Gators Headed to Gasparilla Bowl for Battle of Florida with UCF

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – For the fourth-consecutive season and the seventh time in the last-eight years, the Florida Gators football program is bowl bound.

Florida (6-6, 2-6 SEC) will take on UCF (8-4, 5-3 AAC) out of the American Athletic Conference in the United Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 23. Televised on ESPN, kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

This marks the Gators' first-ever appearance in the Gasparilla Bowl, which began in 2008 with 2021 representing the 13th edition of the event. The last time Florida competed in a bowl game in its home state was in 2019, when the Orange & Blue defeated Virginia in the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, 36-28.

Florida is making its 47th all-time bowl appearance, entering the matchup with an all-time record of 24-22 in previous bowl games. The Gators won three-straight bowl games from 2016-19 prior to dropping last year's Cotton Bowl showdown against Oklahoma, 20-55. From 2018-20, Florida played in three-consecutive New Year's Six bowls.

The Gators and Knights have faced off twice in the history of the two programs, with Florida owning a 2-0 record in the series. The most-recent meeting came in the form of a 42-0 Florida victory in 2006, while the only other matchup in the series was in 1999, when the Gators prevailed, 58-27. This year's meeting will be the first time Florida and UCF have met in postseason play, as each of the previous-two games took place at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium during the regular season.

Beginning in 2024, Florida and UCF are set to begin a three-game, two-for-one series. The games will be played in 2024 (Gainesville), 2030 (Orlando, Fla.) and 2033 (Gainesville).

Tickets

The Gator Ticket Office is now accepting priority ticket requests through Dec. 7 and general ticket sales will begin on Dec. 8 at 9 a.m. Visit FloridaGators.com/bowl for details.

2022 Season Tickets

Season tickets for the 2022 season are on sale now. Get details and explore available seats. Have questions on season tickets? Complete this form and a ticket sales representative will reach out shortly. Returning ticket holders can renew their seats from the 2021 season at FloridaGators.com/MyAccount.

Florida Bowl History

Bowl	Site	Date	Opponent	Result	Score
Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, Fla.	Jan. 1, 1953	Tulsa	W	14-13
Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, Fla.	Dec. 27, 1958	Ole Miss	L	3-7
Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, Fla.	Dec. 31, 1960	Baylor	W	13-12
Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, Fla.	Dec. 30, 1962	Penn State	W	17-7
Sugar Bowl	New Orleans, La.	Jan. 1, 1966	Missouri	L	18-20
Orange Bowl	Miami, Fla.	Jan. 1, 1967	Georgia Tech	W	27-12
Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, Fla.	Dec. 27, 1969	Tennessee	W	14-13
Tangerine Bowl	Gainesville	Dec. 22, 1973	Miami (Ohio)	L	7-16
Sugar Bowl	New Orleans, La.	Dec. 31, 1974	Nebraska	L	10-13
Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, Fla.	Dec. 29, 1975	Maryland	L	0-13
Sun Bowl	El Paso, Texas	Jan. 2, 1977	Texas A&M	L	14-37
Tangerine Bowl	Orlando, Fla.	Dec. 20, 1980	Maryland	W	35-20
Peach Bowl	Atlanta, Ga.	Dec. 31, 1981	West Virginia	L	6-26
Bluebonnet Bowl	Houston, Texas	Dec. 31, 1982	Arkansas	L	24-28
Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, Fla.	Dec. 30, 1983	Iowa	W	14-6
Aloha Bowl	Honolulu, Hawaii	Dec. 25, 1987	UCLA	L	16-20
All-American Bowl	Birmingham, Ala.	Dec. 29, 1988	Illinois	W	14-10
Freedom Bowl	Anaheim, Calif.	Dec. 30, 1989	Washington	L	7-34
Sugar Bowl	New Orleans, La.	Jan. 1, 1992	Notre Dame	L	28-39
Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, Fla.	Dec. 31, 1992	N.C. State	W	27-10
Sugar Bowl	New Orleans, La.	Jan. 1, 1994	West Virginia	W	41-7
Sugar Bowl	New Orleans, La.	Jan. 2, 1995	Florida State	L	17-23
Fiesta Bowl	Tempe, Ariz.	Jan. 2, 1996	Nebraska	L	24-62
Sugar Bowl	New Orleans, La.	Jan. 2, 1997	Florida State	W	52-20
Citrus Bowl	Orlando, Fla.	Jan. 1, 1998	Penn State	W	21-6
Orange Bowl	Miami, Fla.	Jan. 2, 1999	Syracuse	W	31-10
Citrus Bowl	Orlando, Fla.	Jan. 1, 2000	Michigan State	L	34-37
Sugar Bowl	New Orleans, La.	Jan. 2, 2001	Miami (Fla.)	L	20-37
Orange Bowl	Miami, Fla.	Jan. 2, 2002	Maryland	W	56-23
Outback Bowl	Tampa, Fla.	Jan. 1, 2003	Michigan	L	30-38
Outback Bowl	Tampa, Fla.	Jan. 1, 2004	Iowa	L	17-37
Peach Bowl	Atlanta, Ga.	Dec. 31, 2004	Miami (Fla.)	L	10-27
Outback Bowl	Tampa, Fla.	Jan. 2, 2006	Iowa	W	31-24
BCS National Championship	Glendale, Ariz.	Jan. 8, 2007	Ohio State	W	41-14
Capital One (Citrus) Bowl	Orlando, Fla.	Jan. 1, 2008	Michigan	L	35-41
BCS National Championship	Miami, Fla.	Jan. 8, 2009	Oklahoma	W	24-14
Sugar Bowl	New Orleans, La.	Jan. 1, 2010	Cincinnati	W	51-24
Outback Bowl	Tampa, Fla.	Jan. 1, 2011	Penn State	W	37-24
Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, Fla.	Jan. 2, 2012	Ohio State	W	24-17
Sugar Bowl	New Orleans, La.	Jan. 2, 2013	Louisville	L	23-33
Birmingham Bowl	Birmingham, Ala.	Jan. 3, 2015	East Carolina	W	28-20
Citrus Bowl	Orlando, Fla.	Jan. 1, 2016	Michigan	L	7-41
Outback Bowl	Tampa, Fla.	Jan. 2, 2017	Iowa	W	30-3
Peach Bowl	Atlanta, Ga.	Dec. 29, 2018	Michigan	W	41-15
Orange Bowl	Miami, Fla.	Dec. 30, 2019	Virginia	W	36-28
Cotton Bowl	Arlington, Tex.	Dec. 30, 2020	Oklahoma	L	20-55

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