Frisco Bowl
Full nameScooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl
StadiumToyota Stadium
Temporary venueFord Center at The Star (2025)
LocationFrisco, Texas
Years2017–present
Conference tie-insAmerican Conference
Payout650,000 (2019)[1]
Websitethefriscobowl.com
SponsorsDXL (2017–2018)
Tropical Smoothie Cafe (2019–2021)
Scooter's Coffee (2023–present)
Former namesDXL Frisco Bowl (2017–2018)
Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl (2019–2021)
Frisco Bowl (2022)
Preceded byMiami Beach Bowl
Prev matchup year2025
Prev matchup season2025
Prev matchup teamsUNLV vs. Ohio
Prev matchup scoreOhio 17–10

The Frisco Bowl is an annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctioned post-season Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football bowl game played in Frisco, Texas, since December 2017. The bowl has a tie-in with the American Conference, and chooses another team at-large. The bowl's usual venue is Toyota Stadium in Frisco; the 2025 game was relocated to the nearby Ford Center at The Star.

DXL was the bowl's inaugural sponsor from 2017 to 2018, followed by Tropical Smoothie Cafe from 2019 to 2021, and Scooter's Coffee beginning in 2023.

History

On April 21, 2017, it was announced that the Miami Beach Bowl—which had been owned and operated by the American Athletic Conference (The American)—had been sold to ESPN Events and that it would relocate to Frisco, Texas, to be played in Toyota Stadium starting in the 2017 season.[2] On November 8, 2017, it was announced that Destination XL Group, a retailer specializing in big and tall menswear, had signed on as the inaugural title sponsor of the bowl.[3] On December 3, 2017, SMU and Louisiana Tech were announced as the teams for the inaugural playing of the bowl.[4] In 2019, Tropical Smoothie Cafe became the new title sponsor.[5] In 2023, Scooter's Coffee became the new title sponsor.[6]

The 2020 Frisco Bowl was originally set to be contested by the SMU Mustangs, from The American, and the UTSA Roadrunners, from Conference USA.[7][8] The game was slated to be the first matchup between the two teams.[9] Two days after the matchup was announced, the 2020 edition was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns with the SMU football team.[10][11]

The 2025 edition of the bowl was relocated to the Ford Center at The Star to accommodate renovations at Toyota Stadium.[12]

Conference tie-ins

Initial planning had been to have teams from The American face a Sun Belt opponent in 2017 and 2019, and face a Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponent in 2018.[2] In 2017, the inaugural game featured a matchup between The American and Conference USA (C-USA).

The Frisco Bowl then secured an affiliation with The American through the 2021 season, with opponents to be selected at-large. The 2018 matchup featured teams from the MAC and Mountain West, as The American was unable to provide a team, due to its champion, UCF, receiving a New Year's Six bowl bid.[13] MAC and Mountain West teams again met in 2019,[14] as The American's champion, Memphis, again received a New Year's Six bid.

Game results

Rankings per AP Poll prior to the game being played.

DateWinning TeamLosing TeamAttendanceNotes
December 20, 2017Louisiana Tech51SMU1014,419notes
December 19, 2018Ohio27San Diego State011,029notes
December 20, 2019Kent State51Utah State4112,120notes
December 19, 2020Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[11]
December 21, 2021San Diego State38No. 24 UTSA2415,801notes
December 17, 2022Boise State35North Texas3212,211notes
December 19, 2023UTSA35Marshall1711,215notes
December 17, 2024No. 25 Memphis42West Virginia3712,022notes
December 23, 2025Ohio17UNLV106,521notes

Source:[15]

MVPs

YearOffensive MVPDefensive MVPRef.
PlayerCollegePositionPlayerCollegePosition
2017J'Mar SmithLouisiana TechQBAmik RobertsonLouisiana TechCB[16]
2018A. J. OuelletteOhioRBEvan CroutchOhioLB[17]
2019Dustin CrumKent StateQBQwuantrezz KnightKent StateDB[18]
2021Jesse MatthewsSan Diego StateWRCJ BaskervilleSan Diego StateS[19]
2022Taylen GreenBoise StateQBEzekial NoaBoise StateLB[20]
2023Joshua CephusUTSAWRKam AlexanderUTSACB[21]
2024Seth HeniganMemphisQBChandler MartinMemphisLB[22]
2025Sieh BanguraOhioRBAdonis Williams Jr.OhioS

Appearances by team

Updated through the December 2025 edition (8 games, 16 total appearances).

Teams with multiple appearances
RankTeamAppearancesRecordWin pct.
1Ohio22–0
San Diego State21–1
UTSA21–1
Teams with a single appearance

Won (4): Boise State, Kent State, Louisiana Tech, Memphis
Lost (6): Marshall, North Texas, SMU, UNLV, Utah State, West Virginia

Appearances by conference

Updated through the December 2025 edition (8 games, 16 total appearances).

