The 2023-24 College Football Bowl season is here. Football fans will be treated to roughly 41 bowl games starting on December 16 and concluding with the College Football Playoff on January 1.
With so many bowl games, it’s hard to keep track of which teams are playing in which bowls. Additionally, the modern-day college football landscape has seen a shift where some of the top players of the sport skip their bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft.
With that said, there’s one thing that we can always count on during bowl season – funny bowl game names. We’ve compiled a list of the weirdest bowl game names that will not only make you laugh out loud, but also have you scratching your head in bewilderment.
However, it’s not only past bowl games that have made this list, the 2023-24 bowl season has also provided us with a few additions of funny college football bowl game names.
Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl (2023)
The Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl is a new addition to our list of the funniest bowl game names. The Cure Bowl was introduced to the college football bowl circuit in 2015. Initially held at Camping World Stadium, the Cure Bowl will be hosted at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando, Florida, in 2023.
The Cure Bowl hasn’t always had funny bowl game names. From 2015 to 2018, the game was known as the AutoNation Cure Bowl. Since then, several companies have taken turns being the title sponsor. FCB Mortgage, Tailgreeter, and the Duluth Trading Company have all sponsored the Cure Bowl.
In 2023, Avocados From Mexico was signed as the title sponsor for the Cure Bowl. No disrespect to the other companies, but the Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl makes the cut for our list of the funniest bowl game names ever.
The meaning behind the Cure Bowl is anything but a joke, though. Corporate leaders and philanthropists conceived the Cure Bowl to bring attention and raise money for breast cancer research. From 2015 to 2023, the Orlando Sports Foundation has donated over $4.1 million to the charitable cause.
On December 16, 2023, the eighth edition of the Cure Bowl will kick off at 3:30 p.m. EST. The Cure Bowl is typically played between teams from the AAC and Sun Belt.
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Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl (2017)
The Boca Raton Bowl served up one of the funniest bowl game names, if not the best name, in NCAAF College Bowl game history. In 2017, college football fans were treated to the Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl.
The game was played between the Conference USA champion, Florida Atlantic University Owls, (FAU) and Akron Zips. The MAC East Division champion Zips opened up as 17-point underdogs for the game with heavy Owls’ money driving the point spread up to 22½.
In the end, the big line movement didn’t matter for the December 19, 2017, game as FAU hammered Akron, 50-3 at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton. The Owls scored seven TDs, while allowing just a Zips’ field goal. QB Jason Driskle was named Offensive MVP for the game.
Sponsored by the Cheribundi beverage company, it was the fourth edition of the Boca Raton Bowl. This year, the game is known as the RoofLine.com Boca Raton Bowl. The RoofLine.com Boca Raton Bowl is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. EST kickoff at FAU Stadium, on December 21, 2023.
Cheribundi is a private company based in Greenwich, Connecticut, that specializes in tart cherry juice beverages known to be high in antioxidants and phytonutrients and ideal for athletes with benefits from joint inflammation and muscle fatigue.
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl (2017-2019)
The Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl is a great bowl game name, but this bowl has had other funny names and history behind it as well. The first iteration of this game was the St. Petersburg Bowl in 2008 and the game has always been played in the Tampa area.
In 2017, the bowl was renamed the Gasparilla Bowl after the mythical pirate Jose Gaspar, the inspiration behind Tampa’s Gasparilla Pirate Festival. From 2010 to 2013, this game was named the “Beef O’Brady’s Bowl”, which also deserves a mention on our list of funny bowl game names.
In 2008, this game was sponsored by magicJack and in 2014, it was sponsored by Bit Pay. Bad Boy Mowers sadly ended its sponsorship of this bowl game in 2019.
Currently, the game is played at Raymond James Stadium, which is home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On December 23, 2023, the 2023 UnionHome Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl will be played at 6:30 p.m. EST. We miss you Bad Boy.
Pop-Tarts Bowl (2023)
Formally known as the Cheez-It Bowl, Kellogg’s is changing things up for the 2023 bowl game. Instead of using the Cheez-It brand as the title sponsor, the Pop-Tarts brand is being introduced for their Orlando-based college football bowl game.
Also known as the Blockbuster Bowl, Tangerine Bowl, and Russell Athletic Bowl in past years, the Pop-Tarts Bowl features a solid matchup between teams from the ACC and Big 12. Despite the weird bowl game name and the CFP National Championship not being on the line, this bowl generally features a decent matchup.
Last year, the Florida State Seminoles and Oklahoma Sooners met in the final edition of the Cheez-It Bowl. Florida State narrowly beat Oklahoma in an entertaining game by a final score of 35-32.
On December 28, 2023, the inaugural Pop-Tarts Bowl will be played at Camping World Stadium. Whether it’s Pop-Tarts or Cheez-It, this bowl game easily makes it on our shortlist of the most ridiculous bowl game names.
Buying Pop-Tarts is not required for betting on the Pop-Tarts Bowl. We must admit, though, that this sponsorship deal is making us want to go out and buy a box of Pop-Tarts.
However, if you are more interested in betting on the Pop-Tarts Bowl, we suggest checking out what BetUS is offering for the 2023 bowl game. BetUS has one of the best college football betting bonuses for 2023. New members and first-time deposits are eligible for a lucrative 100% welcome bonus of up to $2,500.
Refrigerator Bowl (1948-1956)
Played in Evansville, Indiana, from 1948 to 1956, the Refrigerator Bowl has one of the best bowl names ever. Why Refrigerator? Because at that point in history, Evansville manufactured more refrigerators (3,800 units daily) than any other city.
Now, Evansville, Indiana, has a population of 118,414 people, doesn’t make as many refrigerators as it used to and has no major college bowl game being played there. Let’s all shed a sad “Winter is Coming” tear (that will freeze) for the Refrigerator Bowl.
