The Duke's Mayo Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2002. Originally commissioned as the Queen City Bowl, it has undergone many name changes due to sponsorship rights. The bowl has tie-ins with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Southeastern Conference (SEC), and Big Ten Conference.
History A new college football bowl game in Charlotte, North Carolina, was established in 2002 by Raycom Sports (now a part of Gray Television). The game was certified by the NCAA as the Queen City Bowl, which became the Continental Tire Bowl (2002–2004), Meineke Car Care Bowl (2005–2010), and Belk Bowl (2011–2019) prior to its current name.
The game previously featured a matchup between the No. 5 selected Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team and the No. 3 selected American Athletic Conference (AAC). Originally, the bowl selected a team from the Big East Conference, until that conference's breakup in 2013.
In 2011, Charlotte-based department store chain Belk acquired the title sponsorship for a three-year period through 2013. After the initial period, Belk extended its sponsorship for six years, through 2019. As of 2014, the bowl featured the second pooled selection from the ACC paired against the second pooled selection from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), after selection of the College Football Playoff (CFP) teams.
On November 20, 2019, Belk informed bowl officials that the company would not be renewing its sponsorship after the 2019 season. In June 2020, Duke's Mayonnaise was announced as the new title sponsor for the bowl. As part of their sponsorship arrangement, in a take on the Gatorade shower, the head coach of the winning team gets a giant jar of mayonnaise dumped on his head.
In 2020, the ACC's opponent in the bowl is scheduled to begin alternating between the Big Ten Conference and SEC through 2025, with a Big Ten team playing in even-numbered years and an SEC team playing in odd-numbered years. The conference not sending a team to this bowl will send a team to the Las Vegas Bowl.
The 2020 game received notable social media coverage following the game as the quarterback of the winning team, Graham Mertz of Wisconsin, accidentally broke the glass trophy.
Game results Rankings are based on the AP poll prior to the game being played. DateBowl name Winning Team Losing TeamAttnd.December 28, 2002 Continental Tire Bowl Virginia48 No. 15 West Virginia 22 73,535December 27, 2003 Continental Tire Bowl Virginia23Pittsburgh 16 51,236December 30, 2004 Continental Tire Bowl No. 25 Boston College37North Carolina24 73,258December 31, 2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl NC State14USF 0 57,937December 30, 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl No. 23 Boston College25Navy 24 52,303December 29, 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl Wake Forest24Connecticut 10 53,126December 27, 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl West Virginia31North Carolina 30 73,712December 26, 2009 Meineke Car Care Bowl No. 17 Pittsburgh19North Carolina 17 50,389December 31, 2010 Meineke Car Care Bowl USF31Clemson 26 41,122December 27, 2011 Belk Bowl NC State31Louisville 24 58,427December 27, 2012 Belk Bowl Cincinnati48Duke 34 48,128December 28, 2013 Belk Bowl North Carolina39Cincinnati 17 45,211December 30, 2014 Belk Bowl No. 13 Georgia37 No. 20 Louisville 14 45,671December 30, 2015 Belk Bowl Mississippi State51NC State 28 46,423December 29, 2016 Belk Bowl No. 18 Virginia Tech35Arkansas 24 46,902December 29, 2017 Belk Bowl Wake Forest55Texas A&M 52 32,784December 29, 2018 Belk Bowl Virginia 28 South Carolina 0 48,263December 31, 2019 Belk Bowl Kentucky 37 Virginia Tech 30 44,138December 30, 2020 Duke's Mayo Bowl Wisconsin 42 Wake Forest 28 1,500December 30, 2021 Duke's Mayo Bowl South Carolina 38 North Carolina 21 45,520December 30, 2022 Duke's Mayo Bowl Maryland 16 No. 25 NC State 12 37,228December 27, 2023 Duke's Mayo Bowl West Virginia 30 North Carolina 10 42,925January 3, 2025 Duke's Mayo Bowl Minnesota 24 Virginia Tech 10 31,927January 2, 2026 Duke's Mayo Bowl Wake Forest 43 Mississippi State 29 29,328 Source:
MVPs
GameMVPSchoolPosition2002 Wali Lundy Virginia TB2003 Matt Schaub Virginia QB2004 Paul Peterson Boston College QB2005 Stephen Tulloch NC State LB2006 JoLonn Dunbar Boston College LB2007 Kenneth Moore Wake Forest WR 2008 Pat White West Virginia QB2009 Dion Lewis Pittsburgh RB2010 B. J. Daniels South Florida QB2011 Mike Glennon NC State QB2012 Brendon Kay Cincinnati QB 2013 Ryan Switzer North Carolina WR2014 Nick Chubb Georgia RB2015 Dak Prescott Mississippi State QB2016 Cam Phillips Virginia Tech WR2017 John Wolford Wake Forest QB2018 Olamide Zaccheaus Virginia WR2019 Lynn Bowden Kentucky QB2020 Jack Sanborn Wisconsin LB2021 Dakereon Joyner South Carolina WR/QB2022 Jakorian Bennett Maryland DB2023 Garrett Greene West Virginia QB2025 Elijah Spencer Minnesota WR2026 Robby Ashford Wake Forest QB
Most appearances Updated through the January 2026 edition (24 games, 48 total appearances).
