| GameAbove Sports Bowl | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Stadium | Ford Field |
| Location | Detroit, Michigan |
| Operated | 2014–present |
| Conference tie-ins | Big Ten,MAC[1] |
| Previous conference tie-ins | ACC (2014–2019) |
| Payout | US$2 million (2019)[2] |
| Website | gameabovesportsbowl |
| Preceded by | Little Caesars Pizza Bowl |
| Sponsors | |
Ford Motor Company (2014–2023) GameAbove Sports (2024–present) | |
| 2023 matchup | |
| Minnesota vs.Bowling Green (Minnesota 30–24) | |
| 2024 matchup | |
| Pittsburgh vs.Toledo (Toledo 48–466OT) | |
TheGameAbove Sports Bowl is a post-seasoncollege footballbowl game certified by theNCAA that began play in the2014 season. The game was previously known as theQuick Lane Bowl withFord Motor Company serving astitle sponsor of the game for 10 years, through itsauto shop brandQuick Lane. That sponsorship ended in June 2024. In October 2024, strategic investment company GameAbove, through its GameAbove Sports brand, was announced as the game's new title sponsor.
Backed by theDetroit Lions of theNational Football League, the game features a bowl-eligible team from theBig Ten Conference competing against an opponent from theMid-American Conference (MAC). The bowl is played atFord Field inDetroit and was created as ade facto replacement for theLittle Caesars Pizza Bowl (last played in 2013), and inherited its traditional December 26 scheduling. Unlike its predecessor, which featured the eighth-place team in the Big Ten against the MAC champion, competing teams are selected by conference representatives and are not based on final rankings.[3]
Since 2002, Detroit'sFord Field had played host to theMotor City Bowl—later known as theLittle Caesars Pizza Bowl for sponsorship reasons; a bowl game between the 8th placed team in theBig Ten Conference and the champion of theMid-American Conference (MAC), which was first played in 1997 at thePontiac Silverdome. In May 2013,ESPN reported that theDetroit Lions were planning to organize a new Big Ten bowl game at Ford Field against anAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent—Big Ten commissionerJim Delany had expressed a desire to revamp the conference's lineup of bowl games for the 2014 season to keep them "fresh".[4] In August 2013, the Lions officially confirmed the new, then-unnamed game, tentatively scheduled for December 30, 2014. The team had reached six-year deals with the Big Ten and ACC to provide tie-ins for the game; the teams playing in the bowl are to be picked by representatives from each participating conference.[3]
The announcement of the Lions' bowl game, and the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl's loss of Ford Field as a venue, left the fate of the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl—which had a relatively lower-profile matchup—in jeopardy. Detroit Lions presidentTom Lewand remarked that "very few" markets could adequately support hosting two major bowl games.[5][6] Organizers were open to the possibility of moving the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl across the street toComerica Park, home stadium of theDetroit Tigers, for 2014 as an outdoor game.[5] Comerica Park, the Tigers, and game sponsor Little Caesars are all owned byIlitch Holdings.[5] However, these plans never came to fruition.[4][6]
In August 2014, the Lions announced that theFord Motor Company had acquired title sponsorship rights to the new Detroit bowl, making it theQuick Lane Bowl—named for itsauto shop brand,Quick Lane. It was also confirmed that the inaugural edition of the bowl would inherit the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl's traditional date of December 26, and be televised byESPN. In a statement toCrain's Detroit Business, Motor City Bowl co-founder Ken Hoffman confirmed that "there is no Pizza Bowl for 2014. We will have to see about the future", implying that the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl had been cancelled indefinitely;[6][7] the December 2013 playing proved to be the final edition of the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.
On October 21, 2014, bowl organizers announced a secondary tie-in with the MAC.[8] The inaugural edition of the bowl was played on December 26, 2014, between theRutgers Scarlet Knights of the Big Ten andNorth Carolina Tar Heels of the ACC.[9]
In the midst of theCOVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition of the bowl was not played; although a specific reason was not given by organizers.[10]
In June 2024, Quick Lane sponsorship ended.[11] For several months, the organizers used "Detroit Bowl" as a working title. On October 8, 2024, strategic investment company GameAbove, through its GameAbove Sports brand, was announced as the game's new title sponsor, making it theGameAbove Sports Bowl.[12]
The 2024 edition of the bowl took sixovertime periods to decide, setting a new record for the most overtime periods in an FBS bowl game.[13] It broke the prior record of five overtime periods, which had been set just two days prior in the2024 Hawaii Bowl.[14]
| Date | Bowl name | Winning team | Losing team | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 26, 2014 | Quick Lane Bowl | Rutgers | 40 | North Carolina | 21 | 23,876 |
| December 28, 2015 | Quick Lane Bowl | Minnesota | 21 | Central Michigan | 14 | 34,217 |
| December 26, 2016 | Quick Lane Bowl | Boston College | 36 | Maryland | 30 | 19,117 |
| December 26, 2017 | Quick Lane Bowl | Duke | 36 | Northern Illinois | 14 | 20,211 |
| December 26, 2018 | Quick Lane Bowl | Minnesota | 34 | Georgia Tech | 10 | 27,228 |
| December 26, 2019 | Quick Lane Bowl | Pittsburgh | 34 | Eastern Michigan | 30 | 34,765 |
| 2020 | Quick Lane Bowl | Canceled[15] | ||||
| December 27, 2021 | Quick Lane Bowl | Western Michigan | 52 | Nevada | 24 | 22,321 |
| December 26, 2022 | Quick Lane Bowl | New Mexico State | 24 | Bowling Green | 19 | 22,987 |
| December 26, 2023 | Quick Lane Bowl | Minnesota | 30 | Bowling Green | 24 | 28,521 |
| December 26, 2024 | GameAbove Sports Bowl | Toledo | 48 | Pittsburgh | 46(6OT) | 26,219 |
Source:[16]
| Year | MVP | Team | Position | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Josh Hicks | Rutgers | RB | [17] |
| 2015 | Mitch Leidner | Minnesota | QB | [18] |
| 2016 | Defensive Line | Boston College | DL | [19] |
| 2017 | Daniel Jones | Duke | QB | [20] |
| 2018 | Mohamed Ibrahim | Minnesota | RB | [21] |
| 2019 | Kenny Pickett | Pittsburgh | QB | [22] |
| 2021 | Sean Tyler | Western Michigan | RB | [23] |
| 2022 | Diego Pavia | New Mexico State | QB | [24] |
| 2023 | Darius Taylor | Minnesota | RB | [25] |
| 2024 | Junior Vandeross III | Toledo | WR | [26] |
Updated through the December 2024 edition (10 games, 20 total appearances).
