The second-oldest bowl game was formed in 1933 as part of the Miami Palm Festival. It turned out to be known as the Orange Bowl in 1935.
Originally played in Miami Field Stadium, it relocated into its own stadium, also well known as the Orange Bowl. The Orange Bowl is an
annual college football game that is usually played on January 1 in Miami, Florida. The game was played at the Orange Bowl Stadium from
1935 to 1995 and then was moved to Pro Player Stadium in 1996, Today known as the Miami Dolphins Stadium. The corporate title sponsor has
been FedEx (formerly Federal Express) since 1989 and the official title of the game is the FedEx Orange Bowl. For a short period of time
ending in 1992 the game was co-sponsored by IBM and its OS/2 operating system.
The college football bowl season has a few longtime star performers. Once the Rose Bowl established itself on the West Coast, it was
no surprise that other groups would follow the formula. The first city to take on the challenge of hosting a major bowl game was Miami,
in January of 1933, and in 1935, their game became the Orange Bowl.
Miami inaugurated its football game as part of the Miami Palm Festival, and it was such a hit that it earned its own stadium, named the
Orange Bowl to match the game and to become the second-oldest bowl game, next to the Rose Bowl. The City of Miami, with a then population
of 150,000, entered into a contract on July 30, 1936 for the building of a football stadium. The stadium was completed in mid-1937 at a total
cost of $340,000. The stadium initially was named after one of Miami's oldest pioneers, Roddy Burdine, before becoming Orange Bowl Stadium in 1959.
The Orange Bowl in 1965 turned out to be the initial major bowl game to be played at night and it's been a night game ever since.
From 1953 through 1963 and 1975 through 1994, Orange Bowl featured the Big 8 champion against an at-large opponent. Throughout the
intervening years, the Big 8 champion or runner-up frequently played in the Orange Bowl, but did not get an automatic invitation.
In more recent history, the Orange Bowl accepted sponsorship by Federal Express in 1989, and is now known as the FedEx Orange Bowl. This
move did not change the basic structure of the game, which continued to be dominated by appearances by Miami University, Florida State
and the University of Florida. Nebraska has been a popular opponent, appearing six times in the 1990s.
As a member of the Bowl Alliance, the Orange Bowl hosted the legendary national championship game in 1994. however, with the creation of
the Bowl Championship Series system, team selection for the Orange Bowl is now tied into the other three BCS Bowls. As one of the Bowl
Championship Series (BCS) bowl games (the others being the Sugar, Fiesta, and Rose Bowls), the Orange Bowl hosts the national championship
game once every four years under the BCS system (as it did January 4, 2005)
Orange Bowl |
| Miami, FL |
| Dolphins Stadium |
| January 3, 2008 |
| Virginia Tech Hookies vs. Kansas Jayhawks, FOX 8PM EST |
| Bowl Matchup: |
College Football Bowl Games Odds & Lines
In more recent history, the Orange Bowl accepted sponsorship by Federal Express in 1989, and is now known as the FedEx Orange Bowl. This
move did not change the basic structure of the game, which continued to be dominated by appearances by Miami University, Florida State
and the University of Florida. Nebraska has been a popular opponent, appearing six times in the 1990s.
The Orange Bowl has hosted five Super Bowls, the most recent on January 21, 1979, when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys,
35-31, in Super Bowl XIII. Since 1970, when the collegiate national champion was first selected after the completion of the bowl games,
the Orange Bowl Classic has hosted 11 games that decided the national title. Until the 1996 season when the OBC moved to Pro Player Stadium,
Orange Bowl Stadium hosted eight of the last 13 national championship games, including University of Miami titles in 1983, 1987, and 1991.
Orange Bowl Past 10 years of bowl championships & winners
| Date Played |
Winning Team |
Losing Team |
| January 1, 1996 |
Florida State |
31 |
Notre Dame |
26 |
| December 31, 1996 |
Nebraska |
41 |
Virginia Tech |
21 |
| January 2,1998 |
Nebraska |
42 |
Tennessee |
17 |
| January 2, 1999 |
Florida |
31 |
Syracuse |
10 |
| January 1, 2000 |
Michigan |
35 |
Alabama |
34 (OT) |
| January 3, 2001* |
Oklahoma |
13 |
Florida State |
2 |
| January 2, 2002 |
Florida |
56 |
Maryland |
23 |
| January 2, 2003 |
USC |
38 |
Iowa |
17 |
| January 1, 2004 |
Miami |
16 |
Florida State |
14 |
| January 4,2005* |
USC |
55 |
Oklahoma |
19 |
| January 3, 2006 |
Penn State |
26 |
Florida State |
23 |
| January 2, 2007 |
Louisville |
24 |
Wake Forest |
13 |
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