ESPN Events and the Orlando Sports Foundation on Wednesday announced the 2023 Cure Bowl will be played at FBC Mortgage Stadium on the UCF campus in Orlando. The game, which raises money for cancer research, kicks off at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16 on ABC. 

This year's game will mark two firsts. It will be the first Cure Bowl played on ABC and the first time FBC Mortgage Stadium has hosted an NCAA-sanctioned bowl game.

"We are excited about the Cure Bowl's partnership with UCF and bringing a postseason bowl game to FBC Mortgage Stadium," said Alan Gooch, Orlando Sports Foundation CEO and Cure Bowl Executive Director. "The ability to directly inform Knight Nation about the bowl's ties to UCF College of Medicine's cancer research is a unique opportunity to further the Orlando Sports Foundation's mission of bringing teams together to find a cure for cancer."

In the fall of 2007, UCF debuted an on-campus stadium, forever changing the college football experience in Orlando. It was a game-changing moment for a group of community leaders and philanthropists as well.

These pioneers developed a vision to create a one-of-a-kind bowl game tied directly to a charitable cause. With that goal in mind on May 28, 2008, they introduced the Orlando Sports Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to funding cancer research.

Six years later in the spring of 2014, OSF gave Orlando its third college bowl game. On Dec. 19, 2015, San Jose State beat Georgia State 27-16 in the inaugural Cure Bowl at Camping World Stadium. 

With the Cure Bowl as a platform, OSF has raised $4.1 million for cancer research since 2015. The Central Florida community has benefitted directly: Dr. Annette Khaled at the UCF College of Medicine received nearly 1.6 million for her cancer research from the funds raised by the game..

"We are thrilled that the Cure Bowl is coming to FBC Mortgage Stadium on our UCF campus in December," said Terry Mohajir, UCF Director of Athletics. "It's my belief and experience that for college football programs Orlando is a premiere destination, if not the destination, for a postseason bowl game."

"It's also appropriate that the proceeds from this game benefit cancer research that takes place right here on the UCF campus."

UCF has been a key contributor to the Cure Bowl's success. More than 100 UCF alums have served on the OSF board of directors, advisory board, volunteers and staff. All of these individuals helped elevate the organization's mission of bringing teams together to find a cure for cancer, while supporting UCF's College of Medicine and Cancer Research Center.

The 2023 Cure Bowl matchup will be revealed on Dec. 3.

OSF Memberships, hospitality, and sponsorship packages are available now. General public tickets will go on sale later this fall. For more information, visit CureBowl.com.

About Orlando Sports Foundation 

The Orlando Sports Foundation (OSF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit membership organization dedicated to raising funds and awareness for cancer research. The OSF holds several events throughout the year, including the Cure Bowl, which is an NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) college football bowl game played each December.

With the combined support of Central Floridians, loyal sports fans, and strategic partners, the OSF is further dedicated and committed to serving the challenges of cancer awareness and elimination, by invigorating the Central Florida athletic community thru its Cure All Stars events, supporting youth organizations with standards of benevolence, integrity, and moral excellence. 

The OSF works with our stakeholders to involve the entire community to join us in our quest to bring teams together to find a cure for cancer. The OSF focuses on research because we all know we will have to continue to manage the problem until we solve it. We focus our efforts on cancer because it touches so many lives worldwide, cancer does not discriminate. 

For more information about the Orlando Sports Foundation and affiliated events, visit OrlandoSportsFoundation.com

About ESPN Events

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In 2023, the 33-event schedule includes four early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, nine college basketball events, a college softball event, and the inaugural Band of the Year National Championship, in addition to a new college gymnastics event coming in 2024. Collectively, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans. 

For more information, visit the official website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages. 

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Source: ESPN