The Gasparilla Bowl is an annual NCAA-sanctioned post-season college footballbowl game played in the Tampa Bay Area. It was first played in 2008 as the St. Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The game was renamed the Gasparilla Bowl in 2017 as a nod to the legend of José Gaspar, a mythical pirate who supposedly operated in the Tampa Bay area and who is the inspiration for Tampa'sGasparilla Pirate Festival. In May 2018, the owners announced the bowl would be relocated to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Since 2017, the game has been sponsored by Bad Boy Mowers and officially known as Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl. Previous sponsors include Bitcoin, Beef O'Brady's, and magicJack. From 2010 to 2013 when Beef O'Brady's was the title sponsor, the game was officially known as simply the Beef O'Brady's Bowl. The bowl game features teams from the American Athletic Conference against the Southeastern Conference. Previously, the 2016 edition of the game featured an SEC team, Mississippi State.
History
The Gasparilla Bowl is the third college bowl game to be played in the Tampa Bay area; the Outback Bowl has been held in Tampa since 1986 and the Cigar Bowl was played from 1947 to 1954. On April 30, 2008, the NCAA's Postseason Football Licensing Subcommittee approved a to-be-named bowl for Tropicana Field to be played after the 2008 college football season. On November 25, 2008, ESPN Regional Television, the game's owner, announced a one-year title sponsorship agreement with magicJack. The inaugural magicJack Bowl was played on Dec 20, 2008, between the South Florida Bulls and Memphis Tigers, with the USF Bulls winning by a score of 41–14. USFQuarterbackMatt Grothe was named Most Outstanding Player, after throwing for 236 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 83 yards on 15 carries. magicJack did not renew its sponsorship, and the UCF Knights and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights met in the St. Petersburg Bowl Presented by Beef O'Brady's in December 2009 after the restaurant chain obtained a title sponsorship. In the second St. Petersburg Bowl Presented by Beef O'Brady's, Rutgers defeated Central Florida 45–24. In 2010, the bowl's name was shortened to the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl and pitted the Southern Miss Golden Eagles against the Louisville Cardinals on December 21, 2010. It was the 29th meeting between former Conference USA rivals. After falling behind 14–0 and 21–7, Louisville came back to win their sixth contest in a row against Southern Miss, 31–28 The 2011 game featured the first Sun Belt Conference team to play in the game, as Florida International lost 20–10 to Marshall. This was the first time that the Big East was unable to send a team to the game. FIU joined Marshall in C-USA in 2013, both will compete in the conference's East Division for football. Beef 'O' Brady's stopped sponsoring the bowl after the 2013 edition. On June 18, 2014, it was announced that Bitcoin payment service providerBitPay would become the new sponsor of the game under a two-year deal, renamed the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl. Bitcoin, the digital currency, was accepted for ticket and concession sales at the game as part of the sponsorship, and the sponsorship itself was also paid for using bitcoin. On April 2, 2015, after one year of sponsorship, BitPay declined to renew sponsorship of the game, and it was again called the St. Petersburg Bowl for the next two years. On August 23, 2017, Bad Boy Mowers signed a three-year deal to become the official title sponsor of the game, which was rebranded as the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl after Tampa's Gasparilla Pirate Festival.
The American's record includes appearances of the Big East Conference, as The American retains the charter of the original Big East, following its 2013 realignment. Teams representing the Big East appeared in three games, compiling a 3–0 record.
UCF has appeared as a member of C-USA and The American.
Game records
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Media coverage
The bowl has been televised on ESPN since its inception, and broadcast on ESPN Radio and later Gameday Radio.
