A new college footballbowl game in Charlotte, North Carolina, was established in 2002 by Raycom Sports (now a part of Gray Television). The game was certified by the NCAA as the Queen City Bowl, which became the Continental Tire Bowl (2002–2004), Meineke Car Care Bowl (2005–2010), and Belk Bowl (2011–2019) prior to its current name.
In 2011, Charlotte-based department store chain Belk acquired the title sponsorship for a three-year period through 2013. After the initial period, Belk extended its sponsorship for six years, through 2019.[2] As of 2014, the bowl featured the second pooled selection from the ACC paired against the second pooled selection from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), after selection of the College Football Playoff (CFP) teams.
On November 20, 2019, Belk informed bowl officials that the company would not be renewing its sponsorship after the 2019 season.[3] In June 2020, Duke's Mayonnaise was announced as the new title sponsor for the bowl.[4] As part of their sponsorship arrangement, in a take on the Gatorade shower, the head coach of the winning team gets a giant jar of mayonnaise dumped on his head.
In 2020, the ACC's opponent in the bowl is scheduled to begin alternating between the Big Ten Conference and SEC through 2025, with a Big Ten team playing in even-numbered years and an SEC team playing in odd-numbered years.[5] The conference not sending a team to this bowl will send a team to the Las Vegas Bowl.[6]
The 2020 game received notable social media coverage following the game as the quarterback of the winning team, Graham Mertz of Wisconsin, accidentally broke the glass trophy.[7]
Game results
Rankings are based on the AP Poll prior to the game being played.
Within the ACC's 17 football members, 10 have appeared in the game: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, NC State, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. Members that have yet to appear include California, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU, Stanford and Syracuse. Both of Pittsburgh's appearances, and one appearance each by Boston College and Louisville, came while those schools were members of the Big East Conference.
Among former Big East Conference football members, Boston College, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Pitt, South Florida, Virginia Tech and West Virginia have appeared in the game, while Miami, Rutgers, Syracuse and Temple have not. Virginia Tech's appearances came as a member of the ACC.
Appearances by conference
Updated for the January 2025 edition (23 games, 46 total appearances).
The American's record includes appearances of the Big East Conference, as The American retains the charter of the original Big East, following its 2013 realignment. Teams representing the Big East appeared in 10 games, compiling a 5–5 record.
Independents: Navy (2006)
Game records
Team
Performance, Team vs. Opponent
Year
Most points scored (one team)
55, Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M
2017
Most points scored (both teams)
107, Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M
2017
Most points scored (losing team)
52, Texas A&M vs. Wake Forest
2017
Fewest points allowed
0, shared by: NC State vs. USF Virginia vs. South Carolina
