Why Do They Play a Bowl Game at Yankee Stadium?

Yankee Stadium hosts the Pinstripe Bowl which will be competed between Rutgers and Miami in 2023. Find out why the bowl game is played at Yankee Stadium.

Yankee Stadium will host the Pinstripe Bowl again in 2023, which will be competed between Rutgers and Miami (FL). Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York, is home to the MLB’s New York Yankees and has hosted an annual college football bowl game since 2010.

Yankee Stadium had previously been a staple of college football, playing regular season games since 1923. The original Yankee Stadium has hosted 185 college football games.

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What Is the Pinstripe Bowl?

The Pinstripe Bowl was announced in 2009 when it was initially revealed as the Yankee Bowl. The Yankees and their ownership group first organized the game with the Big 12.

In 2010, the title of the bowl game was changed to the Pinstripe Bowl, in homage to the uniforms of the Yankees. It was also announced that New Era Cap Company would be the title sponsor. In 2022, Bad Boy Mowers took over, replacing the hat manufacturer.

The winner of the Pinstripe Bowl receives the George M. Steinbrenner Trophy, while the MVP is awarded the David C. Kock Trophy. Notable MVP winners of the Pinstripe Bowl have been Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa, Michigan State QB Brian Leweke, Penn State QB Christian Hackenberg, and Wisconsin RB Jonathan Taylor.

The 2023 edition of the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium will see Rutgers take on Miami — two teams who have both competed in the bowl game before.

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Rutgers has played twice at Yankee Stadium in the Pinstripe Bowl, beating Iowa State 27-13 in 2011 and losing 29-16 in 2013 to No. 25 Notre Dame. Meanwhile, Miami lost their only prior appearance in the Pinstripe Bowl in 2018 to Wisconsin.

On Dec. 27, the Empire State Building will light up in the colors of Rutgers and Miami to celebrate the bowl. After the game, the historic landmark will display the colors of the winners.

The History of the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium

The first-ever Pinstripe Bowl in 2010 saw Syracuse beat Kansas State 36-34 in front of 38,275 fans.

When the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl was played at Yankee Stadium in 2010, it was the first bowl game to be played in New York since the 1981 Garden State Bowl at Giants Stadium.

In 2014, the dynamics of the bowl game were changed to feature teams from the ACC and the Big Ten. 2014 featured the highest-ever attendance at Yankee Stadium for the Pinstripe Bowl, as Penn State defeated Boston College 31-20 in overtime with an attendance of 49,012.

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Yankee Stadium had previously been synonymous with college football, dating back to its first-ever football game in 1923. Syracuse defeated Pittsburgh 3-0 that day. The stadium also hosted “The Game of the Century” in 1946 between Notre Dame and Army.

Those two teams competed at Yankee Stadium again in 2010 in a regular season game — the first game played at the new Yankee Stadium.

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