With the South Carolina Gamecocks poised to take on the Michigan Wolverines in the 2013 Outback Bowl, we thought we’d provide a brief history of that event.
The Outback Bowl was originally known as the Hall of Fame Bowl in the era before corporate sponsorship and it was played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama from 1977-1985. At that time, the Hall of Fame and the National Football Foundation cut its ties with the game and established a new event to be played at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, where it was played from 1986-1998. In 1999 the game was moved to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa where it’s been ever since. Outback Steakhouse became the title sponsor in 1996. The game is sponsored by the Tampa Bay Bowl Association.
The game always matches teams from the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten. The Outback Bowl always takes the third pick from the SEC Eastern Division with the Western Division’s 3rd pick going to the Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas. The first 2 picks are for the BCS and the Capital One Bowl.
South Carolina is no stranger to the Outback Bowl having played there in 2001, 2002, both times beating Ohio State and losing to Iowa in 2009. This year’s game can be seen on ESPN (Time Warner 1500 or 26) at 1 p.m, New Year’s Day. GO COCKS!
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