KNOXVILLE — When the University of Tennessee football team plays in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 2, it will mark the seventh time that the Volunteers have ended their season in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Vols are 4-2 in the game, which has been dubbed both the Gator Bowl and TaxSlayer Bowl.
UT first played in the Northern Florida bowl game following the 1957 season. The Vols, who entered the game with a 7-3 record edged Texas A&M, 3-0, on Dec. 28, 1957.
The only scoring in the contest came on a 17-yard field goal by UT’s Sammy Burklow in the fourth quarter.
UT returned to the Gator Bowl in 1966 when they beat Syracuse.
Tennessee lost in its next two Gator Bowl appearances in 1969 and 1973.
The Vols lost to Southeastern Conference rival Florida, 14-13, and their coach, Doug Dickey, then left to return to coach his alma mater in Gainesville.
Tennessee fell to Texas Tech, 28-19, in the 1973 edition of the game.
The Big Orange nabbed a 45-23 victory over Virginia Tech in 1994 before beating Iowa in the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl, 45-28.