The Pop-Tarts Bowl traces its origin back to the 1990 college football postseason, when it debuted under the name Blockbuster Bowl on December 28, 1990.

What it was called at the start

  • The game was first played in Miami, Florida, in 1990 as the Blockbuster Bowl, sponsored by Blockbuster Video.
  • That inaugural matchup featured Florida State vs. Penn State and drew over 74,000 fans.

When it became the “Pop-Tarts Bowl”

  • The underlying bowl game is the same event that began in 1990, but the Pop-Tarts name was adopted starting with the 2023 edition, when Pop-Tarts signed on as the new title sponsor.
  • Before that, the bowl went through several sponsorship names, including CarQuest Bowl, MicronPC Bowl, Tangerine Bowl, Champs Sports Bowl, Russell Athletic Bowl, Camping World Bowl, and Cheez-It Bowl.

Quick recap

  • First played: December 28, 1990 (as Blockbuster Bowl).
  • First played as Pop-Tarts Bowl: 2023 season game in Orlando, Florida.

Information gathered from public sports histories and official bowl game pages.