from staff
Erik Dellenback, vice president and chief marketing officer of the Gator Bowl Association, told about 60 members of the Meninak Club of Jacksonville Monday that the first Gator Bowl game in 1946 “failed miserably” but that didn’t stop its founders.
“They thought it was so much fun they’d do it again,” he said.
Dellenback said 13 area businessmen, mostly graduates of the University of Florida, founded the event in 1945. Now, 65 years later, the association continues its New Year’s Day game, but in a more crowded field.
He said when association President Rick Catlett joined in 1992-93, there were 12 bowl games. Since then, he said, that has expanded to 35 games crowding mid-December to mid-January.
“Competition is a major factor,” he said.
Dellenback told Meninak members they could support the association by buying tickets to the game; buying the $5 Gator Bowl Patch, which is the official jersey patch of the Gator Bowl team participants; and volunteering.
The 2011 Gator Bowl Classic will be 1:30 Jan. 1 at EverBank Field. It will showcase a team from the Southeastern Conference against a team from the Big Ten Conference.
That first game in 1946 featured Wake Forest beating South Carolina in front of 7,362 fans. Last year, Florida State beat West Virginia to a crowd of 84,129.