Vermeil
January 1, 1991	ABC	Brent Musburger	Dick Vermeil	Mark Jones and Cheryl Miller
January 1, 1990	ABC	Gary Bender	Dick Vermeil
January 1, 1989	ABC	Gary Bender	Dick Vermeil	Becky Dixon
January 2, 1988	ABC	Gary Bender	Lynn Swann	Steve Alvarez
January 1, 1987	ABC	Frank Gifford	Lynn Swann	Mike Adamle
December 28, 1985	NBC	Jay Randolph	Dave Rowe
December 22, 1984	NBC	Jay Randolph	Dave Rowe

See also

• List of college bowl games