One of college football's oldest bowl games returns to prominence this year. For the first time in 40 years, ABC will air the Gator Bowl in primetime. The Gator Bowl will cap an action-packed December 27th with a 7:30 kickoff on ABC. The kickoff time and network designation marks the bowl's return to over-the-air (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW) for the first time since the 2010 edition aired on CBS and its return to ABC for the first time in 40 years.
The Gator Bowl was once a staple of over-the-air TV. After CBS televised the Gator Bowl for the first time in 1955, the game aired on over-the-air-TV for the next 32 years, alternating between CBS, ABC, and NBC. After Monday Night Football became popular, the network placed the Gator Bowl in primetime beginning in 1973. The Gator Bowl was a much-anticipated game on the college football calendar during its primetime run from 1973-1985, featuring an AP-ranked team every year and top-ten teams in seven of those years.
Since leaving ABC after the 1985 edition, the Gator Bowl had not received an over-the-air prime time slot. After a two-year stint on CBS in 1986 and 1987, the game aired on cable from 1988 to 1994 until returning to over-the-air television through a contract with NBC. The game stayed on NBC until the 2006 game before moving to CBS for the subsequent three editions. After the CBS contract expired, the game returned to cable television, where it stayed ever since.
While there are still plenty of uncertainties in the future of Bowl Season, it is refreshing to see one of college football's oldest bowl games return to its former status. Since moving off New Year's Day and over-the-air television, the Gator Bowl has lost its status among the college football postseason's elder statesmen. Hopefully, the return to ABC primetime after four decades can help the bowl gain back some prestige.