Frisco Bowl
| Frisco Bowl | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Stadium | Ford Center at The Star |
| Location | Frisco, Texas |
| Previous stadiums | Toyota Stadium (2017–2024) |
| Operated | 2017–present |
| Conference tie-ins | American Conference |
| Payout | US$650,000 (2019)[1] |
| Website | thefriscobowl |
| Preceded by | Miami Beach Bowl |
| Sponsors | |
| Former names | |
DXL Frisco Bowl (2017–2018) Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl (2019–2021) Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl (2023–2025) | |
| 2025 matchup | |
| UNLV vs. Ohio (Ohio 17–10) | |
The Frisco Bowl is an annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctioned post-season Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football bowl game played in Frisco, Texas, since December 2017. The bowl has a tie-in with the American Conference, and chooses another team at-large. From 2017–2024, the bowl was played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco; starting in 2025, the game was relocated to the nearby Ford Center at The Star.
DXL was the bowl's inaugural sponsor from 2017 to 2018, followed by Tropical Smoothie Cafe from 2019 to 2021, and Scooter's Coffee from 2023 to 2025.
History
[edit]
On April 21, 2017, it was announced that the Miami Beach Bowl—which had been owned and operated by the American Athletic Conference (The American)—had been sold to ESPN Events and that it would relocate to Frisco, Texas, to be played in Toyota Stadium starting in the 2017 season.[2] On November 8, 2017, it was announced that Destination XL Group, a retailer specializing in big and tall menswear, had signed on as the inaugural title sponsor of the bowl.[3] On December 3, 2017, SMU and Louisiana Tech were announced as the teams for the inaugural playing of the bowl.[4] In 2019, Tropical Smoothie Cafe became the new title sponsor.[5] In 2023, Scooter's Coffee became the new title sponsor.[6]
The 2020 Frisco Bowl was originally set to be contested by the SMU Mustangs, from The American, and the UTSA Roadrunners, from Conference USA.[7][8] The game was slated to be the first matchup between the two teams.[9] Two days after the matchup was announced, the 2020 edition was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns with the SMU football team.[10][11]
The 2025 edition of the bowl was relocated to the Ford Center at The Star to accommodate renovations at Toyota Stadium,[12] and the 2026 edition will be played at the Ford Center as well.
Conference tie-ins
[edit]Initial planning had been to have teams from The American face a Sun Belt opponent in 2017 and 2019, and face a Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponent in 2018.[2] In 2017, the inaugural game featured a matchup between The American and Conference USA (C-USA).
The Frisco Bowl then secured an affiliation with The American through the 2021 season, with opponents to be selected at-large. The 2018 matchup featured teams from the MAC and Mountain West, as The American was unable to provide a team, due to its champion, UCF, receiving a New Year's Six bowl bid.[13] MAC and Mountain West teams again met in 2019,[14] as The American's champion, Memphis, again received a New Year's Six bid.
Game results
[edit]Rankings per AP Poll prior to the game being played.
| Date | Winning Team | Losing Team | Attendance | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 20, 2017 | Louisiana Tech | 51 | SMU | 10 | 14,419 | notes |
| December 19, 2018 | Ohio | 27 | San Diego State | 0 | 11,029 | notes |
| December 20, 2019 | Kent State | 51 | Utah State | 41 | 12,120 | notes |
| December 19, 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | [11] | ||||
| December 21, 2021 | San Diego State | 38 | No. 24 UTSA | 24 | 15,801 | notes |
| December 17, 2022 | Boise State | 35 | North Texas | 32 | 12,211 | notes |
| December 19, 2023 | UTSA | 35 | Marshall | 17 | 11,215 | notes |
| December 17, 2024 | No. 25 Memphis | 42 | West Virginia | 37 | 12,022 | notes |
| December 23, 2025 | Ohio | 17 | UNLV | 10 | 6,521 | notes |
Source:[15]
MVPs
[edit]| Year | Offensive MVP | Defensive MVP | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | College | Position | Player | College | Position | ||
| 2017 | J'Mar Smith | Louisiana Tech | QB | Amik Robertson | Louisiana Tech | CB | [16] |
| 2018 | A. J. Ouellette | Ohio | RB | Evan Croutch | Ohio | LB | [17] |
| 2019 | Dustin Crum | Kent State | QB | Qwuantrezz Knight | Kent State | DB | [18] |
| 2021 | Jesse Matthews | San Diego State | WR | CJ Baskerville | San Diego State | S | [19] |
| 2022 | Taylen Green | Boise State | QB | Ezekial Noa | Boise State | LB | [20] |
| 2023 | Joshua Cephus | UTSA | WR | Kam Alexander | UTSA | CB | [21] |
| 2024 | Seth Henigan | Memphis | QB | Chandler Martin | Memphis | LB | [22] |
| 2025 | Sieh Bangura | Ohio | RB | Adonis Williams Jr. | Ohio | S | |
Appearances by team
[edit]Updated through the December 2025 edition (8 games, 16 total appearances).
