General
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl surpasses 200 million in all-time viewership and $200 million in total team payouts
ATLANTA (Jan. 28, 2021) – The 2021 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl set several milestones, including surpassing the 200 million mark in television viewers all-time on ESPN (202 million) and eclipsing $200 million in total team payouts ($209 million) over the Bowl's 53 year history. In addition, college football's most charitable bowl organization contributed more than $5.8 million in charitable and scholarship giving.
"It's a testament to our entire Peach Bowl, Inc. team and all of our partners who we were able to achieve key milestones in such an unprecedented season," said Gary Stokan, Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and president. "We couldn't have accomplished this without our relationship with the players, coaches and fans from both Georgia and Cincinnati, as well as the College Football Playoff, SEC, AAC, Chick-fil-A, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, media, OrthoAtlanta-Piedmont and our sponsors, staff, Board and volunteers. And we cannot lose sight of the tremendous sacrifices and leadership of the presidents, ADs, medical teams, players, coaches and the administration and support staffs who made this season and our bowl game happen."
"We were fortunate to have another top-10 matchup between two of the nation's best teams that resulted in an extremely competitive game and a last-second win for the ages," said Bob Somers, Peach Bowl, Inc. Chairman. "This year saw many new challenges, but we were able to come together and pull off another successful Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl that set several new benchmarks for the game."
"We were founded by the Lions Club to provide charitable donations back to the community. We have followed our mission to humbly be the most charitable bowl organization in the country by donating more than $5.8 million this year and now $57.6million since 2002," said Stokan.
CHARITABLE GIVING:
Highlights of this year's donations included:
- $4M Children's Healthcare of Atlanta: Peach Bowl LegACy Fund
- $1.09 MAugusta University Covid-19 Coronavirus Response Fund
- $234,000Atlanta Public Schools: Childhood Literacy Initiative/Academic Mentoring Program
- $200,000Endowed Scholarship Program
- $100,000American Red Cross: Nashville tornado relief
- $50,000Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation
These donations bring Peach Bowl, Inc.'s total bowl leading charitable contributions to $57.6million since 2002.
VIEWERSHIP:
The top-10 showdown between No. 9 Georgia and No. 8 Cincinnati delivered an audience of 8.8 million viewers, making the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl the third highest rated bowl game behind only the two College Football Playoff Semifinals. It was the eighth most-watched game of the entire 2020-21 college football season and represented the most-viewed New Year's Six bowl game featuring a Group of Five team in the CFP era.
The 2021 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl was also the fourth-most watched game in the Bowl's 53 year history. Since 1991, more than 202 million viewers have now watched the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on ESPN.
MATCHUP:
This year's matchup of No. 9 Georgia and No. 8 Cincinnati was one of only four bowl games to host two top-10 teams in the 2020-21 bowl season, along with the two College Football Playoff Semifinals and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. This signified the third consecutive top-10 matchup for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and its fifth top-10 contest since becoming a New Year's Six bowl in 2014.
Georgia is now tied for second in all-time Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl victories (four) after offensive MVP Jack Podlesny kicked a record-tying 53-yard field goal with three seconds remaining on the way to the 24-21 Bulldogs win. The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl was rated by CBS as the 2nd best football game of the entire 2020-21 season.
SELLOUT:
This year's Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl marked the 22nd sellout in the last 24 years for the Bowl. More than 3.1 million fans have now attended the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl since its inaugural contest in 1968.
TEAM PAYOUT:
Georgia and Cincinnati received $6 million each – for a total of $12 million – in team payouts for playing in this year's Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The Bowl has now disbursed $209 million in team payouts in its 53 years.