ConferenceRecordAppearances by season
GamesWLWin pct.WonLost
Mountain West52021, 20222018, 2019, 2025
MAC32018, 2019, 2025 
American32023, 20242017
C-USA320172021, 2022
Big 121 2024
Sun Belt1 2023

Game records

TeamRecord, Team vs. OpponentYear
Most points scored (one team)51, shared by:
Louisiana Tech vs. SMU
Kent State vs. Utah State

2017
2019
Most points scored (losing team)41, Utah State vs. Kent State2019
Most points scored (both teams)92, Kent State vs. Utah State2019
Fewest points scored0, San Diego State vs. Ohio2018
Largest margin of victory41, Louisiana Tech vs. SMU2017
Total yards550, Kent State vs. Utah State2019
Rushing yards318, Boise State vs. North Texas2022
Passing yards333, San Diego State vs. UTSA2021
First downs31, San Diego State vs. UTSA2021
Fewest yards allowed281, Ohio vs. UNLV2025
Fewest rushing yards allowed97, Ohio vs. UNLV2025
Fewest passing yards allowed127, Louisiana Tech vs. SMU2017
IndividualRecord, Player, Team vs. OpponentYear
Total offense436, Dustin Crum (Kent State)2019
All-purpose yards227, Juwan Washington (San Diego State)2018
Total Touchdowns4, shared by:
J'Mar Smith (Louisiana Tech)
Lucas Johnson (San Diego State)

2017
2021
Touchdowns (all-purpose)2, multiple players
Rushing yards178, Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)2022
Rushing touchdowns2, shared by:
Nathan Rourke (Ohio)
Taylen Green (Boise State)
Ikaika Ragsdale (North Texas)
CJ Donaldson Jr. (West Virginia)

2018
2022
2022
2024
Passing yards333, Lucas Johnson (San Diego State)2021
Passing touchdowns3, shared by:
J'Mar Smith (Louisiana Tech)
Jordan Love (Utah State)
Lucas Johnson (San Diego State)

2017
2019
2021
Receptions11, shared by:
Jesse Matthews (San Diego State)
Hudson Clement (West Virginia)

2021
2024
Receiving yards175, Jesse Matthews (San Diego State)2021
Receiving touchdowns2, shared by:
Teddy Veal (Louisiana Tech)
Siaosi Mariner (Utah State)
Jesse Matthews (San Diego State)
Hudson Clement (West Virginia)

2017
2019
2021
2024
Tackles14, Troy Lefeged Jr. (Utah State)2019
Sacks2, Nick Heninger (Utah State)2019
Interceptions1, multiple players
Long PlaysRecord, Player, Team vs. OpponentYear
Touchdown run57 yds., Deven Thompkins (Utah State)2019
Touchdown pass78 yds., Dustin Crum to Isaiah McKoy (Kent State)2019
Kickoff return65 yds,, Jaqwis Dancy (Louisiana Tech)2017
Punt return30 yds., Kylan Nelson (Ohio)2018
Interception return52 yds., Ezekiel Noa (Boise State)2022
Fumble return8 yds., Eric Kendzior (Louisiana Tech)2017
Punt56 yds., Magnus Haines (Ohio)2025
Field goal50 yds., Ramon Villela (UNLV)2025

Media coverage

The bowl has been televised by ESPN or ESPN2 since its inception.

References

  1. ^ "2019 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  2. ^ McMurphy, Brett (April 21, 2017). "Miami Beach Bowl moving to Frisco, Texas". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  3. ^ "DXL Men's Apparel Named Title Sponsor for Inaugural Frisco Bowl". thefriscobowl.com. November 8, 2017. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  4. ^ "SMU AND LOUISIANA TECH SELECTED TO PLAY IN INAUGURAL 2017 DXL FRISCO BOWL". dxlfriscobowl.com. December 3, 2017. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  5. ^ Lind, Andrew (December 19, 2019). "Tropical Smoothie Cafe Takes Over As Title Sponsor Of Frisco Bowl". sportslogos.net. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  6. ^ Reports, 6 News Staff (July 31, 2023). "Frisco Bowl welcomes Scooter’s Coffee as new title sponsor". WOWT.com. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  7. ^ "SMU football will finish season with Frisco Bowl appearance on Dec. 19". Dallas News. 9 December 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  8. ^ "UTSA headed to Frisco Bowl to face SMU". MySanAntonio. 13 December 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  9. ^ "Winsipedia - SMU Mustangs vs. UTSA Roadrunners football series history". Winsipedia. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  10. ^ "Frisco Bowl Canceled Over SMU COVID-19 Protocols, Organizers Say". NBC DFW. 14 December 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  11. ^ "Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl Canceled; UTSA to Play in SERVPRO First Responder Bowl". thefriscobowl.com. December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  12. ^ Guzmán Castaños, Marlenys (29 August 2025). "Frisco Bowl Moves To Ford Center At The Star For 2025". Local Profile. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  13. ^ Phillips, Troy (December 7, 2018). "2018 DXL Frisco Bowl Preview". dxlfriscobowl.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  14. ^ "Utah State Accepts Invite to Frisco Bowl Against Kent State". theFriscoBowl.com. December 8, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  15. ^ "Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl". Bowl/All Star Game Records. NCAA. 2020. p. 17. Retrieved January 3, 2021. – via NCAA.org.
  16. ^ "Smith, Robertson named MVPs in LA Tech's Frisco bowl victory". ESPN. December 2017.
  17. ^ "MVP’s of the Game!". No. 1075604853588676609. December 19, 2018.
  18. ^ "Flashes Win First Bowl Game in Program History". kentstatesports.com. December 21, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  19. ^ "Jesse Matthews wins the offensive MVP, CJ Baskerville wins the defensive MVP for the 2021 Frisco Bowl.". No. 1473508801458417666. December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  20. ^ "2022 Frisco Bowl Postgame Notes". thefriscobowl.com. December 17, 2022.
  21. ^ "UTSA's Joshua Cephus named the Offensive MVP of the Frisco Bowl, with cornerback Kam Alexander collecting Defensive MVP honors.". No. 1737350331602796909. December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  22. ^ "Frisco Bowl". No. 1869259568838242589. December 18, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.