- Teams with multiple appearances
| Rank | Team | Appearances | Record | Win pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio | 2 | 2–0 | 1.000 |
| San Diego State | 2 | 1–1 | .500 | |
| UTSA | 2 | 1–1 | .500 |
- Teams with a single appearance
Won (4): Boise State, Kent State, Louisiana Tech, Memphis
Lost (6): Marshall, North Texas, SMU, UNLV, Utah State, West Virginia
Appearances by conference
[edit]Updated through the December 2025 edition (8 games, 16 total appearances).
| Conference | Record | Appearances by season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | W | L | Win pct. | Won | Lost | |
| Mountain West | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | 2021, 2022 | 2018, 2019, 2025 |
| MAC | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 2018, 2019, 2025 | |
| American | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 2023, 2024 | 2017 |
| C-USA | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 2017 | 2021, 2022 |
| Big 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2024 | |
| Sun Belt | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2023 | |
Game records
[edit]| Team | Record, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Most points scored (one team) | 51, shared by: Louisiana Tech vs. SMU Kent State vs. Utah State |
2017 2019 |
| Most points scored (losing team) | 41, Utah State vs. Kent State | 2019 |
| Most points scored (both teams) | 92, Kent State vs. Utah State | 2019 |
| Fewest points scored | 0, San Diego State vs. Ohio | 2018 |
| Largest margin of victory | 41, Louisiana Tech vs. SMU | 2017 |
| Total yards | 550, Kent State vs. Utah State | 2019 |
| Rushing yards | 318, Boise State vs. North Texas | 2022 |
| Passing yards | 333, San Diego State vs. UTSA | 2021 |
| First downs | 31, San Diego State vs. UTSA | 2021 |
| Fewest yards allowed | 281, Ohio vs. UNLV | 2025 |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | 97, Ohio vs. UNLV | 2025 |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | 127, Louisiana Tech vs. SMU | 2017 |
| Individual | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Total offense | 436, Dustin Crum (Kent State) | 2019 |
| All-purpose yards | 227, Juwan Washington (San Diego State) | 2018 |
| Total Touchdowns | 4, shared by: J'Mar Smith (Louisiana Tech) Lucas Johnson (San Diego State) | 2017 2021 |
| Touchdowns (all-purpose) | 2, multiple players | |
| Rushing yards | 178, Ashton Jeanty (Boise State) | 2022 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 2, shared by: Nathan Rourke (Ohio) Taylen Green (Boise State) Ikaika Ragsdale (North Texas) CJ Donaldson Jr. (West Virginia) | 2018 2022 2022 2024 |
| Passing yards | 333, Lucas Johnson (San Diego State) | 2021 |
| Passing touchdowns | 3, shared by: J'Mar Smith (Louisiana Tech) Jordan Love (Utah State) Lucas Johnson (San Diego State) | 2017 2019 2021 |
| Receptions | 11, shared by: Jesse Matthews (San Diego State) Hudson Clement (West Virginia) | 2021 2024 |
| Receiving yards | 175, Jesse Matthews (San Diego State) | 2021 |
| Receiving touchdowns | 2, shared by: Teddy Veal (Louisiana Tech) Siaosi Mariner (Utah State) Jesse Matthews (San Diego State) Hudson Clement (West Virginia) | 2017 2019 2021 2024 |
| Tackles | 14, Troy Lefeged Jr. (Utah State) | 2019 |
| Sacks | 2, Nick Heninger (Utah State) | 2019 |
| Interceptions | 1, multiple players | |
| Long Plays | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Touchdown run | 57 yds., Deven Thompkins (Utah State) | 2019 |
| Touchdown pass | 78 yds., Dustin Crum to Isaiah McKoy (Kent State) | 2019 |
| Kickoff return | 65 yds,, Jaqwis Dancy (Louisiana Tech) | 2017 |
| Punt return | 30 yds., Kylan Nelson (Ohio) | 2018 |
| Interception return | 52 yds., Ezekiel Noa (Boise State) | 2022 |
| Fumble return | 8 yds., Eric Kendzior (Louisiana Tech) | 2017 |
| Punt | 56 yds., Magnus Haines (Ohio) | 2025 |
| Field goal | 50 yds., Ramon Villela (UNLV) | 2025 |
Media coverage
[edit]The bowl has been televised by ESPN or ESPN2 since its inception.
