TaxSlayer Bowl: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

The TaxSlayer Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. (The stadium was originally named the Gator Bowl and this game was originally known as The Gator Bowl game), it has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally. TaxSlayer.com became the title sponsor in 2011 and the bowl took its current name in 2014 after a new contract. The bowl is operated by Gator Bowl Sports and will be played on January 2 starting in 2015. According to writer Anthony C. DiMarco, Charles Hilty, Sr. first conceived of the event. Hilty, together with Ray McCarthy, Maurice Cherry, and W. C. Ivey, put up $10,000 to underwrite the first game, which was held at Jacksonville's football stadium, Fairfield Stadium, on January 1, 1946. The first two years of the event did not sell out the small capacity stadium, drawing only 7,362 to the 1946 match when the Wake Forest Demon Deacons defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks, 26–14. The stadium was expanded in 1948 and renamed the Gator Bowl Stadium in honor of the event. However, it was not until the 1949 match-up between the Clemson Tigersand the Missouri Tigers that the future of the Gator Bowl was assured. The 1948 attendance of 16,666 for a 20–20 tie between Maryland and Georgia, was nearly doubled with 32,939 watching Clemson squeak by Missouri, 24–23, on a late field goal by Jack Miller. By the 1970s, the attendance regularly reached 60,000–70,000.

Series details

• Title: TaxSlayer Bowl
• Format: Sports
• Language: English
• Premiere date: 1946-01-01
• Status in TVmaze: Running
• Network listed by TVmaze: ESPN
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 210 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 11103

Cast and credited roles

• Bob Wischusen — Play-by-Play Commentator
• Louis Riddick — Analyst
• Kris Budden — Sideline Reporter
• Wes Durham — Play-by-Play Commentator
• Dave Pasch — Play-by-Play Commentator
• Tim Hasselbeck — Analyst
• Dusty Dvoracek — Analyst
• Taylor Tannebaum — Reporter
• Taylor McGregor — Reporter

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1946: premiered 1946-01-01; final listed air date 1946-01-01.
• Season 2015: premiered 2016-01-02; final listed air date 2016-01-02.
• Season 2016: premiered 2016-12-31; final listed air date 2016-12-31.
• Season 2020: premiered 2021-01-02; final listed air date 2021-01-02.
• Season 2021: premiered 2021-12-31; final listed air date 2021-12-31; episode order: 1.
• Season 2022: premiered 2022-12-30; final listed air date 2022-12-30; episode order: 1.
• Season 2023: premiered 2023-12-29; final listed air date 2023-12-29; episode order: 1.
• Season 2024: premiered 2025-01-02; final listed air date 2025-01-02.
• Season 2025: premiered 2025-12-27; final listed air date 2025-12-27; episode order: 1.
• Season 2026: premiered 2026-12-30; final listed air date 2026-12-30; episode order: 1.

Source and licence

Adapted from TaxSlayer Bowl on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.