Pinstripe Bowl

On September 30, 2009, a "Yankee Bowl" was announced at a Yankee Stadium press conference by then-representatives of the involved parties: Yankees' minority owner Hal Steinbrenner, Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, Big East Conference commissioner John Marinatto, and Big 12 Conference commissioner Dan Beebe. The most recent bowl in New York City proper had been the 1962 Gotham Bowl, which pitted Miami (FL) against Nebraska at the original Yankee Stadium. The newly announced bowl planned to pair the fourth-place team from the Big East Conference against the seventh-place team from the Big 12.^[8][9] In the event the Big 12 lacked an eligible team, independent Notre Dame could receive an invitation.^[10]

The decision to stage a bowl game in New York City with a Big East team followed a 2004 announcement by the New York City Sports Commission and Big East Conference to hold the "Big Apple Bowl" at the proposed West Side Stadium, but the plan to build the stadium on the West Side of Manhattan was defeated in 2005.^[11][12]

On March 9, 2010, the bowl's official name was announced to be the Pinstripe Bowl, with New Era Cap Company agreeing to sponsor the bowl for four years while ESPN agreed to broadcast the bowl for six years.^[13][14] The inaugural game was played on December 30, 2010.^[15] The first three editions of the bowl were each won by a Big East team over a Big 12 team. In 2013, Notre Dame was invited in place of a Big 12 team; the Fighting Irish defeated Rutgers of the Big East's successor, the American Athletic Conference ("The American").^[16]

Starting in 2014, the bowl featured an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team against a Big Ten team. This was the same year that New Jersey–based Rutgers, the closest FBS school in the New York City area, moved to the Big Ten, and one year after Syracuse University, based in central New York state, moved to the ACC. The ACC agreed to a six-year deal with the Pinstripe Bowl, and the Big Ten agreed to the alignment for eight years. The ACC adopted a tiered system so that the same conference position would not necessarily go to the same bowl each season.^[17] The 2014 through 2019 editions of the bowl saw Big Ten teams compile a 5–1 record against ACC teams.

The 2020 edition of the bowl was cancelled, "out of an abundance of caution" due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.^[18]

On August 16, 2022, Bad Boy Mowers was announced as the new title sponsor of the game.^[19][20]

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

† In 2018, the NCAA vacated Notre Dame's 2013 bowl win (and other results from 2012 and 2013) due to academic violations.^[22]

Source:^[23]

The MVP of the bowl is presented with the Henry George “Hank” Steinbrenner II MVP Trophy.^[24]

Source:^[24][25]

Updated through the December 2025 edition (15 games, 30 total appearances).

Teams with multiple appearances

Teams with a single appearance

Won (8): Duke, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin
Lost (8): Clemson, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas State, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia
Vacated (1): Notre Dame

Updated through the December 2025 edition (15 games, 30 total appearances).

* Notre Dame's vacated victory in 2013 is excluded from win–loss totals.

• Records reflect conference membership at the time each game was played.
• The American's record includes appearances of Big East teams—Syracuse in 2010 and 2012, and Rutgers in 2011—as the American retains the charter of the original Big East, following its 2013 realignment.
• Independent appearances: Notre Dame (2013)

The bowl has been televised by ESPN since its inception, except for 2015 and 2024 when it was carried by ABC.^[26]