References
[edit]- ↑ "2019 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- 1 2 McMurphy, Brett (April 21, 2017). "Miami Beach Bowl moving to Frisco, Texas". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ↑ "DXL Men's Apparel Named Title Sponsor for Inaugural Frisco Bowl". thefriscobowl.com. November 8, 2017. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
- ↑ "SMU AND LOUISIANA TECH SELECTED TO PLAY IN INAUGURAL 2017 DXL FRISCO BOWL". dxlfriscobowl.com (Press release). December 3, 2017. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
- ↑ Lind, Andrew (December 19, 2019). "Tropical Smoothie Cafe Takes Over As Title Sponsor Of Frisco Bowl". sportslogos.net. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ↑ Reports, 6 News Staff (July 31, 2023). "Frisco Bowl welcomes Scooter's Coffee as new title sponsor". WOWT.com. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "SMU football will finish season with Frisco Bowl appearance on Dec. 19". Dallas News. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ↑ "UTSA headed to Frisco Bowl to face SMU". MySanAntonio. December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
- ↑ "Winsipedia - SMU Mustangs vs. UTSA Roadrunners football series history". Winsipedia. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
- ↑ "Frisco Bowl Canceled Over SMU COVID-19 Protocols, Organizers Say". NBC DFW. December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
- 1 2 "Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl Canceled; UTSA to Play in SERVPRO First Responder Bowl". thefriscobowl.com (Press release). December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
- ↑ Guzmán Castaños, Marlenys (August 29, 2025). "Frisco Bowl Moves To Ford Center At The Star For 2025". Local Profile. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
- ↑ Phillips, Troy (December 7, 2018). "2018 DXL Frisco Bowl Preview". dxlfriscobowl.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- ↑ "Utah State Accepts Invite to Frisco Bowl Against Kent State". theFriscoBowl.com. December 8, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- ↑ "Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl" (PDF). Bowl/All Star Game Records. NCAA. 2020. p. 17. Retrieved January 3, 2021 – via NCAA.org.
- ↑ "Smith, Robertson named MVPs in LA Tech's Frisco bowl victory". ESPN. December 2017.
- ↑ @MACSports (December 19, 2018). "MVP's of the Game!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ "Flashes Win First Bowl Game in Program History". kentstatesports.com. December 21, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
- ↑ @ohrnberger (December 21, 2021). "Jesse Matthews wins the offensive MVP, CJ Baskerville wins the defensive MVP for the 2021 Frisco Bowl" (Tweet). Retrieved December 22, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "2022 Frisco Bowl Postgame Notes". thefriscobowl.com. December 17, 2022.
- ↑ @GregLuca (December 20, 2023). "UTSA's Joshua Cephus named the Offensive MVP of the Frisco Bowl, with cornerback Kam Alexander collecting Defensive MVP honors" (Tweet). Retrieved December 20, 2023 – via X (formerly Twitter).
- ↑ @TheJonahDylan (December 18, 2024). "Frisco Bowl" (Tweet). Retrieved December 18, 2024 – via X (formerly Twitter).