After three seasons as the Cheez-It Bowl, Florida Citrus Sports announced on Wednesday the annual college football postseason game held at Camping World Stadium in Orlando has been renamed the Pop-Tarts Bowl. That’s not to be confused with the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, which takes place in the same venue each year.
“Since turning toast and jam into an ingenious toaster pastry almost 60 yard ago, Pop-Tarts has always been about making the world more fun,” senior director of marketing Heidi Ray said. “We’re ecstatic to be the new title sponsor of the Pop-Tarts Bowl with our partners at Florida Citrus Sports and cannot wait to host Crazy Good experiences for fans and players alike in Orlando, and for those joining us at home.”
This year’s Pop-Tarts Bowl will be the 34th edition of the game, which was previously sponsored by Blockbuster (1990-93), Carquest (1994-97), MicronPC (1998-2000), Florida Tourism (2001), Mazda (2002-03), Champs Sports (2004-11), Russell Athletic (2012-16), Camping World (2017-19) and Cheez-It (2020-22).
Florida State defeated Oklahoma, 35-32, in last year’s game, which was the second-most-watched postseason game outside of the New Year’s Six and College Football Playoff National Championship with more than 5.4 million viewers. The 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl will take place on Dec. 28 at 5:45 p.m. ET on ESPN, pitting members of the ACC and Big XII.
“We’re excited to partner with Pop-Tarts and look forward to welcoming another one of America’s most beloved brands to Orlando,” Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan said. “The best bowl trip in college football only gets better with the Most Valuable Pastry on your tea, so get ready for unforgettable experiences at the Pop-Tarts Bowl debut this December.”
As mentioned, Cheez-It will continue to be the title sponsor of the Citrus Bowl, which is the seventh-longest running postseason bowl game, played annually since 1947. This year’s game – the second with Cheez-It as the sponsor – will take place on Jan. 1 at 1 p.m. ET on ABC and will once again feature a matchup of teams from the Big Ten and SEC.