The First Responder Bowl is an NCAA post-season college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas, Texas, area. The bowl was first held on January 1, 2011, and since 2014 has been contested in late December. The bowl was held at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park in Dallas through the 2018 game. Since the Cotton Bowl was being used for the 2020 NHL Winter Classic and was not available, the 2019 edition of the bowl was played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in nearby University Park, Texas. The stadium has since become the permanent home of the game.

Quick Facts Stadium, Location ...
First Responder Bowl
Servpro First Responder Bowl
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StadiumGerald J. Ford Stadium
LocationUniversity Park, Texas
Previous stadiumsCotton Bowl (2011–2018)
Previous locationsFair Park, Dallas, Texas (2011–2018)
Operated2011–present
Conference tie-insAAC, ACC, Big 12, C-USA
Previous conference tie-insBig Ten
PayoutUS$824,545 (2019)[1]
Sponsors
TicketCity (2011–2012)
PlainsCapital Bank (2013)
Zaxby's (2014–2017)
Servpro (2018–present)
Former names
Dallas Football Classic (2011, working title)
TicketCity Bowl (2011–2012)
Heart of Dallas Bowl presented by PlainsCapital Bank (2013–Jan 2014)
Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dec 2014–2017)
2023 matchup
Texas State vs. Rice (Texas State 45–21)
2024 season matchup
(January 3, 2025)
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Originally commissioned as the Dallas Football Classic, it has undergone name changes due to changes in sponsorship. From 2011 to 2012, it was named the TicketCity Bowl after sponsor TicketCity. It was then known as the Heart of Dallas Bowl when PlainsCapital Bank (2013) and Zaxby's (2014–2017) were its sponsors. Since 2018, the game has been sponsored by Servpro and officially known as the Servpro First Responder Bowl.[2][3]

History

The game was tentatively called the Dallas Football Classic until TicketCity, an online reseller of sports and entertainment tickets, became the first title sponsor,[4] renaming the game as the TicketCity Bowl. This game physically replaced the Cotton Bowl Classic, which moved from its longtime eponymous home to AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington in 2010.[5] In the 2011 edition, the inaugural playing of the bowl, Texas Tech of the Big 12 Conference defeated Northwestern of the Big Ten Conference.

After its first two playings, the bowl was renamed as the Heart of Dallas Bowl. The 2013 edition, the first to be so named, saw Oklahoma State of the Big 12 defeat Purdue of the Big Ten. PlainsCapital Bank was the title sponsor in 2013, followed by Zaxby's as the title sponsor from 2014 to 2017.[6]

The 2018 edition was the first to be named the First Responder Bowl, with Servpro as the title sponsor. That game was cancelled due to severe weather with 5:08 remaining in the first quarter, and is considered a no-contest for the teams involved; Boise State of the Mountain West Conference and Boston College of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).[7]

After having been played on January 1 or January 2 for its first four editions, the game moved to a late December date beginning with the 2014 season.

Stadium

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2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl banner over the Cotton Bowl entrance
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Gerald J. Ford Stadium in 2011

The bowl was held at Cotton Bowl stadium from 2011 through 2018. Originally known as the Fair Park Bowl, the stadium is located in Fair Park, Dallas, site of the State Fair of Texas. The Cotton Bowl Classic called the stadium home from that bowl's inception in 1937 until 2009, after which it moved to what is now AT&T Stadium. Other tenants included, at various times, SMU Mustangs football, the Dallas Texans and Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and the Dallas Texans of the American Football League.

The bowl's 2019 edition was held at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas, to accommodate the 2020 NHL Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl.[8] The stadium has been the home field of the SMU Mustangs since 2000, and hosted the Armed Forces Bowl in 2010 and 2011. The First Responder Bowl has remained at Gerald J. Ford Stadium since 2019.

Tie-ins

For the bowl's first four editions, the Big Ten Conference was contracted to send a team each season, with alternating appearances from the Big 12 Conference in even-numbered seasons and Conference USA (C-USA) in odd-numbered seasons. For the bowl's next six editions, C-USA was contracted to provide a team, which would face either a Big Ten or Big 12 team in an alternating manner.

