Heart of Dallas Bowl
| Heart of Dallas Bowl | |
|---|---|
| Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl | |
 | |
| Stadium | Cotton Bowl |
| Location |
Fair Park Dallas, Texas |
| Operated | 2011–present |
| Conference tie-ins |
Big Ten vs. Big 12 (2013) Big Ten vs. C-USA (2014) Pac 12 vs. C-USA (2015) |
| Payout | US$1.2 million |
| Sponsors | |
| Former names | |
|
Dallas Football Classic (2011, working title) TicketCity Bowl (2011–2012) Heart of Dallas Bowl presented by PlainsCapital Bank (2013–Jan 2014) | |
| 2014 matchup | |
| Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech (Louisiana Tech 35–18) | |
| 2015 matchup | |
| Washington vs. Southern Miss (Washington 44–31) | |
The Heart of Dallas Bowl (formerly the TicketCity Bowl) is an NCAA post-season college football bowl game. The inaugural game was played on New Year's Day (January 1), 2011, at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park in Dallas, Texas.[1] This game physically replaced the Cotton Bowl Classic, which moved from its longtime eponymous home to AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington in 2010. The conferences are scheduled to receive a $1.2 million payout for the teams' participation.
The bowl's full name is the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl. Zaxby's took over as title sponsor after PlainsCapital Bank withdrew after the 2013 season event; Zaxby's became the primary sponsor in time for the 2014–15 season.[2]
History
The game was tentatively called the Dallas Football Classic until TicketCity, an online reseller of sports and entertainment tickets, agreed to be the title game's first title sponsor.[3]
The Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten Conference faced the Texas Tech Red Raiders of the Big 12 Conference in the inaugural game.
Stadium
The Cotton Bowl stadium opened in 1932. Originally known as the Fair Park Bowl, it is located in Fair Park, site of the State Fair of Texas. Due to the immense crowds that SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s, the stadium became known as "The House That Doak Built." The Cotton Bowl Classic called the stadium home from the bowl's inception in 1937 until the 2009 game, after which it moved to what is now AT&T Stadium. The stadium also served as the original home of Dallas' first, ill-fated National Football League franchise in 1952. Later, and far more successfully, the NFL's Dallas Cowboys called the Cotton Bowl home for 11 years, from the team's formation in 1960 until 1971, when the Cowboys moved to Texas Stadium. The American Football League's Dallas Texans likewise began play at the Cotton Bowl in 1960, but were unable to compete successfully financially with Cowboys and after only three money-losing seasons moved to Kansas City, where they became quite successful on and off the field as the Kansas City Chiefs.
Tie-ins
The Heart of Dallas Bowl has tie-ins with the Big Ten Conference, the Big 12 Conference, and Conference USA.
For its first four playings, the Big 12 and C-USA alternated bids with the Big 12 receiving the bid in odd-numbered years and C-USA in even numbered years while the Big Ten was contracted to send a team to all four games. The 2011 game featured Texas Tech of the Big 12, the 2012 game featured Houston of C-USA, the 2013 game featured Oklahoma State of the Big 12, and the 2014 game featured North Texas of C-USA. The Big Ten sent Northwestern, Penn State, and Purdue for the first three years. The conference could not fulfill its obligation to the bowl in 2014 as it 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.
Beginning with the 2015 playing, the arrangement will be modified so that a C-USA team plays in all four bowls and the Big Ten and Big 12 alternate.
After having been played on New Year's Day since its inception, the Heart of Dallas Bowl moved to a late December date beginning with the 2014 season.
