with the Big 12. The Gator Bowl would feature the SEC and the Big Ten Conference starting with the 2010 season, joining the Capital One Bowl and the Outback Bowl as the third Big Ten-SEC bowl matchup on New Year's Day. Starting in 2015, the bowl returned to a hybrid arrangement for a six-year period, with SEC teams playing ACC teams for three years and Big Ten teams the other three years; the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are also eligible during ACC years. Through 74 playings (the 2018 edition), 38 have been contested with both teams ranked (per the AP Poll), most recently the 2006 edition. The highest ranked team to appear was No. 3 Pittsburgh in the 1980 edition. Title sponsors Mazda was the first title sponsor, beginning in 1986 and lasting for five years. Outback Steakhouse sponsored the Gator Bowl for three years beginning in 1992, prior to obtaining their own Outback Bowl held in Tampa, Florida. From 1996–2006, the title sponsor was Toyota. Konica Minolta then became the sponsor from 2007 to 2010. On December 14, 2010, the Gator Bowl Association announced that Progressive Insurance would become the title sponsor for the 2011 Gator Bowl. On September 1, 2011, GBA announced a multi-year title sponsorship deal with TaxSlayer.com. Game results All rankings are taken from the AP Poll prior to the game being played. Italics denote a tie game. Source: MVPs From 1946 through 1952, a single MVP was named. Starting with the 1953 game, MVPs are named for each team; in several instances, co-MVPs have been named for a team. Most appearances Updated through the December 2022 edition (78 games, 156 appearances). Teams with multiple appearances Teams with a single appearance Won (4): LSU, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Wyoming Lost (9): Air Force, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan State, Rutgers, Stanford, Texas, Tulsa, Washington & Lee Appearances by conference Updated through the December 2022 edition (78 games, 156 appearances). Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the following calendar year. Records reflect conference affiliations at the time each game was played. Conferences that are defunct or no longer active in FBS are marked in italics. The Big Eight's record includes appearances when the conference was known as the Big Six and Big Seven. Big East teams made 12 appearances and were 4–8; the American Athletic Conference (The American) retains the conference charter following the 2013 split