Dec 23, 2013
Since envy is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, I have nothing but nice things to say about Tampa getting the world’s biggest college football game. Our friends to the west have secured the 2017 College Football Playoffs National Championship Game. It will hopefully be a smashing success. But when the announcement came Monday, I couldn’t help wondering what it meant for Orlando. “It’s all good news,” Steve Hogan said. As the CEO of Florida Citrus Sports, it’ll be his […]
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Nov 21, 2013
When players came to Orlando’s bowls last year, they got watches and a $420 shopping spree at Best Buy. In 1966, they got a tangerine. It wasn’t just a piece of fruit to Morgan State’s players. That was because when West Chester’s players arrived in Orlando, they got the same thing. They also attended the same party. They ate the same meals. They dressed at the same stadium. And contrary to the fears of many, the city did not crumble […]
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Nov 20, 2013
The Capital One Bowl will once again feature performances by a major musical talent, adding to a bill that annually features the top non-Bowl Championship Series postseason matchup in college football. Capital One presents Hunter Hayes in a free concert for game ticket holders at the Capital One FanFest pregame tailgate party. Hayes will also headline the game’s halftime show. The Capital One Bowl will be held this year in its traditional 1:00 p.m. New Year’s Day time slot at […]
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Nov 15, 2013
It’s never too early to look ahead. Check out any cable news show, where talking heads are already busily handicapping the 2016 presidential election. In that spirit, Steve Hogan got up at the FCS breakfast Monday and made his weekly prediction: Sarah Palin vs. Alan Grayson. I’m kidding. It’s just that giving Hogan good-natured grief is a main order of business at the weekly scout meeting. The week before the CEO of Florida Citrus Sports all but guaranteed Oregon would […]
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Nov 08, 2013
Patrick Wickens adjusted his cap and surveyed the putt. He bent his knee and propped most of his body weight on the crutch under his left arm. The crutch under his right arm splayed to the side. Once steadied, he stroked the golf ball through the spider-web shadows and past the tombstone. The purple carpeting seemed to grab it as it approached the hole. “Go. Go!” he yelled. The ball must have had ears. One final rotation and… doink! “I’m […]
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Nov 01, 2013
You know it’s a big game when the coaches say it’s not. So what’s happening in Tallahassee Saturday must be huge. Jimbo Fisher says it’s just the next game on FSU’s schedule. Al Golden wants his Hurricanes to take them one crazy comeback game at a time. “We all know who we’re playing,” he said. Yes, and for the first time far too long we can recognize both teams. Miami and FSU are both in the top 10. That’s no […]
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Oct 23, 2013
Going into the football season most experts agreed on at least one thing. It would be a cold day in you-know-where before Missouri was in the mix for the Capital One Bowl. Given the Tigers’ history in Orlando, we shouldn’t be surprised at what happened last weekend. Figuratively speaking, it was a cold day in Columbia, Oxford, Knoxville, College Station and Nashville. Those were the sites in perhaps the most upsetting day in SEC history. It was like a condensed […]
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Oct 17, 2013
For those of us who’ve been waiting for a weekend like this, a word of advice from Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher: “Keep it in perspective,” he said. “It is what it is.” What is it? Arguably the biggest game in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference. And definitely the biggest game in the history of the American Athletic Conference. Put them together, and you have one huge weekend for Florida Citrus Sports. Specifically, the Russell Athletic Bowl. It […]
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Oct 14, 2013
Florida Citrus Sports received the Cornerstone Award for Youth Development from the Central Florida Urban League at the organization’s annual gala, held at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. The CFUL signature event, featuring more than 400 community and business leaders, celebrated organizations and individuals that have made a significant contribution to the community in the four areas that are the cornerstones of the Urban League; Youth Development, Economic Empowerment, Workforce Development and Health Awareness. FCSports was recognized for its efforts with Central […]
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Oct 04, 2013
A diehard breakfast club meets on Mondays at the Citrus Bowl. Other bowls probably look at the Dex Imaging Skyline Club and wonder, “What’s the point?” Why are 80 people eating breakfast burritos and talking about the Purdue Boilermakers? To truly understand, you need an orange polyester blazer hanging way back in your closet. Tangerine Bowl representatives wore them on scouting trips. Scouts resembled salesmen, and it wasn’t coincidental. They were pitching Orlando to audiences that had plenty of options […]
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Sep 26, 2013