| Season | Tie-ins | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Big Ten | Big 12 | |
| 2011 | C-USA | ||
| 2012 | Big 12 | ||
| 2013 | C-USA | ||
Game results
| Date played | Winning team | Losing team | Attendance | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2011 | Texas Tech | 45 | Northwestern | 38 | 40,121 | notes |
| January 2, 2012 | Houston | 30 | Penn State | 14 | 46,817 | notes |
| January 1, 2013 | Oklahoma State | 58 | Purdue | 14 | 48,313 | notes |
| January 1, 2014 | North Texas | 36 | UNLV | 14 | 38,380 | notes |
| December 26, 2014 | Louisiana Tech | 35 | Illinois | 18 | 31,297 | notes |
| December 26, 2015 | Washington | 44 | Southern Miss | 31 | 20,229 | notes |
MVPs
| Year | MVP | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Taylor Potts | Texas Tech | QB |
| 2012 | Case Keenum | Houston | QB |
| 2013 | Clint Chelf | Oklahoma State | QB |
| 2014 (Jan.) | Derek Thompson | North Texas | QB |
| 2014 (Dec.) | Houston Bates | Louisiana Tech | LB |
| 2015 | Myles Gaskin | Washington | RB |
Appearances by Team
| Rank | Team | Appearances | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Houston | 1 | 1–0 |
| T1 | Louisiana Tech | 1 | 1–0 |
| T1 | North Texas | 1 | 1–0 |
| T1 | Oklahoma State | 1 | 1–0 |
| T1 | Texas Tech | 1 | 1–0 |
| T1 | Washington | 1 | 1–0 |
| T1 | Southern Miss | 1 | 0–1 |
| T1 | Illinois | 1 | 0–1 |
| T1 | Northwestern | 1 | 0–1 |
| T1 | Penn State | 1 | 0–1 |
| T1 | Purdue | 1 | 0–1 |
| T1 | UNLV | 1 | 0–1 |
Wins by conference
| Conference | Wins | Losses | Pct. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-USA | 3 | 1 | .750 | |
| Big 12 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| Pac 12 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| MWC | 0 | 1 | .000 | |
| Big Ten | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
Game records
| Team | Performance vs. Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Most Points Scored | 58, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue (58-14) | 2013 |
| Fewest Points Allowed | 14, North Texas vs. UNLV (36-14; tied with 2 others) | 2014 (Jan.) |
| First Downs | 34, Texas Tech vs. Northwestern | 2011 |
| Rushing Yards | 229, Northwestern vs. Texas Tech | 2011 |
| Passing Yards | 532, Houston vs. Penn State | 2012 |
| Total Yards | 600, Houston vs. Penn State (532 pass, 68 rush) | 2012 |
| Individual | Performance, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Total Offense | 542, Case Keenum, Houston vs. Penn State (532 pass, 10 rush) | 2012 |
| Rushing Yards | 181, Myles Gaskin, Washington vs. Southern Miss. (26 att., 4 TD) | 2015 |
| Rushing TDs | 4, Myles Gaskin, Washington vs. Southern Miss. | 2015 |
| Passing Yards | 532, Case Keenum, Houston vs. Penn State (45-69, 3 TD) | 2012 |
| Passing TDs | 4, Taylor Potts, Texas Tech vs. Northwestern | 2011 |
| Receptions | 12, Justin Johnson, Houston vs. Penn State (148 yds, 1 TD) | 2012 |
| Receiving Yards | 228, Patrick Edwards, Houston vs. Penn State (10 rec., 2 TD) | 2012 |
| Receiving TDs | 2, Patrick Edwards, Houston vs. Penn State (tied with 1 other) | 2012 |
| Field Goals | 3, Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue (tied with 1 other) | 2013 |
| Tackles | 15, Quentin Davie, Northwestern vs. Texas Tech | 2011 |
| Sacks | 4.5, Houston Bates, Louisiana Tech vs. Illinois (32 yards) | 2014 (Dec.) |
| Interceptions | 2, Nick Saenz, Northwestern vs. Texas Tech (2 yards) | 2012 |
| Long Plays | Performance, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Touchdown Run | 86, Eric Stephens, Texas Tech vs. Northwestern (tied with 1 other) | 2011 |
| Touchdown Pass | 80, Cody Sokol to Kenneth Dixon, Louisiana Tech vs. Illinois | 2014 (Dec.) |
| Kickoff Return | 49, Marcus Sullivan, UNLV vs. North Texas | 2014 (Jan.) |
| Punt Return | 64, Josh Steward, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue | 2013 |
| Interception Return | 69, Xavier Woods, Louisiana Tech vs. Illinois (TD) | 2014 (Dec.) |
| Fumble Return | 37, Daytawion Lowe, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue (TD) | 2013 |
| Punt | 65, Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue | 2013 |
| Field Goal | 50, Matt Hogan, Houston vs. Penn State | 2012 |
Note: Only the most recent year shown.
Broadcasting
ESPNU has had coverage of the first two games.