College football bowl season kicks off: What brands are sponsoring bowl games?

College football’s bowl season is set to kick off with fans around the country set to tune in for the finale of their favorite team’s season.

Bowl season is a time for college football fans to enjoy their last glimpses of the gridiron until the following fall. The bowl games range from the historic – the “Granddaddy of Them All” as the Rose Bowl is affectionately known – to newer bowl games that trade head coaches’ traditional postgame Gatorade bath for being doused in substances like mayonnaise.

Bowl season also presents an opportunity for companies to build their brands by sponsoring games. Although details about exact sponsorship agreements can be hard to come by, companies may spend several hundred thousand dollars to get their brand name attached to a lower-tier bowl game, while title sponsorships for higher profile games like the prestigious New Year’s Six bowls can run into tens of millions of dollars. 

Bowl games also tend to have additional sponsors and partners beyond those attached to the name of the bowl. The income is used to support local philanthropic endeavors as well as to make payments to the conferences that each participating team is a member of, which are in turn distributed to individual schools to support their intercollegiate athletic programs.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO SPONSOR A COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL GAME?

Here’s a look at each of this year’s bowl game matchups. All times listed are Eastern Standard Time.

Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023

• Myrtle Beach Bowl – Georgia Southern Eagles vs. Ohio Bobcats, Conway, S.C., 11:00 a.m.
• Cricket Celebration Bowl – Howard Bison vs. Florida A&M Rattlers, Atlanta, Ga., noon
• R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – Jacksonville State Gamecocks vs. Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, New Orleans, La., 2:15 p.m.
• Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl – Miami (Ohio) Redhawks vs. Appalachian Mountaineers, Orlando, Fla., 3:30 p.m.
• Isleta New Mexico Bowl – New Mexico State Aggies vs. Fresno State Bulldogs, Albuquerque, N.M., 5:45 p.m.
• Starco Brands LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk – UCLA Bruins vs. Boise State Broncos, Inglewood, Calif., 7:30 p.m.
• Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl – California Golden Bears vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders, Shreveport, La., 9:15 p.m.

ROB GRONKOWSKI WILL SING NATIONAL ANTHEM AT UPCOMING BOWL GAME

Monday, Dec. 18, 2023

Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023

Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023

• Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl – South Florida Bulls vs. Syracuse Orange, Boca Raton, Fla., 8:00 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 22, 2023

Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023

• 76 Birmingham Bowl – Troy Trojans vs. Duke Blue Devils, Birmingham, Ala., noon
• Camellia Bowl – Arkansas State Red Wolves vs. Northern Illinois Huskies, Montgomery, Ala., noon
• Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl – James Madison Dukes vs. Air Force Falcons, Fort Worth, Texas, 3:30 p.m.
• Famous Idaho Potato Bowl – Georgia State Panthers vs. Utah State Aggies, Boise, Idaho, 3:30 p.m.
• 68 Ventures Bowl – South Alabama Jaguars vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles, Mobile, Ala. 7:00 p.m.
• SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl – Utah Utes vs. Northwestern Wildcats, Las Vegas, Nev., 7:30 p.m.
• EasyPost Hawaii Bowl – Coastal Carolina Chanticleers vs. San Jose State Spartans, Honolulu, Hawaii, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023

• Quick Lane Bowl – Bowling Green Falcons vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers, Detroit, Mich., 2:00 p.m.
• SERVPRO First Responder Bowl – Texas State Bobcats vs. Rice Owls, Dallas, Texas, 5:30 p.m.
• Guaranteed Rate Bowl – Kansas Jayhawks vs. UNLV Rebels, Phoenix, Ariz., 9:00 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023

• Military Bowl Presented by GoBowling.com – Virginia Tech Hokies vs. Tulane Green Wave, Annapolis, Md., 2:00 p.m.
• Duke’s Mayo Bowl – North Carolina Tar Heels vs. West Virginia Mountaineers – Charlotte, N.C., 5:30 p.m.
• DIRECTV Holiday Bowl – #15 Louisville Cardinals vs. USC Trojans, San Diego, Calif., 8:00 p.m.
• TaxAct Texas Bowl – Texas A&M Aggies vs. #20 Oklahoma State Cowboys, Houston, Texas, 9:00 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023

• Wasabi Fenway Bowl – #24 SMU Mustangs vs. Boston College Eagles, Boston, Mass., 11:00 a.m.
• Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl – Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. Miami Hurricanes, Bronx, N.Y., 2:15 p.m.
• Pop-Tarts Bowl – #18 North Carolina State Wolfpack vs. #25 Kansas State Wildcats, Orlando, Fla., 5:45 p.m.
• Valero Alamo Bowl – #14 Arizona Wildcats vs. #12 Oklahoma Sooners, San Antonio, 9:15 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 29, 2023

• TaxSlayer Gator Bowl – #22 Clemson Tigers vs. Kentucky Wildcats, Jacksonville, Fla., noon
• Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl – #19 Oregon State Beavers vs. #16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, El Paso, Texas, 2 p.m.
• AutoZone Liberty Bowl – Memphis Tigers vs. Iowa State Cyclones, Memphis, Tenn., 3:30 p.m.
• Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic – #9 Missouri Tigers vs. #7 Ohio State Buckeyes, Arlington, Texas, 8:00 p.m.

KIRK HERBSTREIT REAFFIRMS STANCE THAT FLORIDA STATE IS NOT ONE OF ‘THE BEST 4’ TEAMS

Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023

• Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl – #11 Ole Miss Rebels vs. #10 Penn State Nittany Lions, Atlanta, Ga., noon
• TransPerfect Music City Bowl – Auburn Tigers vs. Maryland Terrapins, Nashville, Tenn., 2:00 p.m.
• Capital One Orange Bowl – #6 Georgia Bulldogs vs. #5 Florida State Seminoles, Miami, Fla., 4:00 p.m.
• Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl – Toledo Rockets vs. Wyoming Cowboys, Tucson, Ariz., 4:30 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 1, 2024

• ReliaQuest Bowl – Wisconsin Badgers vs. #13 LSU Tigers, Tampa, Fla., noon
• Vrbo Fiesta Bowl – #23 Liberty Flames vs. #8 Oregon Ducks, Glendale, Ariz., 1 p.m.
• Cheez-It Citrus Bowl – #17 Iowa Hawkeyes vs. #21 Tennessee Volunteers, Orlando, Fla., 1 p.m.
• CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential – #4 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. #1 Michigan Wolverines, Pasadena, Calif., 5:00 p.m.
• CFP Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl – #3 Texas Longhorns vs. #2 Washington Huskies, New Orleans, La., 8:45 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 8, 2024

• CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T – Rose Bowl winner vs. Sugar Bowl winner, 7:30 p.m.