to create a new bowl game, the "Champions Bowl," that would play host to the champions of those two conferences. That November, it was officially announced that the Champions Bowl had been awarded to New Orleans under a 12-year contract beginning in 2015, and would retain the Sugar Bowl name (stating that "Champions Bowl" was only a working title). In addition, it was announced that the Sugar Bowl would host one of two national semi-final games every three seasons (in the 2015, 2018, 2021, and 2024 seasons) as part of the new College Football Playoff system replacing the BCS. The game for the 2022 season was moved to December 31, 2022 with a noon ET kickoff; out of respect to the NFL, no bowl games are played on January 1 if it falls on a Sunday, while broadcaster ESPN is also committed to airing Monday Night Football. It was only the sixth edition of the game played on New Year's Eve. Game results Rankings are based on the AP Poll prior to the game being played. Italics denote a tie game Source: Future games denotes game is a College Football Playoff semifinal Most Outstanding Players (Miller-Digby Award) The Miller-Digby Award is presented to the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) in the Sugar Bowl, as voted by sports journalists covering the game. The award was initially established in 1948 following the death of Warren V. Miller, the first president of the Bowl; it was renamed the Miller-Digby Memorial Trophy in 1959, to also honor Fred J. Digby, the first general manager and fellow founding member of the Bowl. When the Sugar Bowl acts as a CFP semifinal, both an offensive and defensive MVP are named; this has been the case in 2015, 2018, and 2021. Terrelle Pryor was later ruled ineligible and his statistics for the 2010 season, including the 2011 Sugar Bowl, were vacated. Most appearances Updated through the December 2022 edition (89 games, 178 total appearances). Teams with multiple appearances December 2022 participant Teams with a single appearance Won (8): Boston College, Duke, Fordham, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Navy, Utah Lost (11): Air Force, Carnegie Tech, Cincinnati, Hawai'i, Illinois, Kansas State, Rice, Saint Mary's (CA), Temple, Virginia, Wyoming Conference participation Mississippi State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt are the only current SEC members that have not appeared in the Sugar Bowl. Former members Georgia Tech and Tulane also appeared in the Sugar