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A lot has changed for the Orange Bowl since 1989. Back then, Jimmy Johnson was coaching the Canes, and they blew out Nebraska 23-3 in the game that year. That was when it was played in the actual stadium known as the Orange Bowl and before all of this BCS business.
Lately, the Canes have been nowhere near Orange Bowl contention (but, hey, neither has Nebraska). Jimmy Johnson sits at home polishing his Super Bowl rings. And the stadium is nothing but a distant memory. One thing had remained, though: FedEx was the title sponsor. But even that’s changing.
ESPN reports FedEx has pulled out of its 21-year sponsorship of the game because the company didn’t want to commit to a season-long sponsorship platform of college football, which is now being asked of all BCS game sponsors.
Ratings for the Orange Bowl haven’t been stellar lately because it’s been home to an at-large competitor against the champion of the floundering ACC. Last year’s game between Virginia Tech and Cincinnati scored the lowest ratings for a BCS matchup in history.
ESPN, which will air all the BCS games beginning in 2011, is working with the Orange Bowl Committee to find a new sponsor.
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