Texas oil tycoon J. Curtis Sanford financed the first Cotton Bowl out of his own pocket in 1937. TCU defeated Marquette in that first game 16-6 in front on about 17,000 fans. The game did not make a profit until the next year, when Rice beat Colorado in front of 37,000.

The game featured the Southwest Conference winner until the conference's disbandment in 1996. It is now a matchup of a Southeastern Conference team against a Big 12 team. However, beginning in 2014, the Cotton Bowl Classic will be one of the rotating hosts of a game in the new playoff format.

Memorable moments

• The 1947 Cotton Bowl between Arkansas and LSU would be one of several games to become known as "The Ice Bowl." It was played in a wintry mix in front of about 38,000 brave souls. The final score? 0-0.

• The first interracial Cotton Bowl was played in 1948 between SMU and Penn State, which had not been to a bowl in the previous quarter century. Penn State ended up staying at a Naval Air Station outside of Dallas because no Dallas hotels would allow Penn State's two African-American players to stay there.

• The 1954 game featured one of the most unusual plays in football history. Dickey Maegle of Rice was running in the open field when Tommy Lewis of Alabama came off the bench and tackled him. Even though Maegle was down at the 42-yard line, he was given credit for a touchdown.

• In 1961, Ernie Davis, who would go on to become the first African-American Heisman Trophy winner, ran for a touchdown, caught a Cotton Bowl record 87-yard touchdown pass and intercepted a pass for a third touchdown to lead Syracuse to a 23-14 win against Texas -- and the national championship.

• In 2010, the Cotton Bowl Classic moved to Cowboys Stadium. Ole Miss beat Oklahoma State 21-7.