More information Season, Contracted tie-ins ...
Season Contracted tie-ins Actual participants
2010* Big Ten Big 12 Big Ten Big 12
2011* C-USA Big Ten C-USA
2012* Big 12 Big Ten Big 12
2013* C-USA Mountain West C-USA
2014 C-USA Big Ten C-USA Big Ten
2015 Big 12 C-USA Pac-12
2016 Big Ten C-USA Independent
2017 Big 12 Pac-12 Big 12
2018 Big Ten Mountain West ACC
2019 Big 12 C-USA MAC
2020 ACC, Big 12, C-USA; AAC (alt.) C-USA Sun Belt
Bold font denotes winners; * denotes a game played in January
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For the 2013 season, the Big Ten did not have enough bowl-eligible teams, so the selection committee chose an at-large team, UNLV from the Mountain West Conference, to take their place. For the 2015 season, the Big 12 did not have enough bowl-eligible teams, so the selection committee selected the Washington Huskies from the Pac-12 Conference to take its place.[9] For the 2016 season, the Big Ten sent four teams to CFP bowls, so the selection committee chose an at-large team, independent Army, to take its place.[10] In 2017 and 2018, Conference USA was unable to send teams due to not enough members of their conference having bowl eligibility. In 2017, the Pac-12 sent Utah to face West Virginia from the Big 12. In 2018, the Big Ten did not have any remaining bowl eligible teams to send; the matchup, which was not played to completion, pitted Boise State of the Mountain West versus Boston College of the ACC. In 2019, Western Michigan became the first Mid-American Conference (MAC) team invited to the bowl.

In June 2019, the Big 12 renewed its rotating appearance schedule with the First Responder Bowl through the 2025 postseason.[11] In December 2019, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) announced a partial tie-in with the bowl beginning in the 2020 football season; the conference will send a team to one of three bowls (First Responder Bowl, Gasparilla Bowl, or Birmingham Bowl) annually.[12] In May 2020, C-USA reached an agreement whereby it could send one or more teams to a pool of games, including the First Responder Bowl, which are operated by ESPN Events.[13] As of the 2020 football season, the First Responder Bowl has the noted tie-ins with the ACC, Big 12, and C-USA; it also has the American Athletic Conference (AAC or "The American") as an alternate.[14]

Game results

Rankings are based on the AP Poll prior to the game being played.

More information Date played, Bowl name ...
Date played Bowl name Winning team Losing team Attendance
January 1, 2011TicketCity Bowl Texas Tech45 Northwestern38 40,121
January 2, 2012TicketCity Bowl 20 Houston30 24 Penn State14 46,817
January 1, 2013Heart of Dallas Bowl Oklahoma State58 Purdue14 48,313
January 1, 2014Heart of Dallas Bowl North Texas36 UNLV14 38,380
December 26, 2014Heart of Dallas Bowl Louisiana Tech35 Illinois18 31,297
December 26, 2015Heart of Dallas Bowl Washington44 Southern Miss31 20,229
December 27, 2016Heart of Dallas Bowl Army38 North Texas31 (OT) 39,117
December 26, 2017Heart of Dallas Bowl Utah30 West Virginia14 20,507
December 26, 2018First Responder Bowl 23 Boise State N/C Boston College
December 30, 2019First Responder Bowl Western Kentucky23 Western Michigan20 13,164
December 26, 2020First Responder Bowl 16 Louisiana31 UTSA24   3,512
December 28, 2021First Responder Bowl Air Force31 Louisville28 15,251
December 27, 2022First Responder Bowl Memphis38 Utah State10 10,343
December 26, 2023First Responder Bowl Texas State45 Rice21 26,542
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The 2018 game was a no-contest; game canceled due to weather.
The 2020 contest had an unusually low attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

First nine editions (2011–2018) played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas
Subsequent games (2019–present) played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas

Source:[15]

MVPs

More information Year, Player ...
Year Player Team Position Ref.
2011Taylor PottsTexas TechQB[16]
2012Case KeenumHoustonQB[17]
2013Clint ChelfOklahoma StateQB[18]
2014 (Jan.)Derek ThompsonNorth TexasQB[19]
2014 (Dec.)Houston BatesLouisiana TechLB[20]
2015Myles GaskinWashingtonRB[21]
2016Ahmad BradshawArmyQB[22]
2017Julian BlackmonUtahCB[23]
2018none selected
2019Lucky JacksonWestern KentuckyWR[24]
2020Elijah MitchellLouisianaRB[25]
2021Haaziq DanielsAir ForceQB[26]
2022Seth HeniganMemphisQB[27]
2023Brian HollowayTexas StateLB[28]
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Source:[29]:58

Most appearances

Updated through the December 2023 edition (14 games, 28 total appearances).

