Raycom Sports initially organized this bowl game in the summer of 1990. It was started by the organizers with the motive to add a second bowl game to the popular Miami area. However, the game organizers planned to host the game at the Joe Robbie Stadium. Wayne Huizenga owner of Miami Dolphins helped in getting the title sponsored by Blockbuster. The inaugural game was a huge success, where Florida State faced Penn State. The most important aspect of this match was that two legendary coaches, Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno played in front of some 74,000 spectators. The game was held at Joe Robbie Stadium.

Florida Citrus Sports that is a non-profit group operates this bowl. This group also organizes two other bowls, such as the Capital One Bowl and Florida Classic. But, since the 2006 football season, the quality of this bowl game has matched up teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten Conference. From 2004 onwards, Champs Sports, a division of Foot Locker is sponsoring the event. Due to the terms of a television deal signed with ESPN in 2006, the bowl will take place after Christmas Day till 2009. The match will be shown on ESPN during the prime time slot. This change was made with the motive to move the game from the pre Christmas date, which is not good for its popularity.