Early roots In 1890,
Pasadena, California, held its first
Tournament of Roses Parade to showcase the city's mild weather compared to the harsh winters in northern cities. As one of the organizers said: "In New York, people are buried in snow. Here, our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let's hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise." In 1902, the annual festival was enhanced by adding an American football game. In 1926, leaders in Miami, Florida, decided to do the same with a "Fiesta of the American Tropics" that was centered around a New Year's Day football game. Although a second "Fiesta" was never held, Miami leaders, including Earnest E. Seiler, later revived the idea with the "Palm Festival" (with the slogan "Have a Green Christmas in Miami").
Palm Festival Game In 1932, George E. Hussey, official greeter of Miami, organized the first
Festival of Palms Bowl, a predecessor of the Orange Bowl. With Miami suffering from both the Great Depression and the preceding Florida land bust, Hussey and other Miamians sought to help its economy by organizing a game similar to Pasadena's
Rose Bowl. Two games were played in this series at
Moore Park in Miami, both pitting an invited opponent against a local team, the
University of Miami. In the first game, played on January 2, 1933, Miami defeated
Manhattan College 7–0. In the second game, played on New Year's Day 1934,
Duquesne defeated Miami 33–7. Duquesne was coached by
Elmer Layden, one of the
Four Horsemen of Notre Dame. These games are not recognized as bowl games by the
NCAA because one team was guaranteed a berth regardless of record. However, following the success of these games, backers organized another game for New Year's Day 1935 under the Orange Bowl name. This game, unlike the Palm Festival Games, did not automatically grant a berth to one team, although the University of Miami was again a participant. For this reason, the 1935 Orange Bowl was later recognized by the NCAA as an official bowl game.
Modern game (lower center) at the
1963 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1963 and the
1987 Miami Hurricanes football team won the
1988 Orange Bowl on January 1, 1988, giving the
University of Miami its second national championship in the
1987 season. Later that month, Johnson and the
Miami Hurricanes football team presented
President Ronald Reagan with a University of Miami jersey at
The White House The Orange Bowl was played at
Miami Field (located where Miami Orange Bowl was later built) from 1935 to 1937, the
Miami Orange Bowl from 1938 to 1996, and again in 1999, and was moved to its current site,
Hard Rock Stadium in
Miami Gardens, Florida, in December 1996. The game was played back at the namesake stadium in 1999 (which would be the final bowl game ever in the Miami Orange Bowl) because the game was played on the same day the
Miami Dolphins hosted an NFL Wild Card Playoff game. Coincidentally, both of those games were aired on
ABC. On January 1, 1965, the Texas vs. Alabama Orange Bowl was the first college bowl game to be televised live in
prime time. From 1954 onwards, the game usually featured the champion of the former
Big Eight Conference. When the Big Eight Conference merged with four members of the defunct
Southwest Conference in 1996, the newly formed
Big 12 Conference moved its conference champion tie-in to the
Fiesta Bowl. From 1998 to 2013, however, with the creation of the
Bowl Championship Series system, team selection for the Orange Bowl was tied into the other three BCS Bowls and (from 2006 to 2013) the
BCS National Championship Game. From 1998 to 2005, the game hosted the champion of either the
ACC or
Big East conferences, unless they were invited to the National Championship game, or if the Orange Bowl itself was hosting the national championship matchup. Starting with the 2006 season, the Orange Bowl has been exclusively tied with the ACC and has used the brand
Home of the ACC Champion. As one of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) bowl games, the site of the Orange Bowl also hosted the
national championship game one week after the Orange Bowl game; it did so on a four-year rotating basis with the other three BCS games (the others being the
Sugar,
Fiesta, and
Rose Bowls). The tie-in with the ACC continued with the inception of the College Football Playoff after the 2014 season. However, following the expansion to a 12-team playoff format, the Orange Bowl's official relationship with the ACC ended as all New Year's Six bowls became permanent playoff fixtures.
King Orange Jamboree Parade From 1936 to 2001 (except for the World War II years), the Orange Bowl Committee also sponsored a parade. The very first King Orange Jamboree Parade was held the day before the
1936 game with 30 floats at an expense of $40,000 . In its heyday, the parade was a nighttime New Year's Eve tradition, televised nationally with lighted floats and displays going down part of
Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami to crowds as high as 500,000 people in the 1970s. However ratings dropped and the national television contract was lost in 1997, causing the parade to quickly become a shell of its former self since there were no sponsors for the elaborate floats. Attendance dwindled as well; by the turn of the millennium, the parade was lucky to draw 20,000 people. As a result, the committee chose to bring this tradition to an end in early 2002. ==Conference tie-ins==