Teams with multiple appearances
More information Rank, Team ...
Rank Team Appearances Record
1North Texas21–1
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Teams with a single appearance

Won (12): Air Force, Army, Houston, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Memphis, Oklahoma State, Texas State, Texas Tech, Utah, Washington, Western Kentucky
Lost (12): Illinois, Louisville, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Rice, Southern Miss, UNLV, Utah State, UTSA, West Virginia, Western Michigan
No contest (2): Boise State, Boston College

Appearances by conference

Updated through the December 2023 edition (14 games, 28 total appearances).

More information Conference, Record ...
Conference Record Appearances by season
Games W L Win pct. Won Lost No contest
C-USA743.5712011*, 2013*, 2014, 20192015, 2016, 2020 
Mountain West412.33320212013*, 20222018
Big Ten404.000 2010*, 2011*, 2012*, 2014 
Big 12321.6672010*, 2012*2017 
Pac-122201.0002015, 2017  
Sun Belt2201.0002020, 2023  
The American211.50020222023 
ACC201.000 20212018
Independent1101.0002016  
MAC101.000 2019 
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  • The 2018 game, scheduled between ACC and Mountain West teams, was a no-contest due to weather; no win or loss resulting.
  • Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the following calendar year.
  • Independent appearances: Army (2016)

Game records

More information Team, Performance vs. Opponent ...
Team Performance vs. Opponent Year
Most points scored (one team)58, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue2013
Most points scored (losing team)38, Northwestern vs. Texas Tech2011
Most points scored (both teams)83, Texas Tech vs. Northwestern2011
Fewest Points Allowed10, Memphis vs. Utah State2022
Largest margin of victory44, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue2013
Total yards600, Houston vs. Penn State (532 pass, 68 rush)2012
Rushing yards480, Army vs. North Texas2016
Passing yards532, Houston vs. Penn State2012
First downs34, Texas Tech vs. Northwestern2011
Fewest yards allowed153, Utah vs. West Virginia2017
Fewest rushing yards allowed22, Washington vs. Southern Miss2015
Fewest passing yards allowed53, North Texas vs. Army2016
Individual Performance, Team Year
Total offense542, Case Keenum (Houston) (532 pass, 10 rush)2012
All-purpose yards234, Patrick Edwards (Houston)2012
Touchdowns (all-purpose)4, Myles Gaskin (Washington)2015
Rushing yards181, Myles Gaskin (Washington)2015
Rushing touchdowns4, Myles Gaskin (Washington)2015
Passing yards532, Case Keenum (Houston)2012
Passing touchdowns4, Taylor Potts (Texas Tech)2011
Receiving yards228, Patrick Edwards (Houston)2012
Receiving touchdowns2, most recent:
Eddie Lewis (Memphis)

2022
Tackles15, shared by:
Quentin Davie (Northwestern)
Jeremy Timpf (Army)

2011
2016
Sacks4.5, Houston Bates (Louisiana Tech)Dec. 2014
Interceptions2, most recent:
Brian Holloway (Texas State)

2023
Long Plays Performance, Team Year
Touchdown run86 yds., shared by:
Eric Stephens (Texas Tech)
Myles Gaskin (Washington)

2011
2015
Touchdown pass80 yds., Cody Sokol to Kenneth Dixon (Louisiana Tech)Dec. 2014
Kickoff return100 yds., Jawhar Jordan (Louisville)2021
Punt return64 yds., Josh Stewart (Oklahoma State)2013
Interception return88 yds., Kareem Ali (Western Michigan)2019
Fumble return37 yds., Daytawion Lowe (Oklahoma State)2013
Punt65 yds., Quinn Sharp (Oklahoma State)2013
Field goal53 yds., Connor Coles (Utah State)2022
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Source:[29]:59–60

Media coverage

ESPNU televised the first four games. Since December 2014, the game has aired on ESPN, with the exception in 2020 when the game was aired on ABC.

Notes

    References

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