Summary
The Orange Bowl Committee was created in 1935. Its mission then was to generate tourism to South Florida through an annual football game and supporting Festival. Since that time, the not-for-profit 343-member, primarily-volunteer organization has expanded its reach beyond the city to become a foundation in the South Florida community.
From Modest to Magnificent
The Orange Bowl had modest beginnings. It began as the Palm Festival in 1933 and 1934 with $5,000 in payout to the schools participating. Presently, the Orange Bowl has grown into a month-long calendar of events known as the Orange Bowl Festival, offering a top-notch college football game, as well as other sports, entertainment and community events.
The Orange Bowl festival attracts more than tens of thousands of visitors to the South Florida community annually. The recent staging of the FedEx BCS National Championship in 2009 between Florida and Oklahoma generated approximately $200 million dollars in economic impact to the South Florida community.
Where Champions are Crowned
The OBC's premier event remains the Orange Bowl game played at the state-of-the-art Land Shark Stadium. Mention the name and most think "National Championship" -- with good reason. In its long history, the Orange Bowl Committee has hosted 19 National Champions and 17 Heisman winners.
In 1998, the Orange Bowl joined with the Sugar, Rose and Fiesta bowls to form the Bowl Championship Series. In the present BCS term, the National Championship will continue to be rotated around the four bowl sites, but now, as a second game for that host site to be played one week after the host's bowl game. The Orange Bowl Committee will next host the National Championship in 2013.
More Sports
For 16 years, the Orange Bowl Committee has staged the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, played at the BankAtlanticCenter in Sunrise. The 2009 event featured anchor schools University of Florida and University of Miami. Quality match-ups have highlighted the Classic's history with over 30 programs playing in the postseason. This year with the University of Miami meeting UCF and the University of Florida taking on Kansas State promises to be another outstanding event with three of the teams winning more than 20 games and competing in the post-season a year ago.
Another event hosted by the Committee is the annual Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships. The tournament, which has hosted the top players in tennis, is played at the hard courts of the TennisCenter at CrandonPark in Key Biscayne, home of the Sony Ericsson Open. More than 1,000 players from 80 countries gather annually at the state-of-the-art venue to compete for one of the world's top junior tennis titles. Some of the sport’s greatest players in history have participated, including: Andy Roddick, Anna Kournikova, John McEnroe, Chris Evert, Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, and Gabriela Sabatini.
More than 600 young sailors annually make the voyage to Miami between Christmas and New Year's, to compete in the Orange Bowl Sailing Regatta Series, which includes the Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta - the premiere youth regatta in the country. The competition is usually fierce in all seven classes with young sailors from around the nation and eight foreign countries participating in the event. Past races have included the International Optimist Dinghy Class (Collegiate Sailors Coral Reef Yacht Club), International Youth Regatta (Youth Coral Reef Yacht Club), One Design Classes (Coconut Grove Sailing Club), and Shake-A-Leg (HandicapSailorsShake-A-LegCenter).
Spreading Goodwill in South Florida
The Orange Bowl Committee is always at work in the South Florida community. From the Orange Bowl Youth Football Alliance, supporting more than 15,000 youngsters in eight South Florida Counties to providing scholarships to deserving students and institutions to providing support for worthwhile community projects, the Orange Bowl Committee has been there for 76 years and will continue to be.
During the famed Bowl week, the Committee organizes team visits to area hospitals, adding to a long list of goodwill it takes part in all year.
"The PATCH"
The Orange Bowl Committee unveiled "The PATCH" as the official logo for the Orange Bowl in August 2000. "The PATCH" represents the Orange Bowl Committee's 19 National Championship games, 17 Heisman Trophy winners, a world-class halftime show, a 76-year history of football tradition and a multi-million dollar economic impact.
Over the past eight years, "The PATCH" has become a symbol of the Orange Bowl Festival's commitment to community involvement, serving as a central theme at "The PATCH" Parties. "The PATCH" also serves as the unifying link between the players in the Orange Bowl game and the Orange Bowl Youth Football Alliance.
All nine OBYFA leagues wear "The PATCH" -- the same patch college players wear in the annual Orange Bowl -- on their game uniforms.
In addition, "The PATCH" is distributed to fans of all ages throughout the South Florida community through a series of "PATCH Parties," an underground movement that's catching on at sports bars and nightclubs throughout South Florida. "The PATCH" Parties culminate with the Orange Bowl Fan Fest presented by the City of Miami and held the day before the bowl game. As a result, the South Florida Community has the opportunity to touch, see, wear and have fun with "The PATCH."
The OBC is busy throughout the year doing good works in the community and producing first-class events, leading up to the big football match-up after the New Year -- traditionally one of the most exciting events to be seen in South Florida. Whether you're awarded one of the Orange Bowl scholarships or inspired by a touchdown made by a pint-sized wide receiver, get "The PATCH."