The Cure Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game that has been played in December of each year since 2015 in Orlando, Florida. It is currently held at FBC Mortgage Stadium, and in the past has been held at Camping World Stadium and Exploria Stadium. The Cure Bowl is so named to promote awareness and research of breast cancer, with proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The Cure Bowl usually features teams from the American Athletic Conference and the Sun Belt Conference. It is currently sponsored by StaffDNA and is officially known as the StaffDNA Cure Bowl.

Cure Bowl
StaffDNA Cure Bowl
StadiumFBC Mortgage Stadium
LocationOrlando, Florida
Previous stadiums
Operated2015–present
Conference tie-insThe American, Sun Belt
PayoutUS$573,125 (2019)[1]
Sponsors
Former names
  • AutoNation Cure Bowl (2015–2018)
  • FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl (2019–2020)
  • Tailgreeter Cure Bowl (2021)
  • Duluth Trading Cure Bowl (2022)
  • Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl (2023)
2022 matchup
UTSA vs. Troy (Troy 18–12)
2023 matchup
Appalachian State vs. Miami (OH)
(Appalachian State 13–9)

History

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The game has tie-ins with the American Athletic Conference (The American) and the Sun Belt Conference. The inaugural game took place on December 19, 2015,[2] featuring the San Jose State Spartans from the Mountain West Conference and the Georgia State Panthers of the Sun Belt Conference. A Mountain West team was invited to the bowl due to The American not having enough bowl-eligible teams to fill the tie-in.[3]

During the planning stages, it was originally proposed to hold the game at Bright House Networks Stadium (now known as FBC Mortgage Stadium) on the campus of UCF.[4] However, it was later decided to hold the game at the newly-renovated Camping World Stadium in downtown Orlando, joining the Camping World Bowl and the Citrus Bowl as annual bowl games at the venue.[5] The game was at held Camping World Stadium in 2015–2018 and 2020,[6] and at Exploria Stadium in 2019, 2021–2022.[7] Beginning in 2023, it will move to FBC Mortgage Stadium at UCF.

The game was acquired by ESPN Events in May 2020.[8] The 2020 edition of the bowl, between Liberty and Coastal Carolina, became the first Cure Bowl to go to overtime.

Sponsorship

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From its inaugural playing in 2015 through 2018, the game was sponsored by AutoNation and was known as the AutoNation Cure Bowl.[9] In December 2019, FBC Mortgage became the new title sponsor, making the game the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl.[10] In December 2020, FBC Mortgage renewed its sponsorship of the bowl.[11] On December 2, 2021, digital marketplace Tailgreeter became the new sponsor of the bowl, making the game the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl.[12] On June 29, 2022, Duluth Trading Company was announced as the new title sponsor for the Duluth Trading Cure Bowl.[13] On October 31, 2023, Avocados From Mexico, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mexican Hass Avocado Importers Association, became the new title sponsor of the game.[14] On May 28, 2024, StaffDNA became the new title sponsor of the game.[15]

Game results

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All rankings are taken from the AP Poll prior to the game being played.

DateWinning TeamLosing TeamVenueAttendanceNotes
December 19, 2015San Jose State27Georgia State16Camping World Stadium18,536notes
December 17, 2016Arkansas State31UCF1327,213notes
December 16, 2017Georgia State27Western Kentucky1719,585notes
December 15, 2018Tulane41Louisiana2419,066notes
December 21, 2019Liberty23Georgia Southern16Exploria Stadium18,158notes
December 26, 202023 Liberty379 Coastal Carolina34OTCamping World Stadium 4,488notes
December 17, 2021Coastal Carolina47Northern Illinois41Exploria Stadium9,784notes
December 16, 202223 Troy1822 UTSA1211,911notes
December 16, 2023Appalachian State13Miami (OH)9FBC Mortgage Stadium11,121notes

Source:[16]

MVPs

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YearMVPTeamPosition
2015Kenny PotterSan Jose StateQB
2016Kendall SandersArkansas StateWR
2017Conner ManningGeorgia StateQB
2018Darius BradwellTulaneRB
2019Jessie LemonierLibertyDE
2020Malik WillisLibertyQB
2021Grayson McCallCoastal CarolinaQB
2022KJ RobertsonTroyLB
2023Anderson CastleAppalachian StateRB

Source:[17]

Most appearances

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Updated through the December 2023 edition (9 games, 18 total appearances).

