Gasparilla Bowl
The Gasparilla Bowl is an annual college football postseason game in the Tampa Bay area. It began in 2008 as the St. Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, one of several bowls played in baseball stadiums. In 2017 the game was renamed the Gasparilla Bowl, honoring the Tampa Bay festival and the legend of José Gaspar. The game moved to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa in 2018 and is currently known as the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl.
Sponsorship has changed over the years. The bowl has been sponsored by magicJack (2008), Beef O’Brady’s (2009–2013), BitPay (2014), Bad Boy Mowers (2017–2019), and since 2020 by Union Home Mortgage. The payout was $1.125 million in 2019.
Conference tie-ins have varied. The early editions featured teams from Conference USA and the Big East; after 2013 the American Athletic Conference (AAC) became the main tie-in. There was a six-year agreement with the ACC from 2014 to 2019, though NC State was the only ACC team to play (in 2014). From 2015–2019 most games paired AAC and C-USA teams, with 2016 featuring MAC vs. SEC due to a lack of eligible teams. Beginning in 2020 the bowl has a broad slate of tie-ins, capable of hosting teams from up to eight conferences plus independents. Since 2020 Army and BYU have joined conferences, expanding potential matchups.
The game has been televised on ESPN since its inception and also airs on ESPN Radio and Gameday Radio.
As of December 2025, the bowl has played 17 games with 34 total appearances. Seven winners include East Carolina, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Mississippi State, Rutgers, Temple, and Wake Forest; seven losers include Ball State, Connecticut, Miami (Ohio), Missouri, Ohio, Southern Miss, and Tulane. The 2025 matchup is Memphis vs. NC State, with NC State winning 31–7.
A notable 2020 note: the bowl was canceled after South Carolina withdrew due to COVID-19 issues.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 12:16 (CET).