Teams with multiple appearances RankTeamAppearancesRecord1 North Carolina 6 1–52 Wake Forest 4 3–1 NC State 4 2–24 Virginia 3 3–0 West Virginia 3 2–1 Virginia Tech 3 1–27 Boston College 2 2–0 Mississippi State 2 1–1 Cincinnati 2 1–1 Pittsburgh 2 1–1 South Florida 2 1–1 South Carolina 2 1–1 Louisville 2 0–2
Teams with a single appearance Won (5): Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Lost (6): Arkansas, Clemson, Connecticut, Duke, Navy, Texas A&M
Within the ACC's 17 football members, 10 have appeared in the game: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, NC State, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. Members that have yet to appear include California, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU, Stanford and Syracuse. Both of Pittsburgh's appearances, and one appearance each by Boston College and Louisville, came while those schools were members of the Big East Conference.
Among former Big East Conference football members, Boston College, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Pitt, South Florida, Virginia Tech and West Virginia have appeared in the game, while Miami, Rutgers, Syracuse and Temple have not. Virginia Tech's appearances came as a member of the ACC.
Appearances by conference Updated through the January 2026 edition (24 games, 48 total appearances).
ConferenceRecordAppearances by seasonGamesWLWin pct.WonLost ACC 24 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2025* 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024* American 11 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013 SEC 8 2014, 2015, 2019, 2021 2016, 2017, 2018, 2025* Big Ten 3 2020, 2022, 2024* Big 12 1 2023 Independents 1 2006
Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the following calendar year. The record of the American Conference includes appearances of the Big East Conference, as the American retains the charter of the original Big East, following its 2013 realignment. Teams representing the Big East appeared in 10 games, compiling a 5–5 record. Independents: Navy (2006)
Game records TeamPerformance, Team vs. OpponentYearMost points scored (one team) 55, Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M 2017Most points scored (both teams) 107, Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M 2017Most points scored (losing team) 52, Texas A&M vs. Wake Forest 2017Fewest points allowed 0, shared by:NC State vs. USFVirginia vs. South Carolina 20052018Margin of victory 28, Virginia vs. South Carolina 2018Total yards 646, Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M 2017Rushing yards 331, Kentucky vs. Virginia Tech 2019Passing yards 499, Texas A&M vs. Wake Forest 2017First downs 36, Duke vs. Cincinnati 2012Fewest yards allowed213, Wake Forest vs. UCONN2007Fewest rushing yards allowed 27, Maryland vs. NC State 2022Fewest passing yards allowed 73, Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky 2019IndividualPlayer, Team vs. OpponentYearAll-purpose yards Touchdowns (all-purpose) 4, Wali Lundy (Virginia) 2002Rushing yards 266, Nick Chubb (Georgia) 2014Rushing touchdowns 2, most recently:Graham Mertz (Wisconsin) 2020Passing yards 499, Nick Starkel (Texas A&M) 2017Passing touchdowns 4, most recently:John Wolford (Wake Forest) 2017Receiving yards 217, Hakeem Nicks (North Carolina) 2008Receiving touchdowns 3, most recently:Jaquarii Roberson (Wake Forest) 2020Tackles Sacks Interceptions 2, shared by:David Amerson (NC State)Dominick Sanders (Georgia) 20112014Long PlaysPlayer, Record, Team vs. OpponentYearTouchdown run 63 yds., British Brooks (North Carolina) 2021Touchdown pass 83 yds., Travis Kelce from Brendon Kay (Cincinnati) 2012Kickoff return 100 yds., Koredell Bartley (Wake Forest) 2026Punt return 86 yds., Ryan Switzer (North Carolina) 2013Interception return 72 yds., Collin Wilder (Wisconsin) 2020Fumble return 28 yds., Jordan Wright (Kentucky) 2019Punt 79 yds., Will Monday (Duke) 2012Field goal 60 yds., John Love (Virginia Tech) 2025 Source:
Media coverage The bowl was televised by ESPN2 from 2002 through 2005; since 2006, the bowl has been televised by ESPN.
References
External links Official site