The First Responder Bowl was first held in 2011.
Meaning and history
What is First Responder Bowl?
First Responder Bowl is an intercollegiate football bowl game, which is affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association and holds its games after the official seasons. The Bowl had its first game played in 2011, on the Cotton Bowl Stadium, and today all the games are held on Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
2011 – 2012
The first logo for the bowl was designed when its name was the Ticket City Bowl. It was a cool and modern badge with the image of an eagle set in white, black, and light blue, drawn behind the blue arched banner with the white and yellow lettering written over it. The banner was stylized as a ticket, with two small circular cutouts on its sides. Under the banner, you could see a brown rugby ball, which was held by the eagle, and a light blue ribbon with the white “Cotton Bowl Stadium” inscription.
2013 – 2014
The redesign of 2013 introduced a banner for the Heart of Dallas Bowl; which was built around a clean and strict crest with a light background and a distinct white and blue outline. The top part of the shield comprised a solid stylized “D” with the white heart set on it diagonally. As for the main lettering, it was written in delicate white capitals across the blue banner, which was placed horizontally in the middle of the crest. The badge was complemented by a black and red logotype of the Howl’s sponsor, Plains Capital Bank.
2014 – 2017
The Heart of Dallas Bowl logo was redesigned again in 1014, adopting a flat style and a bright yet simple blue and white color palette. Now it was a crest in a more traditional shape, with the arched blue ribbon with the white logotype on it, whereas the first “D” in “Dallas” was heavy and has a small light blue heart placed on it instead of the regular negative space element. The bottom part of the white crest was embellished with three colorful elements: a yellow five-pointed star, a red flower-like symbol, and a blue stylized snowflake, formed by several straight lines.
2018 – Today
The word “First” occupies more space than any other word in the First Responder Bowl logo. And yet, it is given in black, and because of this, the bright “roof” over it seems to steal the limelight. The roof comes from the logo of the Servpro company, which is a franchise system dealing with fire and water cleanup.
The other two colored elements within the logo are the blue and red bars at the left and right bottom corner, respectively. The lettering “Responder Bowl” above is given in black. The “O” glyph in the word “Responder” has been replaced by an outline of a football, while the glyph “I” in the word “First” has been replaced by the number “1.”