Duke's Mayo Bowl

History

A new college football bowl game in Charlotte, North Carolina, was established in 2002 by Raycom Sports (now a part of Gray Television). The game was certified by the NCAA as the Queen City Bowl, which became the Continental Tire Bowl (2002–2004), Meineke Car Care Bowl (2005–2010), and Belk Bowl (2011–2019) prior to its current name.

The game previously featured a matchup between the No. 5 selected Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team and the No. 3 selected American Athletic Conference (AAC). Originally, the bowl selected a team from the Big East Conference, until that conference's breakup in 2013.

In 2011, Charlotte-based department store chain Belk acquired the title sponsorship for a three-year period through 2013. After the initial period, Belk extended its sponsorship for six years, through 2019. As of 2014, the bowl featured the second pooled selection from the ACC paired against the second pooled selection from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), after selection of the College Football Playoff (CFP) teams.

On November 20, 2019, Belk informed bowl officials that the company would not be renewing its sponsorship after the 2019 season. In June 2020, Duke's Mayonnaise was announced as the new title sponsor for the bowl. As part of their sponsorship arrangement, in a take on the Gatorade shower, the head coach of the winning team gets a giant jar of mayonnaise dumped on his head.

In 2020, the ACC's opponent in the bowl is scheduled to begin alternating between the Big Ten Conference and SEC through 2025, with a Big Ten team playing in even-numbered years and an SEC team playing in odd-numbered years. The conference not sending a team to this bowl will send a team to the Las Vegas Bowl.

The 2020 game received notable social media coverage following the game as the quarterback of the winning team, Graham Mertz of Wisconsin, accidentally broke the glass trophy.

Game results

Rankings are based on the AP poll prior to the game being played.

Source:

MVPs

Most appearances

Updated through the January 2026 edition (24 games, 48 total appearances).

;Teams with multiple appearances

;Teams with a single appearance Won (5): Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Wisconsin Lost (6): Arkansas, Clemson, Connecticut, Duke, Navy, Texas A&M

Within the ACC's 17 football members, 10 have appeared in the game: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, NC State, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. Members that have yet to appear include California, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU, Stanford and Syracuse. Both of Pittsburgh's appearances, and one appearance each by Boston College and Louisville, came while those schools were members of the Big East Conference.

Among former Big East Conference football members, Boston College, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Pitt, South Florida, Virginia Tech and West Virginia have appeared in the game, while Miami, Rutgers, Syracuse and Temple have not. Virginia Tech's appearances came as a member of the ACC.

Appearances by conference

Updated through the January 2026 edition (24 games, 48 total appearances).

• Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the following calendar year.
• The record of the American Conference includes appearances of the Big East Conference, as the American retains the charter of the original Big East, following its 2013 realignment. Teams representing the Big East appeared in 10 games, compiling a 5–5 record.
• Independents: Navy (2006)

Game records

Source:

Media coverage

The bowl was televised by ESPN2 from 2002 through 2005; since 2006, the bowl has been televised by ESPN.

References

References

1. "2019 Bowl Schedule".
2. "Belk bowl announces six-year extension of partnership with Atlantic coast conference". Charlotte Collegiate Football.
3. Holcomb, Dave. (November 20, 2019). "RIP Belk Bowl? SEC bowl game expected to lose current sponsorship".
4. (June 18, 2020). "Duke's Mayonnaise replaces Belk as sponsor of Charlotte bowl game".
5. McMann, Aaron. (June 4, 2019). "Big Ten to add three bowl games, drop Holiday, Gator in 2020".
6. Solari, Chris. (June 4, 2019). "Big Ten adds Las Vegas, Charlotte, Phoenix to football bowl destinations for 2020".
7. "Duke's Mayo Bowl trophy shatters in Wisconsin locker room".
8. (2017). "Belk Bowl Media Guide".
9. (2020). "Belk Bowl". NCAA.
10. Beasley, Lauren. (January 3, 2025). "Former Gamecock QB finds redemption with Duke’s Mayo Bowl MVP performance".
11. "BELK BOWL RECORDS THROUGH 2019".
12. "2019–20 Football Bowl Association Media Guide".