| Rank | Team | Appearances | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | 3 | 3–0 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 2 | 1–1 |
| Bowling Green | 2 | 0–2 |
Won (6):Boston College,Duke,New Mexico State,Rutgers,Toledo,Western Michigan
Lost (7):Central Michigan,Eastern Michigan,Georgia Tech,Maryland,Nevada,North Carolina,Northern Illinois
Updated through the December 2024 edition (10 games, 20 total appearances).
| Conference | Record | Appearances by season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | W | L | Win pct. | Won | Lost | |
| MAC | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 | 2021, 2024 | 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023 |
| ACC | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 | 2016, 2017, 2019 | 2014, 2018, 2024 |
| Big Ten | 5 | 4 | 1 | .800 | 2014, 2015, 2018, 2023 | 2016 |
| Independents | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2022 | |
| Mountain West | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2021 | |
| Team | Record, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Most points scored (one team) | 52, Western Michigan vs. Nevada | 2021 |
| Most points scored (losing team) | 46, Pittsburgh vs. Toledo | 2024 |
| Most points scored (both teams) | 94, Toledo vs. Pittsburgh | 2024 |
| Fewest points allowed | 10, Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech | 2018 |
| Largest margin of victory | 28, Western Michigan vs. Nevada | 2021 |
| Total yards | 524, Rutgers vs. North Carolina | 2014 |
| Rushing yards | 352, Western Michigan vs. Nevada | 2021 |
| Passing yards | 361, Pittsburgh vs. Eastern Michigan | 2019 |
| First downs | 30, Pittsburgh vs. Toledo | 2024 |
| Fewest yards allowed | 242, Nevada vs. Western Michigan | 2021 |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | 65, Duke vs. Northern Illinois | 2017 |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | 26, Bowling Green vs. Minnesota | 2023 |
| Individual | Record, Player (Team) | Year |
| All-purpose yards | 281, Sean Tyler (Western Michigan) | 2021 |
| Touchdowns (all-purpose) | 2, most recently: Jaxson Kincaide (Western Michigan) | 2021 |
| Rushing yards | 224, Mohamed Ibrahim (Minnesota) | 2018 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 2, most recently: Jaxson Kincaide (Western Michigan) | 2021 |
| Passing yards | 361,Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh) | 2019 |
| Passing touchdowns | 3, Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh) | 2019 |
| Receptions | 12, shared by: Maurice Ffrench (Pittsburgh) Junior Vandeross III (Toledo) | 2019 2024 |
| Receiving yards | 194, Junior Vandeross III (Toledo) | 2024 |
| Receiving touchdowns | 2,Tyler Johnson (Minnesota) | 2018 |
| Tackles | 14, Lorenzo Waters (Rutgers) | 2014 |
| Sacks | 2, most recently: Jah Joyner (Minnesota) | 2023 |
| Interceptions | 1, by several players | |
| Long Plays | Record, Player (Team) | Year |
| Touchdown run | 62 yds.,Ty Johnson (Maryland) | 2016 |
| Touchdown pass | 96 yds., Kenny Pickett to Maurice Ffrench (Pittsburgh) | 2019 |
| Kickoff return | 100 yds., Sean Tyler (Western Michigan) | 2021 |
| Punt return | 27 yds., Le'Meke Brockington (Minnesota) | 2023 |
| Interception return | 58 yds., Darius Alexander (Toledo) | 2024 |
| Fumble return | 7 yds., Truman Gutapfel (Boston College) | 2016 |
| Punt | 59 yds., Julian Diaz (Nevada) | 2021 |
| Field goal | 57 yds.,Ben Sauls (Pittsburgh) | 2024 |
The bowl has been televised byESPN orESPN2 since its inception.