Can you feel it? Something is different about this week, at least if you’re a college football fan in Orlando. If you can’t feel it, you can see it. Network television trucks are parked outside Bright House Networks Stadium. Earlier this week, real live students stood in line to buy tickets. Everybody wants to see Saturday’s high-noon showdown between UCF and South Carolina. Let’s recap: Sellout. National TV. Bowl implications. Steve Spurrier. “That’s what college football is all about,” UCF […]
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Sep 20, 2013
Kevin McDonald has been to plenty of college football stadiums. But he’d never seen anything like Kyle Field at Texas A&M, and his scouting report might give Orlando pause. If the Aggies make it to the Capital One Bowl, is the city ready for Midnight Yell? Will fans be ready to stand the whole game if they get seats behind the Texas A&M student section? Are they ready to link arms and sway during the Aggie War Hymn? Officially, bowls […]
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Sep 12, 2013
Ah, the sounds of the season. You know football season is back when you hear bands playing, Oklahoma State players denying payoffs, Nick Saban snarling at the media and one distinctive voice. “Not so fast, my friend!” Lee Corso didn’t break out his catchphrase Monday night, but he said a lot of other things. It was part of Citrus Bowl Sports tradition, the Kickoff Dinner at Linda’s La Cantina Steakhouse. After months of mindless diversions, we could finally talk about […]
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Aug 12, 2013
Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan, President Tony Massey and Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive announced extended partnership agreements for Orlando’s Capital One Bowl, maintaining the game’s traditional Big Ten-SEC matchup through 2019-20. Under the extended agreements, the New Year’s Day Classic will continue to feature the first selections from the Big Ten and SEC following the College Football Playoff games when the new system takes effect in the 2014-15 season. “One of college football’s great events will continue here […]
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Jul 19, 2013
Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan, President Tony Massey and Big Ten Conference Commissioner James E. Delany announced an extended partnership agreement for Orlando’s Capital One Bowl, maintaining the game’s traditional relationship through the 2019-20 season. Under the extended agreement, the New Year’s Day Classic will select an eligible Big Ten team immediately after the conference’s participants in the Rose Bowl and/or College Football Playoff are identified, when the new system takes effect in the 2014-15 campaign. “One of college […]
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Jul 18, 2013
The Russell Athletic Bowl will host the first available selection after the College Football Playoff system from the ACC, including Notre Dame, beginning with the 2014-15 season. The Russell Athletic Bowl has historically featured some of college football’s best players and teams since moving to Orlando in 2000. The game has elevated its profile steadily over that time, with nine of the games (out of 12) featuring an attendance increase over the previous year. “The Russell Athletic Bowl is proud […]
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Jun 27, 2013
For the last 30 years, representatives of Florida Citrus Sports’ partner schools have had a hard time escaping the smiling face that introduces herself as our organization’s direct connection to the teams that participate in Orlando’s annual bowl games. From Bobby Ross in her first year to countless others who have since come and gone — Vince Dooley, Tom Osborne, Bobby Bowden, Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban — they all know Carol Monroe. “Her enthusiasm for her job, for the bowl […]
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Jun 21, 2013
Florida Citrus Sports Chief Financial Officer Dennis Braziel was honored on Friday during the Orlando Business Journal’s C-Level Awards, which recognized the top c-level employees in Central Florida. It was the third such distinction for Braziel in three years. He was named nonprofit CFO of the Year in 2011 (a previous iteration of this award) and was included among the recognized nominees in 2012. Braziel joined the FCSports staff in 2007 after serving as CFO for Hannover Life Reassurance in […]
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Apr 15, 2013
Kevin McDonald was named the 2013 Chairman of the Year for his leadership of the Florida Citrus Sports Hospitality Committee. The award was presented during the 2013 Member Celebration presented by BMO Harris Bank and Florida Hospital. A member since 2009, McDonald stepped in to lead the Hospitality Committee shortly after the passing of longtime chairman (and former FCSports employee) Pat Hoffman. As chair, he conducted the orientation for all hospitality suite volunteers prior to Orlando Bowl Week and confirmed […]
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Apr 15, 2013
Vonn Howard of Mercury Marine was named the 2013 Volunteer of the Year for his tremendous service with collegiate and high school bands across a number of Florida Citrus Sport events. The award was presented at the 2013 Member Celebration presented by BMO Harris Bank and Florida Hospital. A member since 2008, Howard serves on the Pageantry & Presentation Committee as a team-band liaison for both the Russell Athletic Bowl and Capital One Bowl, attending every band practice once the […]
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