Key Events in Outback Bowl History

April 16, 1986	NCAA awards college bowl to Tampa Bay

Dec 23, 1986	Inaugural Hall of Fame Bowl

Aug. 3, 1987	Bowl signs contract with NBC TV

Jan 2, 1988	Bowl matches two of most prestigious teams in the sport, Michigan vs Alabama, in their only meeting to date. Wolverines win in final seconds.

Jan 1, 1989	Bowl moved to New Year’s Day lineup where it has remained ever since; hosts two top 20 teams for first time: No. 16 Syracuse and No. 19 LSU.

Jan 1, 1990	Bowl hosts No. 9 Auburn and No. 21 Ohio State which attracts record crowd of 68,085 and is third highest rated of all the bowls.

April 24, 1992	Bowl signs first contract with ESPN TV.

Oct. 26, 1994	Bowl signs six-year contract with SEC and Big Ten Conferences; Extends ESPN contract.

April 12, 1995	Bowl signs six-year deal with Outback Steakhouse as title sponsor; changes name to Outback Bowl.

Jan 1, 1996	Bowl celebrates 10th anniversary.

Fall 1997	Bowl extends agreements with SEC, Big Ten, ESPN & Outback through January 2002.

Jan 1, 1999	Bowl moves to brand new Raymond James Stadium; Sells out it’s first game which features Penn State and Kentucky.

Jan 1, 2000	Outback Bowl becomes first sporting event of the new millennium; Game between Georgia and Purdue becomes only second OT Bowl game in history and features greatest comeback by a team (25 points by Georgia) in history of all bowls.

Jan 1, 2001	Bowl celebrates it’s 15th anniversary.

Oct. 2001	Bowl signs four year extensions with SEC, Big Ten, ESPN & Outback through January 2006 game.

Jan 1, 2004	Bowl played in front of fourth consecutive sellout crowd.

Jan. 1, 2005	Bowl hosts its highest ranked team in No. 7 Georgia.

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Coach Gene Stallings

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