Pop-Tarts Bowl
Stadium	Camping World Stadium
Location	Orlando, Florida
Previous stadiums	Joe Robbie Stadium (1990–2000)
Previous locations	Miami Gardens, Florida (1990–2000)
Operated	1990–present
Championship affiliation	Bowl Coalition (1992)
Conference tie-ins	ACC,Big 12
Previous conference tie-ins	Big Ten,Big East
Payout	US$6,071,760 (2019)[1]
Website	poptartsbowl.com
Sponsors
Blockbuster (1990–1993) Carquest (1994–1997) MicronPC (1998–2000) Florida Tourism (2001) Mazda (2002–2003) Champs Sports (2004–2011) Russell Athletic (2012–2016) Camping World (2017–2019) Kellogg's / Kellanova (2020–present)
Former names
Sunshine Classic (1990, working title) Blockbuster Bowl (1990–1993) Carquest Bowl (1994–1997) MicronPC Bowl (1998) MicronPC.com Bowl (1999–2000) Visit Florida Tangerine Bowl (2001) Mazda Tangerine Bowl (2002–2003) Champs Sports Bowl (2004–2011) Russell Athletic Bowl (2012–2016) Camping World Bowl (2017–2019) Cheez-It Bowl (2020–2022)[a]
2023 matchup
NC State vs.Kansas State (Kansas State 28–19)
2024 matchup
Iowa State vs.Miami (FL) (Iowa State 42–41)

ThePop-Tarts Bowl is an annualcollege footballbowl game that is played inOrlando, Florida, atCamping World Stadium. Originally commissioned as theSunshine Classic, it has undergone many name changes due tosponsorship rights. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes theCitrus Bowl and theFlorida Classic. It was first played in 1990 inMiami Gardens, Florida, before moving to Orlando in 2001. The game has tie-ins with theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) andBig 12 Conference. In theCollege Football Playoff (CFP) era, the bowl seeks to match the top non-CFP selection from the ACC (inclusive ofNotre Dame) against the second non-CFP selection from the Big 12.

Since 2020, the bowl has been sponsored byKellogg's / Kellanova through itsCheez-It andPop-Tarts brands.^[2]

The bowl was founded in 1990 byRaycom Sports^[3] and was originally played atJoe Robbie Stadium outside the city ofMiami. It was formed as theSunshine Football Classic, but due to corporate title sponsorships, was never contested under this name, nor even referred to as such except during brief intervals between corporate sponsors. During its Miami existence, it successively went by the namesBlockbuster Bowl (three editions),CarQuest Bowl (five editions), and theMicronPC Bowl (three editions).

In 2001, the bowl changed hands, and was relocated to Orlando. The bowl was played three times as theTangerine Bowl, a historical moniker that was the original title of theCitrus Bowl.Foot Locker, the parent company ofChamps Sports, purchased naming rights in 2004, naming it theChamps Sports Bowl, under which eight games were played. In early 2012, naming rights were bought byRussell Athletic;^[4] five games were played as theRussell Athletic Bowl. In early 2017,Camping World became the title sponsor of the game through 2019;^[5][6] three editions were staged as theCamping World Bowl, concluding with the 30th playing of the bowl. In May 2020,Kellogg's signed on as the new sponsor of the game, naming the game theCheez-It Bowl,^[a] after the company'sbrand of snack crackers.^[7]

In May 2023, it was announced that the sponsorship would be switched to thePop-Tarts brand (Kellogg's had acquired the naming rights to theCitrus Bowl, concurrently moving the Cheez-It sponsorship to that game).^[8] The new trophy for the bowl was unveiled in December and features two slots for Pop-Tarts atop a metallic football. The mascot, named "Strawberry", is a large anthropomorphic Pop-Tart that was deemed the "first-ever edible mascot";^[9][10] it was lowered into a giant toaster and presented for players to eat after the game, having been replaced by an edible replica.^[11][12]

For the 2024 game, the bowl held a fan vote of three flavors to serve as main mascot: Cinnamon Roll, Hot Fudge Sundae, and Wild Berry.^[13][14] Cinnamon Roll was declared the winner on December 6.^[15] The 2024 trophy was also a functional toaster, manufactured byGE Appliances, with a weight of 77 pounds.^[16] Strawberry received a memorial outside the stadium, and was subsequently "resurrected" following a tribute during the first half—taking the form of a mascot now resembling the replica after it was eaten.^[17]

The bowl arose from a desire to hold a second bowl game in the Miami area. It was to be an accompaniment to the traditionalOrange Bowl, showcasing thebrand new stadium in the area that was built in 1987. The Orange Bowl game was still being played in the agingold stadium, whereas this new game would be played in the new stadium.