The Refrigerator Bowl was won twice by the locals of Evansville (1948 and 1949) and also featured smaller colleges like Gustavus Adolphus, Camp Breckenridge, and College of Idaho.
Raisin Bowl (1946-1949)
Raisin Bran would have been the perfect sponsor for the Raisin Bowl, played in 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949 from Ratcliffe Stadium in Fresno, California. The games from 1946 to 1948 were played on New Year’s Eve with the 1949 game played on New Year’s Day.
Not to be confused with the California Raisin Bowl, also later staged in Fresno, the Raisin Bowl featured one team from California playing another at-large opponent. Teams from the Golden State won four of the five Raisin Bowls with San Jose State winning twice.
The only college from outside of the state of California to win the Raisin Bowl was Drake (Iowa) who edged Fresno State by one point in the inaugural Raisin Bowl, 13-12 in 1946.
Glass Bowl (1946-1949)
The Glass Bowl was played from 1946 through 1949, appropriately at the University of Toledo’s Glass Bowl in Toledo, Ohio. Why “Glass”, you ask? Because Toledo was a major hub for glass manufacturing.
A shipyard worker, Wayne Kohn, suggested to municipal workers that a “Glass Bowl” would be a good way to promote Toledo’s greatest export at the time and enhance the Ohio city’s image. And the Glass Bowl was born. Thanks, Wayne.
Toledo played in, and won the first three Glass Bowls, beating Bates, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma City, but the Rockets’ hopes of Glass Bowl perfection were shattered, like all glasses, when Cincinnati defeated them in the postseason affair in 1949 by a 33-13 score.
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl (2021-Present)
Like the Pop-Tarts Bowl, the Sun Bowl also has a Kellogg’s product sponsor, the breakfast cereal we know and love called Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes. And we all know that lovable, “They’rrre Great!” mascot for the cereal, Tony the Tiger. Tony would make for a great linebacker.
In 2021, the Sun Bowl organizers let Tony out of his animated cage. After Miami (Florida) canceled its appearance due to COVID-19, Central Michigan was named as the Hurricanes’ replacement to face Washington State at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
The Chippewas upset Washington State, 24-21 in front of 34,540 fans at the Sun Bowl. On December 29, 2023, the fourth Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl will be played in El Paso Texas, with kickoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m. EST. The ACC and Pac-12 are affiliated with the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.
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Salad Bowl (1947-1955)
The Salad Bowl is one of the funniest college bowl game names, but like the Refrigerator, Raisin, and Glass, the Salad Bowl is no more.
Salad has a short shelf life. Soggy lettuce leaves are as worthless as dry raked leaves, although you can use dry leaves to start a fire.
The Salad Bowl was played at Montgomery Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona, in the 1940s and 1950s. It was sponsored by the city of Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun Kiwanis Club.
In 1952, the Salad Bowl stopped inviting College teams and saw service schools participate in 1953 and 1954, In 1955, the Salad Bowl was an all-star game.
Arizona State, from the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, lost the Salad Bowl twice. In a great service game of 1953, San Diego Naval Station (San Diego NTC) shipwrecked Camp Breckenridge by 61 points (81-20).
Poulan Weed-Eater Independence Bowl (1990-1997)
The Poulan Weed-Eater Independence Bowl is also one of the funniest college bowl game names. With nine syllables, 26 letters, and an intermission for those of us tired after the word “Eater.” Because of so many syllables, Congress voted to abolish this game (I lied).
In fact, the Independence Bowl is one of the oldest active college bowl games. Since 1976, the Independence Bowl has been on the annual college bowl calendar.
The first thing to do here is to explain exactly what a “Weed-Eater” is. It is a loud tool used to cut grass and plants. It has a long, thin handle and spinning plastic cables at the bottom that are used to trim hard-to-reach lawn spots and bushes.
The Independence Bowl is now sponsored by Radiance Technologies, who own the naming rights until 2025. The upcoming 2023 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl is set to take place at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, on December 16, 2023.
Kickoff is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. EST. It should be a quality matchup, as the Pac-12 and Big 12 are expected to be represented in the game.
In 1990, the inaugural Poulan Weed-Eater Independence Bowl saw Louisiana Tech defeat Maryland. SEC heavyweight, LSU Tigers, won the Poulan Weed-Eater Independence Bowl twice (1995 and 1997), as they defeated Michigan State and Notre Dame respectively.
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl (2013-2015)
The Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl was not named after the greatest musician in US history, his Royal Purple Badness, Prince Rogers Nelson. Instead, it was named after an American automotive and industrial lubricant manufacturer from Porter, Texas.
In the 2013 Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl, USC knocked off No. 21 Fresno State. Utah won the 2014 and 2015 editions of the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl, beating Colorado State and BYU. So, the Pac-12 was a perfect 3-0 in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl.
First played in 1992, the Las Vegas Bowl was originally held at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada. This game moved to Allegiant Stadium, which is the home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
This year, SRS Distribution is sponsoring the Las Vegas Bowl. While it doesn’t have quite the same ring as the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl, we should have a solid game.
The SRS Distribution Las Vegas is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. EST kickoff on December 23, 2023. Teams from the Big Ten and Pac-12 will converge in Las Vegas for this ABC-televised matchup.
What’s Your Favorite Funny College Bowl Game Name?
There have been many other great names that could be on our list of the funniest bowl game names.
Other funny college bowl game names are the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl, the Quick Lane Bowl, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, the TaxSlayer Bowl, the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl, and the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, which will feature NC State and Maryland meeting on Friday, December 30.
Let us know what you think are the funniest college football bowl games. Additionally, head over to our NCAAF A.I. picks section for the upcoming bowl season.
