The Cotton Bowl Classic is a college football bowl game that pits the second-choice team of the Big 12 against the third- or fourth-choice team of the SEC. The game was played annually since 1937 at its namesake stadium in Dallas, Texas. The bowl traditionally hosted the champion of the Southwest Conference prior to its merger into the Big 12. Their opponents varied, but were often second- or third-place teams in Southeastern Conference or major independents.

On February 27, 2007, it was announced that the game would move to Cowboys Stadium in nearby Arlington beginning on January 1, 2010. With that announcement, Cotton Bowl Classic officials also began a campaign to become part of the Bowl Championship Series when the current contract featuring the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, and Orange bowls expired in 2010. Plans to join the BCS were scrapped, however, shortly after ESPN acquired the rights to the series.

Since 1996, the game has been sponsored by Southwestern Bell Corporation; however, it went through several name changes, first in 2000 when the firm adopted a standardized "SBC" branding reflecting its name it adopted in 1995, SBC Communications, and since 2006, after their acquisition of AT&T, and its subsequent name change, as the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic. From 1989 until 1995, the game was sponsored by Mobil Oil and known as the Mobil Cotton Bowl Classic.

Gary Robin Pinkel (born April 27, 1952) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the University of Missouri, a position he has held since the 2001 season. From 1991 to 2000, Pinkel coached at the University of Toledo, where his team won a Mid-American Conference championship in 1995. Before becoming a head coach, he was an assistant at the University of Washington, where he served as Don James's offensive coordinator.

Pinkel graduated from Kenmore High School in Akron, Ohio, and received his bachelor of science degree in education from Kent State University in 1973, where he played tight end under James. His roommate at Kent was Pittsburgh Steelers great Jack Lambert. He did post-graduate studies at Kent and Bowling Green State University, and in 1997 was inducted into the Kent Athletic Hall of Fame.

Since arriving at Missouri in November 2000, Pinkel has guided the Tigers to eight bowl games in 11 years, winning four. The first was in 2003, a 27–14 loss to Arkansas, and the second was a thrilling 38–31 come-from-behind win over the University of South Carolina on December 30, 2005. Missouri then lost to Oregon State, 39–38, in the Brut Sun Bowl. In 2007, a historic year for the Mizzou program, Pinkel led his team to a #1 AP ranking at the end of the regular season after finishing 11–1. They then fell to the Oklahoma Sooners in the Big 12 Championship game, and played in the Cotton Bowl Classic against the University of Arkansas. The Tigers throttled the Razorbacks, strolling to an easy 38–7 victory and a final season ranking of #4 in the AP Poll.

Mike Gundy (born August 12, 1967) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at Oklahoma State University–Stillwater. Gundy played college football Oklahoma State, where he was the Cowboys quarterback from 1986 to 1989. Gundy became Oklahoma State's coach on January 3, 2005. In 2007 he received national media attention for his heated criticism of a newspaper article on one of his players.

At Midwest City High School, Gundy played quarterback, and was voted Oklahoma Player of the Year in 1986. Gundy was heavily recruited by the Oklahoma Sooners but in the end signed with the Oklahoma State University Cowboys. He became the starting quarterback midway through his freshman year. Gundy would become the all-time leading passer in Oklahoma State and Big 8 Conference history. In four seasons Gundy threw 49 touchdowns and 7,997 yards, including 2,106 yards in 1987 and 2,163 in 1988. He led the Cowboys to bowl wins in the 1987 Sun Bowl and 1988 Holiday Bowl aided by two Hall of Fame running backs, Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders. He also led OSU to two 10-win seasons.