1937 Cotton Bowl Classic , the first Cotton Bowl Classic game and part of the 1936 – 37 bowl game season , took place on January 1 , 1937 , at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas , Texas . The competing teams were the Marquette Golden Avalanche , competing as a football independent , and the TCU Horned Frogs , representing the Southwest Conference ( SWC ) as conference champions . TCU won the inaugural contest , 16 – 6
football independent
NCAA Division I FBS independent schools
1937 Cotton Bowl Classic