City of Detroit Ends Long Run As Host of College Football Bowl Games

The City of Detroit will end its 29-year run of hosting college football bowl games.

Ford Field announced its decision on Tuesday to end its historic run as a bowl game host with the end of its naming rights partnership with GameAbove Sports.

A statement regarding the GameAbove Sports Bowl. pic.twitter.com/kulbjSYhZ5
— Ford Field (@fordfield) February 10, 2026

“We can confirm that we will not host a bowl game at Ford Field in 2026,” the stadium announced on social media. “With the end of our current naming rights partnership, we felt this was the right time to adjust our focus to invest in sports at all levels and other entertainment events. We would like to thank everyone who made bowl games a success, especially you the fans.”

The City of Detroit began its run of hosting college football bowl games in 1997 with the inaugural Motor City Bowl at the Pontiac Silverdome. The bowl moved to the newly-constructed Ford Field in 2002, and was later named the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl and Quick Lane Bowl. GameAbove Sports owned the naming rights to the bowl game beginning in 2024, and its two-year partnership with Ford Field ended after the contest this past season, where Northwestern beat Central Michigan 34–7 on Dec. 26.

Detroit’s bowl game was historically played between teams from the MAC and Big Ten, but the ACC also featured teams in the contest in recent years, beginning with Boston College’s victory over Maryland 36–30 in December of 2016.

Detroit’s bowl game becomes the second in as many weeks to announce its conclusion, joining the LA Bowl’s decision on Feb. 5 to end its bowl game after five years.

More College Football on Sports Illustrated