The Pinstripe Bowl is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football bowl game that is held at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York City. First played in 2010, the game is organized by the New York Yankees, primary tenants of the venue, and is currently affiliated with the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten Conference through 2025.[4][5] The game previously had ties with the Big 12 Conference and the Big East Conference.
The winner of the game is awarded the George M. Steinbrenner Trophy, while the David C. Koch MVP Trophy is awarded to the bowl's most valuable player.[6] The Pinstripe Bowl is one of three FBS bowls held in the Northeast, the others being the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland and the Fenway Bowl, a game organized by the rival Boston Red Sox. It is also one of four bowls that are played outdoors in what are considered cold-weather cities, along with the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl held in Boise, Idaho, and one of three active bowl games played in baseball stadiums, the others being the Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Chase Field) and the aforementioned Fenway Bowl (Fenway Park).[7]
On September 30, 2009, a "Yankee Bowl" was announced at a Yankee Stadium press conference by then-representatives of the involved parties: Yankees' minority owner Hal Steinbrenner, Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, Big East Conference commissioner John Marinatto, and Big 12 Conference commissioner Dan Beebe. The most recent bowl in New York City proper had been the 1962 Gotham Bowl, which pitted Miami (FL) against Nebraska at the original Yankee Stadium. The newly announced bowl planned to pair the fourth-place team from the Big East Conference against the seventh-place team from the Big 12.[8][9] In the event the Big 12 lacked an eligible team, independent Notre Dame could receive an invitation.[10]
On March 9, 2010, the bowl's official name was announced to be the Pinstripe Bowl, with New Era Cap Company agreeing to sponsor the bowl for four years while ESPN agreed to broadcast the bowl for six years.[11][12] The inaugural game was played on December 30, 2010.[13] The first three editions of the bowl were each won by a Big East team over a Big 12 team. In 2013, Notre Dame was invited in place of a Big 12 team; the Fighting Irish defeated Rutgers of the Big East's successor, the American Athletic Conference ("The American").[14]
Starting in 2014, the bowl featured an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team against a Big Ten team. This was the same year that New Jersey–based Rutgers, the closest FBS school in the New York City area, moved to the Big Ten, and one year after Syracuse University, based in central New York state, moved to the ACC. The ACC agreed to a six-year deal with the Pinstripe Bowl, and the Big Ten agreed to the alignment for eight years. The ACC adopted a tiered system so that the same conference position would not necessarily go to the same bowl each season.[15] The 2014 through 2019 editions of the bowl saw Big Ten teams compile a 5–1 record against ACC teams.
The 2020 edition of the bowl was cancelled, "out of an abundance of caution" due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[16]
On August 16, 2022, Bad Boy Mowers was announced as the new title sponsor of the game.[17][18]
The Pinstripe Bowl does not appear in the EA Sports College Football 25 video game.
Rankings are based on the AP Poll prior to the game being played.
Source:[20]
† In 2018, the NCAA vacated Notre Dame's 2013 bowl win (and other results from 2012–2013) due to academic violations.[21]
The MVP of the bowl is presented with the David C. Koch MVP Trophy,[22] named after a former president of the New Era Cap Company.[23]
Updated through the December 2023 edition (13 games, 26 total appearances).
Won (8): Duke, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State, Wisconsin
Lost (7): Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas State, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia
Vacated (1): Notre Dame
Updated through the December 2023 edition (13 games, 26 total appearances).
‡ Notre Dame's vacated victory in 2013 is excluded from win–loss totals and winning percentage.
The bowl has been televised by ESPN since its inception, except for 2015, when it was carried by ABC.