Teams with multiple appearances
TeamAppearancesRecordWin pct.
Liberty22–01.000
Georgia State21–10.500
Coastal Carolina21–10.500
Teams with a single appearance

Won (5): Appalachian State, Arkansas State, San Jose State, Troy, Tulane
Lost (7): Georgia Southern, Louisiana, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, UCF, UTSA, Western Kentucky

Appearances by conference

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Updated through the December 2023 edition (9 games, 18 total appearances).

ConferenceRecordAppearances by season
GamesWLWin pct.WonLost
Sun Belt954.5562016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 20232015, 2018, 2019, 2020
Independents2201.0002019, 2020 
The American211.50020182016
C-USA202.000 2017, 2022
MAC202.000 2021, 2023
Mountain West1101.0002015 

Independent appearances: Liberty (2019, 2020)

Game records

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TeamPerformance vs. OpponentYear
Most points scored47, Coastal Carolina vs. Northern Illinois2021
Fewest points allowed9, Miami (OH) vs. Appalachian State2023
Margin of victory18, Arkansas State vs. UCF2016
First downs29, Northern Illinois vs. Coastal Carolina2021
Rushing yards337, Tulane vs. Louisiana2015
Passing yards351, Western Kentucky vs. Georgia State2017
Most points scored (losing team)41, Northern Illinois vs. Coastal Carolina2021
Most points scored (both teams)88, Coastal Carolina vs. Northern Illinois2021
Fewest yards allowed223, UCF vs. Arkansas State2016
Fewest rushing yards allowed-2, Western Kentucky vs. Georgia State2017
Fewest passing yards allowed44, Miami (OH) vs. Appalachian State2023
IndividualPlayer, TeamYear
Points scored24, shared by:
Malik Willis (Liberty)
Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina)

2020
2021
Passing touchdowns4, Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina)2021
Rushing yards180, Rashad Amos (Miami (OH))2023
Passing yards351, Mike White (Western Kentucky)2017
Receiving yards178, Jaivon Heiligh (Coastal Carolina)2020
Rushing touchdowns4, Malik Willis (Liberty)2020
Receiving touchdowns3, Kendall Sanders (Arkansas State)2016
Tackles14, shared by:
Demeitre Brim (UCF)
Silas Kelly (Coastal Carolina)
Carlton Martial (Troy)

2016
2021
2022
Sacks2, shared by:
Rolland Jones (Arkansas State)
Ceridor McKendry (Georgia State)
Zachery Harris (Tulane)
Trey Moore (Troy)

2016
2017
2018
2022
Interceptions1, by multiple players—most recent:
Yashyn McKee (Miami (OH))

2023
Long PlaysRecord, Player, Team vs. OpponentYear
Touchdown run60 yds., Braydon Bennett (Coastal Carolina)2021
Touchdown pass75 yds., Justice Hansen to Kendall Sanders (Arkansas State)2016
Kickoff return41 yds., Trayvon Rudolph (Northern Illinois)2018
Punt return85 yds., Tyler Ervin (San Jose State)2015
Interception return63 yds., Bralen Trahan (Louisiana)2018
Fumble return8 yds., Dre Pinckney (Coastal Carolina)2021
Punt70 yds., Wil Lutz (Georgia State)2015
Field goal46 yds., Alex Probert (Liberty)2019

Source:[18]

Media coverage

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Television

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The game was initially televised by CBS Sports Network, making it one of the few bowl games to not be televised by an ESPN network. Following the bowl's acquisition by ESPN Events in 2020, broadcasting moved to ESPN.[19]

DateNetworkPlay-by-play announcersColor commentatorsSideline reporters
2015CBS Sports NetworkCarter BlackburnAaron TaylorJenny Dell
2016
2017
2018
2019John Schriffen
2020ESPNRoy PhilpottKelly StoufferAlex Chappell
2021ESPN2Mike MorganKirk MorrisonDawn Davenport
2022ESPNBeth MowinsStormy Buonantony
2023ABCBob WischusenRobert Griffin IIIKris Budden

Radio

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DateNetworkPlay-by-play announcersColor commentatorsSideline reporters
2015iHeartRadioPaul KennedyMax StarksJamie Seh
2016Touchdown RadioBernie GuentherGino Torretta
2017JP Shadrick
2018
2019[20]Bowlday RadioJamie SehDani WelniakMelanie Newman
2020[21]First Team RadioTenitra Batiste
2021Bowl Season RadioLandry BurdineDespina Barton
2022
2023Rene Ingoglia

See also

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References

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