- published: 01 Jan 2016
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The Cotton Bowl Classic is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually since January 1, 1937. Between 1937 and 2009, the game was played at its namesake stadium in Dallas, Texas; in 2010, it moved to Cowboys Stadium in nearby Arlington. Historically, the game hosted the champion of the Southwest Conference (SWC); after that conference's dissolution in 1996, the game hosted a team from the Big 12 Conference, usually against a team from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Cotton Bowl Classic has served as one of six bowls in the College Football Playoff (CFP) since the 2014 season.
The Cotton Bowl Classic was founded in Dallas in 1937 at the Texas State Fair Grounds, when Texas oil executive J. Curtis Sanford financed the first one out of his own pocket. TCU of Fort Worth took on Marquette, winning 16–6, but the game lost money even though some 17,000 attended. Nonetheless, Sanford persevered, and in 1938 the game made a profit as Rice of Houston defeated Colorado 28–14 in front of a crowd of 37,000.