Miami Dolphins ownerWayne Huizenga quickly joined forces with bowl organizers and brought inBlockbuster Video, which he owned, as title sponsor.^[3] The inaugural game, played on December 28, 1990, pittedFlorida State andPenn State, and two legendary coaches,Bobby Bowden versusJoe Paterno in front of over 74,000 at Joe Robbie Stadium.^[3] Subsequent games were unable to match the success of the first, even though the bowl was moved to the more prestigious New Year's Day slot in 1993.

In 1994,CarQuest Auto Parts became the title sponsor after Huizenga sold Blockbuster Video toViacom. The New Year's Day experiment was short lived as the organizers of the more established Orange Bowl received permission to move their game intoJoe Robbie Stadium beginning in 1996.^[3] That bumped the Carquest Bowl back to the less-desirable December date. After the 2000 playing, Florida Citrus Sports took over the game and moved it to Orlando.

Before gaining Blockbuster Entertainment as the corporate sponsor for the inaugural event, the game was tentatively referred to as the Sunshine Classic.^[3]

From 2006 to 2010, the bowl matched teams from theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and theBig Ten Conference. Under the terms of a television deal signed withESPN in 2006, the bowl was to be held afterChristmas Day from 2006 onward, and be shown on ESPN inprime time. The change was made to move the game from the less-desirable pre-Christmas date utilized from 2001 to 2004.

From 2005 to 2009, the stadium faced challenges in preparing the stadium for two bowl games in less than one week (the Citrus Bowl is traditionally held New Year's Day). This was also in part due to the Florida high school football championship games being held at the stadium shortly before the bowls. In 2009, rainy weather turned the stadium's grass field into a muddy, sloppy, quagmire for both bowl games. In 2010, the stadium switched to artificial turf, facilitating the quick turnaround necessary.

In 2009, the bowl announced that theBig East was to be one of the tie-in conferences for four years starting in 2010, with the bowl having the option of selectingNotre Dame once during the four years. In October 2009, the bowl announced that they had extended their agreement with the ACC for the same term. The game would match the third pick from the ACC against the second selection from the Big East. The previous agreement had matched the 4th pick from the ACC against the 4th or 5th pick from the Big Ten.^[18] ACC and Big East teams subsequently met in the 2010 through 2013 games, except for 2011 when Notre Dame was selected (as permitted in the agreement with the Big East) and in 2013 when theLouisville Cardinals of theAmerican Athletic Conference were selected ("The American" became the football successor to the Big East in 2013).

Since 2014, the game features the second pick from the ACC after theNew Year's Six bowls make their picks—usually the losing team from theACC Football Championship Game, or one of the division runners-up—against the third pick from the Big 12.

Note: the bowl has twice adopted naming that was previously used by games with a different lineage.

• For earlier bowl games known as the Tangerine Bowl, seeTangerine Bowl (1947–1982)
• For earlier bowl games known as the Cheez-It Bowl, seeCheez-It Bowl (2018–2019)

All rankings are taken from theAP Poll prior to the game being played.

Source:^[20]

Games 1–11 played inMiami Gardens, Florida

Games 12–present played inOrlando, Florida

Source:^[21][22][23]

Updated through the December 2024 edition (35 games, 70 total appearances).

Teams with multiple appearances

Teams with a single appearance

Won (10):Alabama,Baylor,Illinois,Kansas State,Louisville,Maryland,Pittsburgh,South Carolina,Stanford,Texas Tech
Lost (6):Arkansas,Kansas,Michigan State,Minnesota,Purdue,Rutgers

Duke andWake Forest are the only current ACC members yet to appeared in this bowl. Former member Maryland and future member Stanford also played in the bowl, butCalifornia andSMU have not.

Updated through the December 2024 edition (35 games, 70 total appearances).

• Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the following calendar year.
• The American record includes appearances of theBig East Conference, as The American retains the charter of the original Big East, following its2013 realignment. Teams representing the Big East appeared in nine games, compiling a 4–5 record.
• The Big Eight Conference dissolved after the 1995 season.
• Independents: Penn State (1990, 1992), Florida State (1990), Notre Dame (2011, 2019)

Source:^[24]

The bowl was televised byRaycom in its inaugural year, followed byCBS Sports (four editions),TBS (six editions), andESPN since 2001.

• DeGeorge, Gail (1995).The Making of a Blockbuster: How Wayne Huizenga Built a Sports and Entertainment Empire from Trash, Grit and Videotape. John Wiley & Sons.ISBN 978-0-471-12269-2.

• Official website

• Pop-Tarts Bowl
• College football bowls
• American football competitions in Orlando, Florida
• Recurring sporting events established in 1990
• 1990 establishments in Florida

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia