Community Involvement
Quarterbacking Children’s Health
Since 2006, the JLab Birmingham Bowl has donated over $520,000 to the Monday Morning Quarterback Club in support of its charitable arm, Quarterbacking Children’s Health Foundation. Quarterbacking Children’s Health Foundation provides funds to fulfill medical needs for children, whose needs would otherwise be unmet. We wish to make a difference in the medical care and medical opportunities for our children and young adults.
Extra Yard for Teachers
In partnership with the College Football Playoff Foundation, Motion Industries and Protective Life, The JLab Birmingham Bowl has awarded $1,500 gift cards to two deserving Birmingham City School teachers as part of the national Extra Yard for Teachers – Teachers Big Day! The gift cards can be redeemed to purchase classroom resources for the current school year. We are proud to participate in this annual event and honored to partner with the Birmingham City School System to recognize the current elementary and secondary Teachers of the Year!
Youth Football Initiative
The JLab Birmingham Bowl supports youth football in the state of Alabama by annually recognizing Youth Football Championship Teams (all age groups) during our game.
Championship players and coaches are presented with JLab Birmingham Bowl jersey patches to wear on their uniforms while being honored on the field during pregame festivities and later featured on the Protective Stadium videoboard during the game.
The JLab Birmingham Bowl also provides complimentary tickets to players and coaches of each participating youth league championship team. Family and supporters of the teams can purchase discounted tickets and be seated with their team.
Bowl Facts
Economic Impact
The Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates that the fans, teams and marching bands from App State and Georgia Southern attending the 2025 JLab Birmingham Bowl generated $4.5 million in economic impact for the Birmingham area. This brings the total economic impact for the first 19 years of the Bowl to over $195 million.
Television Ratings
Bowl Season continues to be the most watched two-week period on ESPN annually. Since 2021, over 12 million viewers have tuned in to ESPN and ABC for the JLab Birmingham Bowl, a 3.5-hour game highlighting the City of Birmingham to the entire nation. The game has averaged over 2.5 million viewers per year during that time!
First Sell Out
41,871 fans filled Protective Stadium on December 28, 2021, for the 15th JLab Birmingham Bowl making it the first sell-out in the history of the bowl game and the first sell-out for Protective Stadium. The Bowl was one of only seven bowls to report a sellout for 2021.
Top Ten Rankings
The 2021 JLab Birmingham Bowl was once again ranked as one of the top bowl games of the year with College Football News ranking the matchup between Houston and Auburn at #8. CBS Sports ranked the game at #15 out of the 37 bowls played.
