KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl is just a few weeks away as the Iowa Hawkeyes gear up to face off against the Tennessee Volunteers.
Florida Citrus Sports announced that Gavin DeGraw will headline the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Halftime Show presented by Cheez-It Snap’d.
Originally, organizers of the Citrus Bowl said the Pride of the Southland Band would perform at halftime before DeGraw’s show and the Hawkeye Marching band would perform during a morning pregame show. That decision upset many Hawkeye fans, including an University of Iowa alum Kevin Carlson. Carlson decided to create a change.org petition to try and change that decision.
On Monday organizers for the Citrus bowl announced on Facebook that they were reversing their original decision and would allow both bands to play at halftime.
“We’re working closely with Iowa and Tennessee to design a great experience for this year’s Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. The university bands will perform on the field both in pregame and at halftime. We appreciate the creativity and goodwill of the university band leaders to make this possible,” wrote organizers on Facebook.
The live performance by DeGraw will be followed by traditional bowl game performances by both bands, according to the post.
“Members of both bands work extremely hard throughout the season to support their teams and we are excited to be able to share this hard work with all the fans at the Citrus Bowl,” wrote the Pride of the Southland Band on Facebook.
The Hawkeye Marching Band also expressed their gratitude for the decision on Facebook. The post said, “We are so excited to perform both pregame and halftime at the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. We are grateful to Florida Citrus Sports, both universities, and our friends at The University of Tennessee Bands – Pride of the Southland Band for working together to present what is sure to be an outstanding game day experience!”
The Citrus Bowl is set for 1 p.m. on New Year’s Day on ABC. The number 20 Hawkeys will face off against the number 25 Vols in Orlando, Florida at Camping World Stadium.