ORANGE BOWL

intersectional American college football game played on New Year's Day in Miami, Fla. The game was first played in 1933, to attract winter tourists to Florida a month before their usual arrival. Embraced by local businessmen, it also benefited the struggling young University of Miami. By 1936 the choice of Miami as an opponent was not automatic, and by the mid-1950s the choice of a Southern opponent had been replaced by choosing high-ranking teams nationwide. From the mid-1970s the champion of the Big Eight Conference was one of the participants. Originally the event was called the Palm Festival, but its present name was adopted in 1935 when the game was moved to its present site, the Orange Bowl stadium. The Orange Bowl Festival features the football game, as well as a parade, a tennis tournament, a basketball tournament, a fireworks display, and a powerboat regatta.