Expanded playoffs ensure Orange Bowl, South Florida remain in national spotlight
The collective eyes of the college football world will be on South Florida on Thursday night when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Penn State Nittany Lions play in the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium.
The game, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and broadcast on ESPN, is a national semifinal in the College Football Playoff, with the winner advancing to the national championship game.
“We’ve always been part of the top tier of postseason college football,” Orange Bowl CEO Eric Poms said, “and our focus is to maintain that prestigious position for what it means to Miami and South Florida.”
That position will remain for the foreseeable future.
The College Football Playoff this season expanded from four teams to 12, which in turn expanded the postseason tournament from two rounds (the semifinals and then a championship game) to four rounds.
Prior to expansion, six bowl games were part of a rotation to host the two semifinal games of the playoffs: The Orange Bowl; the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California; the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans; the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas; the Peach Bowl in Atlanta; and the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.
Now, all six of those games are guaranteed a spot in the playoff field under the new format, with four being quarterfinal games and two being semifinal contests.
That ensures that the Orange Bowl, in one way or another, will always be in the limelight under the current format, which is beneficial for the bowl game itself and for the South Florida community at large.
“We’re fortunate,” Poms said. “We’re one of six communities across America that has the honor to be part of the College Football Playoff. We’re excited about Year 1 having a national semifinal.”
Orange Bowl history
The Orange Bowl is one of the oldest bowl games in college football, dating back to its first game on Jan. 1, 1935. Only the Rose Bowl, which began in 1902 and has been an annual game since 1916, and the Sun Bowl, which started in 1934, have longer histories.
And as college football evolved and bowl games became integral parts of deciding national champions, the Orange Bowl did its part to ensure it was heavily involved in marquee matchups.
Poms, 59, has been a key player in making sure the Orange Bowl has been at the forefront of college football’s postseason over the past three decades. A Miami native and graduate of Killian High and the University of Florida, Poms has been part of the Orange Bowl committee since 1993 and became CEO in May 2006.
During Poms’ tenure, the Orange Bowl has been involved in hosting eight national championships: 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2021.
A ninth is on the horizon as Hard Rock Stadium will also be the site of next season’s national championship, with the Orange Bowl game also serving as a quarterfinal for that playoff field.
“We have tremendous history, so we take a lot of pride in what that means to the postseason history and so forth,” Poms said. “But on the same token, you never rest on your laurels. You’re always working very hard to make sure that you put yourself in a position to be at the top tier of whatever the postseason college football structure would be.
“Through it all,” Poms added, “I think the Orange Bowl committee has been very proactive in making sure we maintain a position that’s at the top tier level to keep the relevancy that was started in 1935.”
Impact on South Florida
With that relevancy comes an uptick in tourism, brings tourism to the area and that brings a spotlight to the area.”
“The economic impact will be second to none,” Poms said. “There will be thousands upon thousands upon thousands of tourists coming down specifically for the bowl game. ESPN is going to be showing tropical South Florida across the country, and it’s important.”
What’s also important to the Orange Bowl committee: Using that platform to give back to the community.
Through the years, the Orange Bowl has revitalized six recreational parks in South Florida as part of its legacy projects: Moore Park in Miami, Carter Park in Fort Lauderdale, Ives Estates Park in Miami, Harris Field in Homestead, Glades Pioneer Park in Belle Glade and Mitchell Moore Park in Pompano Beach.
Since 2018, the Orange Bowl Media Center Makeover Project has helped modernize media centers at elementary and middle schools throughout the area.
The Orange Bowl is also involved in other youth sports, education and community engagement initiatives throughout the year.
“What you can give back to the community, that’s never changed,” Poms said. “By virtue of the success of this bowl game, all the events the Orange Bowl does each and every year, we’re able to give back into the community in a meaningful way.”
Preparing for this year’s Orange Bowl
One quirk of this year’s Orange Bowl matchup: The committee didn’t know exactly who would be playing in the game until Thursday night. Prior to this year’s expanded playoff field, the Orange Bowl committee always knew which teams it would be hosting in early December, but as the semifinal of a four-round playoff field, the committee had to wait until the first two rounds played out before they found out which teams would be coming to South Florida.
“It’s a short timetable to turn things around with regard to a lot of the details that come with ‘Hey, you are in the Capital One Orange Bowl. Now’s the time to cross t’s and dot i’s.’ But like anything, you adjust to the new norm. You stay connected.”
The teams are scheduled to arrive in town on Tuesday before playing on Thursday, making for a quicker trip than the usual week-long stays that are normally associated with the Orange Bowl.
But, Poms said, “the presentation will be first-class Orange Bowl hospitality, showing them an indigenous experience that you can’t find anywhere else but South Florida. It’s exciting. It’s a great stage.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2025 at 1:35 PM.
.JPG)